Virginia Ericson, Senior Pastor
Pastor Virginia Ericson was born on February 15, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois.  She attended Carl Schurz High School.  Pastor Ericson holds a B.A. in Sociology from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary.

Pastor Ericson is married to George Ericson.  They have three children and five grandchildren.

Pastor Ericson was first called to Christ Church, United Church of Christ, as Associate Pastor in January of 1990. She was ordained and installed at Christ Church by the Chicago Metropolitan Association of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ on July 21, 1991. On January 28, 1996, the members of Christ Church elected her to her current position as Senior Pastor. She was installed as Senior Pastor on March 24, 1996.

Virginia enjoys music, movies and reading, when not involved in Church activities.

Joseph Liang, Associate Pastor
Pastor Joseph Liang was born on November 30, 1963, in Shanghai, China.   Joseph was baptized into the Roman Catholic church at 23 after being introduced to Christianity by the Jesuits. He earned a degree as a chemical engineer in China.  He moved to Chicago in 1989 and pursued further studies at the University of Chicago and Notre Dame.

Pastor Liang graduated from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1993. He served as Assistant to the Pastor at Christ Church of Chicago. Joseph was called to Christ Church of Des Plaines and ordained as Associate Pastor in 1997.

 Joseph enjoys reading, cooking and yoga. Pastor Liang  taught a course in Chinese culture at DePaul University. He became a United States citizen in 2000.  His family continues to reside in Shanghai.

Diane Gnatek, Director of Music
Diane Gnatek is Director of  Music at Christ Church.  She directs the chancel choir and the children's choir.  Diane plays both piano and organ.

Diane grew up in Chicago, Illinois.  She studied piano with Rudolph and Felix Ganz at the Chicago Music College, which is now a part of Roosevelt University. She worked as accompanist for the Harmonaires, a Des Plaines ladies choral group, for 12 years under the direction of Julie Sutton.  She was a member of the six-piano ensemble at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines.  She performed throughout the United States and in Vienna, Austria for state, national and international music educators' conventions.  She acts as accompanist for middle and high school musicians at district and state competitions.

Diane resides in Des Plaines, Illinois.  She has four grown children and six grandchildren.