On a corner of SW Denney Road in Beaverton, across the street from the Islamic Center of Portland, Southminster Presbyterian Church has spent decades quietly building one of Oregon's more progressive and outwardly engaged Presbyterian communities. The congregation's tagline, "A Progressive & Welcoming Community," captures a church whose identity is shaped as much by its neighborhood partnerships and social justice commitments as by its Sunday worship.
Southminster gathers for hybrid worship every Sunday at 10 AM, with congregants joining in person in the sanctuary and on Zoom. The service features thought-provoking sermons, music led by the chancel choir and handbells, and a Children’s Time before younger worshippers head to Sunday School. Each Sunday includes a downloadable worship guide, and recent sermons are posted with both video and written transcripts, with many weeks available on YouTube. A weekly newsletter, sent every Thursday, carries announcements, prayer requests, and upcoming events.
A Living, Progressive Theology
Southminster describes its theology as a "living theology, changing as we change, growing as we grow." The church affirms one God, eternal and universal, and reads Jesus' saying "feed my sheep" as a charge to actively promote healing and justice. The congregation embraces inclusive language, the full participation of women in the life of the church, a woman's right to choose, and growth toward stewardship of the heart. Rather than a literal reading of scripture, Southminster treats the biblical stories as "truth stories" that raise questions and teach about God and self.
Southminster has been affiliated with More Light Presbyterians since 1995, an organization that supports the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The congregation is also a member of Welcoming Congregations of Portland. This openness is woven into every corner of the church's life, from its adult education curriculum to its outreach partnerships.
Music at the Heart of Worship
Music is one of Southminster's long-standing strengths. The chancel choir, led by director Gabi Marcus, sings a blend of traditional and contemporary music each Sunday and presents special concerts on Music Sundays, occasionally accompanied by orchestra or guest musicians. The choir rehearses in person on Wednesday evenings and is open to all interested adults and high school singers; reading music is not required. A handbell choir shares the same leadership and tradition.
Pianist Isaac Hoffman accompanies services and the choirs. Technical Director Moses Ram oversees audio, video, livestream production, and digital media, ensuring that hybrid worship is reliable both inside the sanctuary and on YouTube.
Children, Youth, and Family Life
Children are woven into the Sunday service rather than separated from it. After Children's Time in worship, kids head to Sunday School, gather for a Children's Sing Along, and rejoin their families before the service concludes. The Coordinator of Nursery/Preschool, Audrey Morrow, oversees the youngest members, and the church supports a Family Life Director position focused on building intergenerational connection.
Southminster's youth ministry engages members in service and learning, including feeding people at Blanchet House in Portland and taking part in summer mission trips. A summer M.A.D. (Music, Art, and Drama) Camp has been a long-running favorite for children ages 6 to 10, blending creative arts with community building. The annual Advent Fair brings the whole family together for crafts, ornaments, and seasonal celebration.
Adult Education and Book Groups
Education for adults at Southminster is unusually rich. Sunday Starters meet at 9 AM before worship, and the Adult Education Committee has built several ongoing series. Southminster Reads invites the whole congregation to read a single book and discuss it together; the current selection is "The Book of Forgiving" by Desmond and Mpho Tutu, with copies available in the church library.
Two regular book groups meet on Zoom. First Tuesday Book Group gathers on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM, focusing on social justice and progressive theology. Page Turners meets on the second Monday at 7 PM in a hybrid format. Recent Adult Ed seminars have explored Christian mysticism (the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Merton), the religious history of abortion, the role of scripture in American politics, and a three-part Bible study on Genesis. A Church Library in Room 7 carries titles on Bible, theology, and current issues for borrowing.
Church Activism teams keep the learning connected to action. Six teams focus on Gun Violence Prevention, Climate and Environmental Justice, Women's Health Justice, Immigration Justice, Mental Health and Criminal Justice, and Homelessness and Hunger.
Mission, Housing, and Food Justice
Southminster's Mission and Social Justice committee coordinates a wide network of local partnerships. The church has supported Family Promise of Greater Washington County since the early years of the host week program, providing monetary donations, meals, and grocery gift cards during hosting weeks to families working to leave homelessness behind.
Other housing and food partnerships include:
- Aloha United Methodist Church Safe Rest Village, which opened a pod village for unhoused individuals on Aloha UMC's property in early 2024. Southminster helps direct funds to this ministry.
- Rebuilding Together, a national organization that helps low-income senior, disabled, and veteran homeowners stay in their homes. Each April, a Southminster team paints and renovates a home on National Rebuilding Day.
- Home Plate Youth Services, which reaches unhoused youth in Beaverton with a safe place, warm food, showers, and support.
- Southminster's Community Garden, created in partnership with Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District (THPRD). Several families grow their own vegetables, and some donate produce to area food pantries.
- Local food pantries at Highland Middle School, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and the Care to Share network. A food barrel in the Petersen Gallery collects non-perishables, with dried beans, rice, and peanut butter most needed.
- Beaverton Resource Center, which connects Beaverton residents to emergency food, shelter, utilities, and ESL classes. A dedicated Southminster fund supports its work.
