LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – The Anglican Province of America, Diocese of the Eastern US recently announced the organization of their newest mission church in Greenbrier County. The Community of St. John the Baptist Anglican is a traditional, scripturally centered church worshipping in the historical Anglican Way. Canon Missioner, The Rev. Wade Miller, who also serves as Rector for St. Philip’s Anglican Church in Blacksburg, oversees the mission in the Greenbrier area. Fr Miller is assisted by The Rev. Briane Turley.
Fr. Miller grew up near Huntington, West Virginia, on the other side of the river in southeastern Ohio. Reared a Baptist, he attended Moody Bible Institute before graduating with his degree in history from Cedarville University. He studied at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, and Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and took his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary.
Fr. Miller spent time pastoring Lutheran congregations in New York. He also served in a mission in the Adirondacks and was the Spiritual Director of a camp and retreat center. He then moved to Brooklyn, NY, where he spent almost six years in ministry. His love for the writings of C.S. Lewis and others in the classical Anglican tradition brought him to the Anglican Province and mission work in our area. Under his leadership, St Philip’s Blacksburg grew steadily from a congregation of six in 2015 to nearly one hundred souls today.
Fr. Miller observes that he is an Appalachian at heart. He has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1994. Trish is a Nurse Practitioner. They have been blessed with four children. They both love the mountains and the beauty of West Virginia.
A native Mountaineer and lifelong Anglican, Fr. Briane Turley has served as a pastor in three West Virginia parishes and was, for ten years, Rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit Anglican in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After receiving his BA in Music from WVU and Master of Divinity degree from the Nazarene Theological Seminary, he pursued an MA and Ph.D. in Modern European and American Religious History at the University of Virginia where he was a DuPont Fellow.
For many years Turley was a member of the Religious Studies and History faculty at West Virginia University where he maintains a courtesy graduate faculty appointment. He has authored two books and numerous journal articles. Currently, he directs the Appalachian Hungarian Heritage Project at WVU.
The recipient of four Fulbright awards, Turley has lectured mainly on the history of Christian Thought, the Anglican and Wesleyan heritage, and American religious history at universities and graduate seminaries in the US, Europe, and Africa. In 2011, the Arts Faculty of the University of Szeged awarded Turley their highest honor, the Pro Facultate Philosophiae Medal. He and his wife, Ann, a musician, are the proud parents of Christopher, who recently completed a US Congressional Internship.
For more information about St. John the Baptist Anglican Church and to register for their upcoming team-taught community course on the Heritage of Christianity, please visit the church website at http://stjohngreenbrier.org.
