Kriss and Gary Miller are looking forward to returning in 2025 for their fourth year as the Friends in Residence team at Quaker House.

Kriss and Gary live on a small “art farm” in a wooded corner of Kansas City. Living in an inter-generational home with family and farm critters is a way of life that they value. There they also operate a recording studio and actively support artists of all walks of life. Gary and Kriss bring this practice of mindful hospitality to the Quaker House.

Our Friends in Residence have roots in the Chautauqua community. Kriss spent time during many childhood summers in her grandparent’s Chautauqua house on Peck Ave. The family was introduced to the wonders of Chautauqua when Kriss’ uncle joined the boy’s choral ensemble. This sparked a family tradition and Kriss included Gary from their early days of dating. Kriss and Gary have shared Chautauqua with their 3 children, and will hopefully include their grandchildren in the near future.

Gary’s first love is music and finds great joy playing with others in the Chautauqua community. He enjoys musical collaborations with all ages and skill levels and carries extra instruments to encourage others to join in. He can be found most afternoons playing at Bestor Plaza in a spontaneous gathering of musicians or occasionally with Chautauqua’s Thursday Morning Brass Ensemble.

Kriss is an active “maker” whose favorite medium is paper mache. She recently created a diorama for the Children’s Area of the Chautauqua County Library on the grounds. She hosts weekly programs at Quaker House and facilitates the Church of the Wild offering at Chautauqua as an opportunity for all interested humans to set aside time to re-member their connection to the natural world and “that of God in all beings”. She is studying to become an Eco-Spiritual Director with Victoria Loorz, a recent presenter at the Interfaith Lecture series at Chautauqua.

Both Kriss and Gary have Quaker roots that have taken deep hold in the past few years. Kriss recently graduated from the Earlham School of Religion which led Gary to dig for his own Quaker roots discovering his 9th great-grandfather heard George Fox speak and was convinced.

Come Join us!!