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Staff

Southminster Presbyterian Church is blessed with a staff of faithful and gifted individuals.

Reverend Dr.Charles (Chuck) Mize

Reverend Dr.Charles (Chuck) Mize

Interim Pastor

Email: chuck@spcah.org

Chuck grew up in Wood River Illinois where his father worked as an electrician for the Amoco Oil Company refinery and his family belonged to the First Presbyterian Church.  His parents’ dream was that he would become an electrical engineer, but God got in the way when he met the United Church of Christ pastor and his family in town.  That family became Chuck’s second family and, through them, Chuck felt called to ministry.

Chuck attended Elmhurst College (B.A) and Eden Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min.).  He was ordained in 1980 by the Presbytery of Elijah Parish Lovejoy in his home church. He has served six congregations in five calls. His first call was to Community Presbyterian Church in Rosamond (not Rosemont!) and St. Paul’s UCC in Ohlman, a yoked ministry in downstate Illinois.  See if you can find them on the map! He recently retired as Senior Pastor of Glenview Community Church, in Glenview.  Now he feels blessed by the opportunity to minister with Southminster Presbyterian Church as the Interim Senior Pastor, and to come home to his Presbyterian roots!  Chuck says, “Ministry is a life of serving God by learning, teaching, sharing and doing the love of Jesus in the church, the body of Christ in the world.”

Chuck met his wife, Jeanie Bond, at Elmhurst College.  They celebrated their 40th anniversary in May.  Jeanie is a retired educator who loves to knit and spend time in the garden.  Together they enjoy adventures of all varieties and especially love Germany.  They have one adult son, Joseph, who lives in southeast Missouri.

Diane Ahlquist

Diane Ahlquist

Administrative Assistant

Email: diane@spcah.org

Diane joined the Southminster staff in May 2006. For many people, Diane represents the first friendly face they encounter at Southminster. She handles a number of diverse tasks and helps the day-to-day operations of the church run smoothly. Diane came to Southminster after a career as a buyer at Sears, from which she took early retirement. She is married to Wayne and has two adult sons and seven grandchildren.

Daniel Erickson

Daniel Erickson

Media Technical Support

Daniel has been a member of Southminster since 2006. His talent was recognized early on, as he has been our unofficial “tech guy” since 2007. He recently received a certificate in Advanced Web Development from Oakton Community College and was hired in November 2018 as Southminster’s Media Technical Support. Daniel lives in Des Plaines, where in his free time is spent watching movies, playing video games, swimming, and go-karting.

Tricia Ondracek

Tricia Ondracek

Director of Parents' Day Out (PDO) / Sunny Days

Email: tricia@spcah.org

Tricia attended the University of Florida and Florida Atlantic University where she studied Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. Before coming to Southminster in 1998, Tricia worked in many capacities as a preschool teacher and Assistant Director in the Arlington Heights area. Tricia became director of the Wee Care and Share/Parents’ Day Out program in 2001. She also teaches the 4-5-year-old class. Tricia is married with three daughters.

Jill Schiltz

Jill Schiltz

Children's Ministry Director

Email: jill@spcah.org

Jill loves children! She has an education degree in English/Theater with a music minor from a Southwestern College in Kansas where her father was an athletic director for over 20 years. After college, she toured the country as an actress and musician. She settled in Chicago in 1999 where she worked for local theater companies while working full time at Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago as their administrative assistant to children and family ministries. Jill served their pre-school, daycare, and Sunday school programs and directed several children’s musicals. Jill now lives in Mount Prospect with her husband and two young daughters. She is excited to share God’s love with the children of Southminster.

Kari Sealund

Kari Sealund

Youth Ministry Director and Communications Coordinator

Email: kari@spcah.org

Kari is a certified Spiritual Director, completed during a two year program from Stillpoint at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. For over 15 years she taught students of all ages guitar and ukulele as well as being a substitute teacher for art and music in District 25. A lifelong member of Southminster, Kari grew up in the congregation, attending Sunday school as a child and then working with the Children’s Ministry team for many years, and chaperoned several Youth Mission and Boundary Water Trips when her children were growing up in the church. Kari is thrilled to share faith lessons and her love of Christ with our youth and children, exploring new paths for our youngest members to understand how God works in our lives every day. As Communications Coordinator Kari uses her BFA Degree in Art and Photography and her eye for design to keep Southminster connected via the website, social media, worship media, email Eblasts, and by publishing Southminster’s seasonal Oasis Journal. 

Eunice Son

Eunice Son

Organist and Co-Director of Music

Email: eunice@spcah.org

Eunice holds both a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in Organ Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University. She also obtained a Certificate of Music in Organ Performance from Northwestern University. In addition to her musical education, she pursued studies in Church Music and Liturgy at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where she served as an organ scholar. Before joining Southminster Presbyterian Church, she served as the Pianist for the contemporary worship service at Chicago Joyful Community Church in Glenview. Prior to that, she spent 14 years as the Organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Barrington Hills, IL. With a heart filled with prayer and a deep love for music, she hopes that her diverse experiences in both contemporary and traditional worship would allow her to create a unique and engaging worship experience that touches the hearts of the congregation. She lives in Northbrook with her husband and three children.

Sue Thomson

Sue Thomson

Co-Director of Music, Livestream and Creative Arts

Email: sue@spcah.org

Sue enjoys bringing the arts into our worship experiences. She also leads our wonderful contemporary worship band, Central Road! Most recently, Sue has brought video and live streaming to our church. Over the years, she has been involved in almost every aspect of church leadership, as both a lay leader, and as a staff member.  Sue extends an open invitation to instrumentalists, vocalists, creatives, artists, and to those who would like to work with cameras, sound and video! Sue also runs an open, interactive art group once a month, here at the church!

Addison Youngblood

Addison Youngblood

Director of Southminster's Unity Choir

Email: addison@spcah.org

Addison Youngblood is a conductor, music educator, and performer throughout the Midwest. In addition to serving as Choir Director at Southminster, he teaches choir, orchestra, and AP Music Theory and chairs the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy in Chicago, serves as Music Director of Kantorei in Rockford, Illinois, and plays trombone throughout the region.  

While completing his graduate studies, Addison served as the Assistant Conductor of the University of Illinois Varsity Mens Glee Club, Choir Director at Trinity Lutheran Church in Urbana, IL,  Adjunct Instructor of music at Rock Valley College and had the opportunity to sing with the Montreal Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Kent Nagano.  In addition to his formal studies, Addison has had the opportunity to participate in masterclasses with some of most prominent musicians in the choral field, including, Donald Nally and Joseph Flummerfelt.           

Addison holds a Bachelors in Music Education and Masters Degrees in both Choral Music and Trombone Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied conducting with Andrew Megill, Chester Alwes, and Andrea Soyla, and studied trombone with Elliot Chasanov and Jim Pugh.  

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