Union Congregational United Church of Christ in Churchville welcomes Diane Ellis as the church’s Interim Pastor. Her first service at UCC took place on January 3.
To meet Diane, stop by during her church office hours on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. For those that cannot come during office hours, call the church at 293-1665 to schedule an appointment, or join any Sunday for worship service at 10 a.m.
While serving in the Peace Corps with a Lutheran AIDS organization in Namibia, Africa, Pastor Diane understood God calling her, saying “…God uses all of us and we have a responsibility to step up when He calls us.”
When she returned to the US, she began her seminary training at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. She graduated in 2014 with a Master of Divinity degree and received authorization for ordination in the United Church of Christ.
Diane is a licensed UCC minister and has completed Interim Ministry Training and a hospice chaplaincy internship since graduation. She has provided pulpit supply over the last four years to 17 different churches, mostly UCC.
She served a year of supervised ministry at Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Parish in Rochester and is an active member of Community Christian Church, a dually affiliated church with Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ.
Diane has a BA in cultural anthropology and journalism from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has worked as a newspaper journalist, psychotherapist and grant writer and moved to Rochester from Seattle in 2006.
Pastor Diane seeks opportunities to learn about the faith of others, like journeying to Israel with students, clergy and seminary professors to learn more about the Palestinians and Israelis. She has one daughter and three grandchildren.
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