Our Church Staff
Pastor
Rev. Eric F. Mason, Ph.D.
Eric began his pastorate at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in September 2025, but he is not a newcomer to the congregation or to ministry. He, his wife Jackie, and their one-year-old daughter Anna moved to the Crystal Lake area in 2002 for what became his twenty-three-year tenure as professor of biblical studies at a local university, and they joined St. Paul’s in 2006. In recent years he began sensing God’s new direction toward pastoral ministry, and he is humbled and delighted to have been entrusted with this sacred responsibility by his home congregation.
Eric grew up in a Christian family in the small middle Tennessee town of Collinwood and was always active in their congregation. He entered college as a journalism major but sensed a call to vocational Christian ministry as a sophomore. He and Jackie married a few weeks after he completed his Master of Divinity degree, and a year later they headed north for his Ph.D. program in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity at the University of Notre Dame. He was ordained by an American Baptist Churches USA congregation in South Bend, Indiana, and now has Dual Standing status in the United Church of Christ.
Jackie and Eric met on a blind date arranged by his sister, and they celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary in 2024. She is a preschool and elementary school educator. Anna is a journalist on the west coast.
He is lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and enjoys live music of various styles, especially Americana and rock. He also loves to travel and to experience new cultures. Academic and ministry projects have taken him (and frequently Jackie and Anna) to international destinations ranging from Argentina to far eastern Siberia, but Italy has been most frequent. He has explored and photographed numerous biblical and ancient sites there as well as in Greece, Türkiye, and Israel and Palestine, and mosaics and other kinds of Christian art and architecture throughout Europe.
Eric is the author or editor of ten books and numerous articles, often but not exclusively on the New Testament letters of Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and Jude; the biblical figure of Melchizedek; and texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is president of Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious studies and theology, and past president of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research and the Midwest Region Society of Biblical Literature. He worked on new translations of Hebrews–Jude for the revised edition of the New American Bible (Catholic) that should appear in 2026 and was editor for eight years of the academic journal Biblical Research.
Church Office Manager
Sue Jordan
Before joining St. Paul’s, Sue worked for many years in a variety of administrative and accounting positions. She loves learning new things.
Sue lives in McHenry and has two sons and five grandchildren.
She loves camping, spending time with family and friends, and watching her granddaughters play their various sports.
In Sue’s role, she coordinates virtually all church communications and functions and ensures that services, events, and activities run smoothly.
Church Organist, Pianist, Bell Choir Director
Kristin Lundine-Scheets
Kristin joined the St. Paul’s musical staff in 2013 as our Bell Choir Director. Since then she has expanded her musical talents to become our church organist and pianist as well as worship vocalist.
Kristin holds a Bachelor degree in Musical Theory and Composition from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana as well as a k-12 Teaching Certification from Vandercook College of Music Education.
Prior to coming on board on our musical staff, Kristin worked as a church choir accompanist and has been teaching piano since the age of 13!
Another of her talents is playing the trombone and keyboards in the “pit” for area musicals. Her favorite way to praise God is by leading the congregation in singing Gospel-style hymns.
Her enthusiastic spirit and talents helps make the music of St. Paul’s come alive!
Brass Director
George Rook
George Rook coordinates our unique church musical group, the St. Paul’s Brass. George formed this brass quintet in 1982, and the group has been providing the golden sounds of brass to St. Paul’s ever since.
George has played trombone since grade school, where he was tutored by another of our long time church members, Gordon Triefenbach. It was under the teaching and instruction of Mr. Triefenbach, who directed instrumental groups of young musicians, that George Learned much of his musical ability in playing in small ensembles.
George obtained his advanced musical training at Western Illinois University where he was the Principle Trombonist for the WIU Wind Ensemble. George also has the distinction of performing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Over the years George has played with a number of Big Bands and the St. Paul’s Brass, also known as the Crystal Brass, and has performed in the area for other churches, weddings, and special occasions.
Praise Team Director
Linda Kranz
Linda Kranz has been a St. Paul’s member for over 60 years and been involved in the music programs since she was in grade school, when she sang in the youth choir.
She currently rings in the Bells of Praise handbell choir, leads the Praise Team when they participate in worship, and has served as the accompanist for the adult choir for nearly 35 years.
Linda has been involved in music her entire life, starting her piano lessons before she went to kindergarten. During grade school and high school she played oboe in the concert bands and saxophone in the jazz and marching bands.
While at the University of Illinois, she played oboe in the Symphonic Band and saxophone in the Marching lllini and University of Illinois basketball band.
Linda has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and an MBA from the University of Chicago.