Rev. Elizabeth Michael Ross

Parish Associate for Pastoral Care

The Reverend Elizabeth M. Michael Ross began serving Shadyside Presbyterian Church as Parish Associate for Pastoral Care in September 2022.

Elizabeth’s roots are in the red clay of the North Carolina foothills, where she grew up the oldest of four children in a small town called Conover. She received her formal education from Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, and from Princeton Theological Seminary. Since her ordination in 2008, she has served Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina; University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and, most recently, Community of Reconciliation Church in Pittsburgh.

Elizabeth’s life and faith have been shaped significantly by seasons spent with Presbyterian churches in South Africa and with the ecumenical Church of the Savior in Washington, DC. She feels herself most spiritually alive in spaces where people sing communally and work cooperatively for the common good. Elizabeth brings a deep hope in the gospel’s work in the world, a deep joy in the privilege of pastoral ministry, and a deep love for communities being shaped by the way of Jesus.

Elizabeth is married to Bob, who is a professor of social justice studies and community engagement at Point Park University. Together they parent their two-and-a-half-year-old son, who ensures that life stays full of dance parties, honest expressions of feelings, and plenty of wonder. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, cooking, and hiking.

To the saints at Shadyside, Elizabeth writes, “I cannot wait to know you. How grateful I am to be invited into this particular community, to be tasked with the parts of ministry that are my greatest joys, and to join you in the call to be bearers of God’s tenderness to one another.”