AUBURN – The West Auburn Congregational Church was the setting for the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the ordination of the Rev. John Ellis, minister of the church.

Ellis received his bachelor’s degree in Christian education from Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. He then attended Andover Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, where he earned his master’s degree. He was ordained on Oct. 25, 1970, at the Swedish Congregational Church in Holden, Mass., the church in which he was raised.

Ellis began his ministry in Maine by serving as part of a three-ministry team at the South Portland Congregational Church. Six years later, he moved to the Second Congregational Church in Norway where he was to minister to that congregation for 21 years. In 1997, he answered a call to become the minister of the West Auburn Congregational Church.

June Spear read a history of Ellis’s career, which had been prepared by his wife, Karen. Following that, Arthur Lawrence presented him with a flat screen monitor for his computer and a monetary gift from his church family and other friends. Refreshments were served after the church service.