Kriss and Gary Miller are looking forward to returning in 2026 for their fifth 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. 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 grandparents’ Chautauqua house on Peck Ave. The family was introduced to the wonders of Chautauqua when Kriss’s uncle joined the boys’ choral ensemble. This sparked a family tradition, and Kriss included Gary from their early days of dating. Kriss and Gary continue to share Chautauqua with their children and grandchildren.
Gary’s first love is music, and he finds great joy playing with others in the Chautauqua community. He enjoys musical collaborations with all ages and skill levels and always 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 and the Chautauqua Community Band. As Gary heads towards retirement, having the opportunity for more music around the grounds of Chautauqua is top of his list!
Kriss is an active “maker” whose favorite medium is papier-mache. In 2024, she created a diorama of the book Poko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe for the Children’s Area of the Chautauqua County Library on the grounds. In 2025, Kriss repaired the Lewis and Miller statues that live on the porch of Rose Cottage near the amp.
Kriss hosts weekly art-making programs at Quaker House and facilitates Church of the Wild 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 recently completed her training as an Eco-Spiritual Director with Victoria Loorz, who was previously a presenter at the Interfaith Lecture series at Chautauqua. In 2025, Kriss was ordained through the Seminary of the Wild Earth.
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 in 2022, which led Gary to dig for his own Quaker roots, discovering his 9th great-grandfather had heard George Fox speak and was convinced.
Come Join us!!
