Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
401 Grizzly Peak Blvd
Berkeley, CA 94708
Church Leaders
Pastor Clare McElaney (she/they)
Email: pastor@sothb.org
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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!
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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.
Gretchen Kell, Music Director (she/her)
​​Joanie Rothstein (she/her)
​Email: council@sothb.org
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Joanie has been a member of Shepherd of the Hills for 11 years, drawn to its strong focus on community and justice. She works as a health policy researcher at UC San Francisco and enjoys spending her free time with her husband, two high school-aged sons, and their wonderful dog, Churro.
John Dooley (he/him) (and Sadie)
Email: council@sothb.org
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Johh is 79 years old, a father of two sons, grandfather of five gorgeous young women, a retired engineer, and Navy veteran. He likes to read, cook, garden and walk with his faithful dog, Sadie. John identifies as a questioner and is serving in his first year on council.
Felicia Layser Robertson (she/her)
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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). 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. Felicia serves as Treasurer at Shepherd of the Hills.