Church Leaders

Pastor Clare McElaney (she/they)

Pastor Clare (she/they) is in her first call as pastor at Shepherd of the Hills. Originally from the east coast, Clare moved out to California in 2017 to attend seminary at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union. Clare interned at University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley during the pandemic and worked in pastoral children’s, young adult, and campus ministries before receiving the call to be pastor here in March 2023!

Pr. Clare also works part-time as a hospital Pediatric Chaplain in Oakland and San Francisco. Pr. Clare’s ministry training is in Evangelism and Justice. Other formative ministry experiences have been with the San Francisco Night Ministry and the ELCA's Young Adult ministries. They identify as queer and are a member of Proclaim, a ministry within Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, which is a professional community for Lutheran ministers and candidates who identify as LGBTQIA+. In their free time, you can find Pr. Clare spending time with their friends, maybe reading, tending to her potted plants, adventuring around the bay, or expanding her vinyl collection.

Felicia Layser Robertson (she/her)

A lifetime member at Shepherd of the Hills, Felicia grew up in the Berkeley Hills and was baptized and attended nursery school here (and may have snuck some sugar cubes off the fellowship table during worship back then). Finishing up her term as council president, Felicia also enjoys coordinating events and coffee hour as much as sitting down on the downstairs patio before and after worship and breathing in the fresh air.

Gretchen Kell, Music Director (she/her)

Administrative Assistant

Church phone: (510) 524-8281

Email: office@sothb.org