PLC STAFF
Pastor Ashley
Lead Pastor
952-234-4784
pastorashley@plcchurch.org
Pastor Ashley Updegraff thinks she has the best job in the whole world! As Lead Pastor at Prairie Lutheran Church, she gets to preach the grace-filled news of Jesus into this broken world and into our messy lives. She gets to walk with people no matter what life throws at them, invest in children and youth, serve the community with others, and empower families to raise healthy, resilient, faith-filled kids.
Life is complicated and there is a lot going on the world. Pastor Ashley gets that, and believes the church is a place where we
can bring all of who we are and what we’re going through and receive rest, grace, love, and welcome through God and through one another.
When not at work, you will find Pastor Ashley inside or outside. Inside, she’s probably reading books (so many books!), doing a puzzle, watching movies/TV, or attempting to be crafty. Outside, she’s probably walking, hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, or simply enjoying the sun and water. Either way, she is with her husband, Aaron, and their big blended family. She loves Diet Coke, chocolate, and iced coffee; she would love to enjoy any of them with you sometime!
Michelle Connell
Office Manager
952-234-4778
michelle@plcchurch.org
Michelle is our Office Manager. She's been at PLC since 2008. She has really enjoyed getting to know the members, volunteers and staff. She was formerly a dance teacher and owned her own dance studio before coming to PLC. While here she has taught dance classes at Prairie School of Dance for many of those years, now she is no longer teaching dance. She has two grown children, one grandson and two basset hounds. Michelle enjoys crafting, travelling and time with family and friends.
Chase D. Burkhart
Director of Worship Arts
worshiparts@plcchurch.org
Chase D. Burkhart joined the Prairie Lutheran Church staff in July of 2023. As Worship Music Director, Chase leads our rotating team of talented volunteer and paid musicians each week in rehearsal and during Sunday worship. Outside of his responsibilities to PLC, Chase directs the choirs at Twin Oaks Middle School in Prior Lake and performs for hire as a solo singer/guitarist throughout Southern Minnesota.
A product of the wonderful arts community in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Chase earned both his Bachelor's in Vocal Music Ed. (2011) and Master's in Music Ed. (2020) from NDSU in Fargo. As a music educator, Chase previously taught in the Minneapolis, Mankato, and Tri-City United (Le Center) public school districts. As a worship music director, Chase previously served the faith communities of North Presbyterian Church in North Saint Paul, Lynnhurst UCC in Minneapolis, and Zion UCC in Le Sueur.
As a musician, Chase has been hired for a variety of events over the years, most notably with Minneapolis-based professional choir the VocalEssence “Ensemble Singers” which included performances at the 2014 World Choral Symposium, Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, and backing up The Rolling Stones for their final encore song at TCF Bank Stadium in 2015. In addition to numerous wedding/funeral event contracts, Chase has composed/performed guitar music for original stage productions at the MN Fringe Festival (2016) and Open Eye Figure Theater (2021).
Jonathan Quigley
Technology Coordinator
tech@plcchurch.org
Jon Quigley is excited to be overseeing the technology at Prairie Lutheran. Coming from a very urban city, he went to small town Iowa for college under a theatre scholarship. Funnily enough, theatre is how he got into ministry, joining a theatre company at a church, which lead to volunteering on sound. He moved up to Minnesota in 2022 and now lives in Eden Prairie with his fiancé Kasey, his black lab/terrier dog: Moose and his grey tabby cat: Bug. In his free time he likes to play video games, tabletop games, actin/help with tech in community theatre shows, and use his editing skills to make fun videos and art for his friends and family!
Eli Somers
CYF Director
cyf@plcchurch.org
As Director of Children, Youth, and Families at Prairie Lutheran Church, Eli gets to be present for our young people, provide programming and education that meets them in their everyday life, and gets to design amazing events to engage with the families of our community.
Eli's biggest goal in ministry is to make sure our families know that faith is a journey of questions, a journey of finding a community of love, and a journey of being that love to the world.
Eli shares his life with his wonderful wife Melinda, his three young children, and a basset hound. They stay busy going to Saint Paul saint games, playgrounds, nature centers, and visiting family in Iowa, Texas, and California. Eli could not be more excited to be joining the PLC family and is so excited to get to know his new church family.