{"id":101789,"date":"2026-01-16T00:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T00:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/101789\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T00:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T00:10:12","slug":"rev-clinton-miller-beloved-brown-memorial-baptist-church-pastor-and-brooklyn-faith-leader-dies-at-58-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/101789\/","title":{"rendered":"Rev. Clinton Miller, beloved Brown Memorial Baptist Church pastor and Brooklyn faith leader, dies at 58 \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Rev.\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Rev. Clinton Miller, pastor of Brown Memorial Baptist Church, passed away on this week. <\/p>\n

Photo by Andy Campbell<\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s faith and civic communities are mourning the loss of Rev. Clinton Miller, a longtime pastor, justice advocate and spiritual anchor whose leadership shaped generations of worshippers at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant<\/a> and Clinton Hill.<\/a><\/p>\n

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents much of central Brooklyn, marked Rev. Miller\u2019s passing with a heartfelt statement honoring both his personal friendship and the pastor\u2019s far-reaching impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend and beloved community leader, Rev. Clinton Miller,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cMy heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the Miller family and the congregation of the historic Brown Memorial Baptist Church. We mourn with you during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JeffriesIn a statement, Rep. Jeffries expressed his condolences to the Miller family, also acknowledging his personal and professional relationship with the reverend.Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n

Jeffries also credited him with a ministry rooted not only in faith, but in action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRev. Miller was an incredible Pastor whose devotion to ministry was matched only by his dedication to his parishioners and his care for the least, the lost and the left-behind,\u201d he said, describing him as a \u201cprincipled defender of racial and economic justice who never hesitated to speak up for the disenfranchised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Brooklyn, his life followed a path that blended scholarship, service and spiritual calling. He earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in history from Southern Connecticut State University. First, he felt drawn to ministry at the age of 19, according to his biography on the Brown Memorial Baptist Church website<\/a>. That calling deepened his studies at Yale University, where he trained for the ministry and went on to graduate from divinity school in 1994.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following seminary, Rev. Miller continued his formation at Harlem\u2019s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, serving as an intern minister under the Rev. Calvin O. Butts before becoming the church\u2019s youth minister.<\/p>\n

In October 2000, he was called to lead Brown Memorial Baptist Church, a role he would hold for the next 25 years. During his tenure, he oversaw major growth, including the construction of a \u201cfellowship hall, renovated its sanctuary and started a community development corporation.\u201d Under his leadership, the church also expanded its commitment to Brooklyn through outreach, education and service initiatives designed to meet both spiritual and practical needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rev.Rev. Clinton Miller served as the pastor of Brown Memorial Baptist Church for 25 years.Photo by Andy Campbell<\/p>\n

Beyond the pulpit, Rev. Miller served on boards including the Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCAs and acted as chaplain for the New York Liberty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeffries reflected on the personal losses as well as the public ones.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI was blessed to stand alongside Rev. Miller through many righteous struggles on behalf of our community and had the high honor of receiving his support during the entirety of my public service journey,\u201d he said. \u201cThrough it all, I have relied on his wise counsel, insight and spiritual guidance, for which I am tremendously grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tributes also poured in from Brooklyn faith leaders. On Facebook<\/a>, Rev. Dr. A Louise Bonaparte of Temple of the Good Shepherd Ministries Worldwide wrote, \u201cOur Brooklyn faith community mourns Rev. Clinton Miller, spiritual pillar of Brown Memorial Baptist Church. Pray for his family and church. May we continue his legacy of love, justice, and faith.\u201d Bonaparte recalled a \u201cdeep, personal bond\u201d marked by conversations, prayers and mutual respect.<\/p>\n

\"LetitiaState Attorney General Letitia James expressed her condolences on Facebook, writing that her heart was with My heart is with \u201chis family, loved ones and congregation.\u201dPhoto by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

New York State Attorney General Letitia James wrote on Facebook<\/a> that Rev. Miller \u201cdedicated his life to serving his community in Brooklyn, and his loss will be felt across our city. My heart is with his family, loved ones, and congregation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeffries added that \u201cRev. Clinton Miller will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege to know him. May he forever rest in Power.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rev. Clinton Miller, pastor of Brown Memorial Baptist Church, passed away on this week. Photo by Andy Campbell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4987,46438,98,100,99,46439,46440,4308,46441,4008,9,24,370,63,32072,46442],"class_list":["post-101789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-bedford-stuyvesant","tag-black-church-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-faith-leaders","tag-brown-memorial-baptist-church","tag-clinton-hill","tag-community-leaders","tag-hakeem-jeffries","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-racial-justice","tag-rev-clinton-miller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}