Hi, I’m Mike Ellard. I’m glad you’ve come to read a little bit about me.
I started my professional career as a software developer for a management and technology consulting firm. The pay was good, I enjoyed the work, and I had strong friendships with my colleagues. But there was always a feeling that I was waiting for something, that I still hadn’t figured out what I was really supposed to be doing.
Then I felt the call to ministry. As I described it to some friends, I ran away and joined the circus! I quit my job and began my studies at the Pacific School of Religion, an interdenominational seminary in Berkeley. PSR was a great experience for me. I love talking to people about their faith and their religious traditions, and PSR and its partner schools in the Graduate Theological Union brought me into contact with a seemingly endless supply of people from different backgrounds and perspectives.
At PSR and the GTU, I got both a Master of Divinity (a professional degree for pastors) and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages (an academic degree for people wanting a deeper understanding of the sacred texts). When it comes to the Bible, I still consider myself a student. I feel like every time I preach or lead one of our Holy Conversations sessions, I learn something new about scripture and the way that it connects to our modern world.
In addition to ministry, my two other passions are music and teaching.
I love to sing. Sometimes during service, I will stop and create a worship song based a word given to me by the congregation. I am also a long-time member of the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band. During the pandemic, I created more than thirty virtual choir music mash-up videos with myself and other performers. In doing so I deepened my own skills and appreciation for the power of making music in a group.
I also love to teach. I started out by teaching for the University of California at Santa Cruz and then went on to teach internal courses at SAP and Apple Inc.
What do I hope people will experience when they come to Valley Ministries? I hope that people will feel the joy of being in a community that respects them and loves them as children of God. I hope that people will develop new friendships in the church, even as their relationship with God deepens and grows. I hope that people will gain confidence in their abilities and develop new skills and interests as they discover who God has created them to be.
Come join us so that we can share this journey together!