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Mike's Anniversary Blessing

Welcome! I’m Michael Patrick Ellard. This website contains posts and information about my work as a pastor, preacher, and spiritual leader.

I have strong ties to two denominations.  I was ordained by the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) in 2003.  In 2015, I became an authorized minister with the United Church of Christ.

I hold two graduate degrees: a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion (PSR) and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages granted jointly by PSR and the Graduate Theological Union (GTU).

I love talking with people who come from different theological traditions than I do and who have different understandings of God and God’s will than I do. While in seminary, I intentionally took courses from a broad range of the GTU’s partner seminaries and institutes, including:

  • The Pacific School of Religion
  • The Graduate Theological Union
  • The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
  • The Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
  • The San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian)
  • The American Baptist Seminary of the West
  • The Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley
  • The Church Divinity School of the Pacific (Episcopalian)
  • The Franciscan School of Theology
  • The Center for the Arts and Religion

Outside of the local church, I have served in a variety of religious leadership roles, including:

  • President of the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County
  • District Treasurer for the Northwest District of MCC
  • Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Santa Clara Association of the Northern California / Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ
  • Member of the Advisory Board for California Faith for Equality
  • Member of the Coordinating Committee of Marriage Equality Silicon Valley
  • Camp chaplain for Camp Tamarack’s Junior Camp

Here are some pages where you can learn more about where my ministry has taken me:

  • Roles has information about my ministry employment
  • Music has links to some of my music projects
  • Venues has information about places I’ve preached, led workshops, or participated in public prayer
  • Itinerary has information about places that I participated in worship from April 2010 through January of 2015.
  • Sermons has a few of my sermons
  • Writings has short essays on a variety of topics

Itinerant Preacher