The Venerable Gigi Miller Named Archdeacon of EDSD

With joy, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego welcomes the Venerable Gigi Miller as our new Archdeacon, beginning October 1. In this role, Gigi will support the diocese’s deacons and help strengthen their ministry across our congregations and communities. A deacon deeply rooted in service, advocacy, and relationship, she brings years of experience accompanying unhoused neighbors, working for systemic change, nurturing spiritual formation, and helping the Church recognize where God is already at work beyond its walls. Gigi will continue her diaconal ministry at St. Andrew’s in Encinitas while serving as the Archdeacon for the Diocese. 

As Gigi prepares to begin this new ministry, we invite you to get to know her more fully through the conversation below. She reflects on the path that led her to the diaconate, the lessons she has learned through service, the ministries that have shaped her, and what she hopes to offer the deacons, congregations, and communities of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego in the years ahead.

Tell us a little about the journey that brought you to ordained ministry and the diaconate.

Like walking a labyrinth, my path to the diaconate was full of twists and turns, leading to a response to the Spirit’s beckoning. I grew up in the Episcopal Church but never attended one with an assigned deacon. As I began to learn more about the diaconate and met active deacons, I was drawn to servanthood as the unique characteristic of diaconal ministry.

We all commit to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” as part of our Baptismal Covenant. During their ordination examination, priests agree, among many other things, “to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor.” But the whole focus of diaconal ministry is service. In fact, the diaconal ordination contains six separate mentions of service, especially to “the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.” It is a sacred, humbling, and joyous commitment. 

As a Godly Play storyteller, I’ve learned about Divine wondering from the Church’s youngest members, giving me fresh insights into how God is moving in all our lives. Sacred Ground circles and LARK sessions challenged and educated me and showed me that my privilege requires me to stand in solidarity with those on the margins who have been neglected, forgotten, or dispossessed by our society.

For the past 8 years, I’ve developed relationships with unhoused neighbors who come to St. Andrew’s campus for showers, clothing, mail, a hot breakfast, and respite from their demanding lives. After breakfast, volunteers and folks receiving services share prayers, hopes, struggles, and joy around our Table of Kindness.

My experiences providing direct services to those in need highlighted the importance of systemic change and our Christian call to restore God’s vision of beloved community. Charity and justice are both signs of our discipleship. If someone falls off a broken step, we patch them up with a bandage (charity), but then we should go about fixing the step to make it safer for all (justice).  Community advocacy at the city and county levels corresponds to a deacon’s role as a bridge between the world and the church.

 What has being a deacon taught you about the Church’s call to serve the world?

One of the best descriptions I’ve heard of a deacon is that of an icon of Jesus’ servanthood. Icons challenge us to look past an image (or person, in this case) to discern the meaning behind it. Jesus took up the towel to wash the feet of his friends, and the deacon’s consecration includes the reminder that Jesus “came not to be served but to serve.”

Servants must be attentive to others, anticipating their needs before they even recognize them. The best way to understand someone else is to listen deeply and develop relationships based on love’s perspective. When we see God immersed in the world, we can’t help but see all creatures, human and non-human, as deserving of respect, dignity, and compassion.

Caring for others as God cares for us becomes a transformative process for us as individuals and for the Church as an organization. It asks us to expand our attention past measurable goals and outcomes to see God at work in the communities of belonging we develop along the way.

 As you step into the role of Archdeacon, what are you most excited about?

I accept Bishop Susan’s invitation as Archdeacon with more than a little trepidation, as I have big shoes to fill. Cindy Campos, EDSD’s previous archdeacon, worked tirelessly to build a solid foundation for the diaconate in our diocese. She educated congregants in the role of the deacon, mentored those in the ordination process, and supported active and retired deacons as they worked to make Christ known in the world.

If you meet one deacon, you’ve met one deacon. Deacons participate in a rich variety of ministries, including immigration support, homelessness assistance, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, creation care, and racial and ethnic justice. I long to help deacons tell their stories and encourage everyone in the diocese to join them in their good work at making Jesus’ vision of radical belonging a reality. I’m engaged in nurturing diaconal discerners, helping them realize their call and providing encouragement on their spiritual journeys.

 What do you hope to offer the deacons, congregations, and communities of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego in this new role?

The deacon’s role as an interpreter of the world to the church can be a lonely one. We have one foot in our congregations and one in the neighborhoods in which we live and work. Deacons see the needs around us, but resources are scarce and solutions elusive. I hope to create connections between congregations and help deacons explore partnerships with other congregations, non-profits, and city/county/state organizations that can help realize their ministerial potential.

 When you look at the diocese and the communities we serve, where do you see God at work right now—and where do you hope the diaconate can help lead us next?

I’m energized by the support of our immigrant friends and neighbors, at both the congregational and diocesan levels. Faithful Accompaniment In Trust and Hope (FAITH) is a wonderful example of interfaith and advocacy groups coming together to live out our rules of life and protect the most vulnerable. Direct services of food, clothing, and meals show our unhoused neighbors that we are all beloved children of God. Affordable housing, like Amani, a project designed by the EDSD’s Mission Real Estate initiative and St. Luke’s, North Park, provides a hopeful solution to the housing crisis in San Diego and demonstrates what can be achieved when faith communities courageously build partnerships in their neighborhoods.

Former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls our church “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement.” Preliminary discussions about EDSD’s next five-year strategic plan are leading us into the future. I’m looking forward to discovering ways our deacons can participate, particularly as we seek new opportunities to serve our neighbors. Deacons can also help their congregations discover ways to counter narratives of division and exclusion that misuse Jesus’ Good News. Through our words and actions, the people of EDSD can reveal the Spirit’s promise of renewal to our aching world. God is calling us into such a time as this.