The Mission committee meets virtually on the first Thursday of each month at 11:30 AM on Zoom, and the congregation contributes significant budget dollars each year to the causes it prioritizes.
Refugee, Racial, and LGBTQ+ Justice
Southminster is an affiliated congregation of the United States Refugee Resettlement Program, and members periodically organize drives to supply settling refugee families with household items. The church works with the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ), which accompanies asylum seekers and newly arrived immigrants in Oregon, and supports More Light Presbyterians in advancing LGBTQIA+ participation in the PCUSA. During Advent each year, members also provide gifts for foster children in Washington County through the Scotty Foundation.
On the international side, the church provides significant financial support to World Central Kitchen for its work feeding people in global crises.
Interfaith Neighbors Across Denney Road
Southminster has long practiced interfaith friendship. The congregation has partnered with the Bilal Mosque in Aloha since 2000 and has hosted Ramadan iftars with the Islamic Center of Portland, which sits across SW Denney Street. Through Westside Interfaith Neighbors (WIN), a multi-faith organization that meets every couple of months for potlucks and joint service, members have painted homes on National Rebuilding Day, volunteered at the Oregon Food Bank, and collected books for community groups.
Environmental Stewardship
Southminster has been certified as an Earth Care Congregation and was recently recertified, joining a small group of six Earth Care Congregations in Oregon. Practical steps have included switching to energy-efficient lighting, drinking coffee from reusable cups, trimming paper use in newsletters and worship bulletins, and promoting alternative transportation on Sundays. The congregation also offers Advent devotional resources from Presbyterians for Earth Care, drawing on creation-care perspectives in the lectionary texts.
Women's Retreat and Community Groups
Each May, Southminster's Women's Retreat draws women of all ages, identities, and abilities to the Tilikum Retreat Center near Newberg, about an hour from Beaverton. The 90-acre grounds include woods, lake, and fields, and the weekend typically features a planned program, an open-mic "Saturday Night Live," optional group activities, canoes on Tilikum Lake, the legendary Big Swing on the challenge course, and plenty of coffee, tea, and treats. The retreat is intentionally inclusive of cis, trans, femme, and gender-nonconforming women, with full and partial scholarships readily available.
Weekday groups include Super Wednesdays, an inclusive drop-in conversation and coffee gathering at 11 AM, and Wine on Wednesdays (formerly Water2Wine), a weekly virtual social that has grown out of the church's popular monthly wine tasting.
Annual Traditions: Art Show, Rummage Sale, and Giving
Each first weekend of March, Southminster hosts the Celebration of Creativity, a juried fine art exhibit and sale now in its forty-seventh year. The show, juried from regional and emerging artists, has become one of the premier art shows in the Portland area. Proceeds support scholarships for Beaverton high school visual artists and the Beaverton School District Art Literacy Program, which the Art Show Committee has backed with volunteers and donations for sixteen years.
The annual Rummage Sale raises funds for Southminster ministries, and Southminster participates in the four PCUSA special offerings each year: One Great Hour of Sharing, Pentecost Offering, Peace & Global Witness Offering, and Christmas Joy Offering. Members are encouraged to make a $50 per-capita gift to support the administrative work of the presbytery, synod, and General Assembly. Online giving, online pledging, IRA-qualified charitable distributions, and a Fred Meyer Rewards link (code CS179) round out the giving options. The Southminster Foundation, founded in 1979, is a separate 501(c)(3) that grants funds to local nonprofits working in housing, food, health care, and community development.
A Building Available to the Community
Southminster's building sits on the corner of Hall Blvd and Denney Road, right off Highway 217 and on Trimet bus line 76, and the congregation opens much of it for community use. The Sanctuary seats 225 with tiered risers, a podium, comfortable chairs, and audio, video, projector, and livestream capability. The Petersen Gallery (capacity 85) offers plush furniture and a view of the meditation garden, with an adjoining kitchen for catering. Music Hall (35) works well for educational and musical events, and the Conference Room (12), large classrooms (35), and a well-equipped commercial kitchen support meetings and gatherings of nearly any size. Clergy, audio-visual technicians, and musicians are available to hire for weddings, funerals, and other events, with church members receiving a 50-percent rental fee discount.
Leadership in a Season of Transition
Southminster is currently served by Rev. Kris Voss-Rothmeier as transitional pastor. A 25-year Portland resident, Kris has served one other church as an interim and three others as an installed pastor; he also spent 18 years teaching middle school in East County before returning to parish ministry. He and his wife Susan have been married for 33 years and have two adult children.
Around Pastor Kris, the staff team includes Audrey Morrow (Coordinator of Nursery/Preschool), Gabi Marcus (Chancel Choir Director and Handbell Choir Director), Isaac Hoffman (Piano Accompanist), Moses Ram (Technical Director), and Rayin Brown (Office Coordinator). The church is also hiring a Pianist and a Family Life Director, with postings shared through the Cascades Presbytery. Southminster is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cascades Presbytery, which connects the congregation to regional resources and other PCUSA churches across Oregon and Washington.
How to Connect
Worship is at the heart of Southminster. Sundays begin at 10 AM, with the service available in person and on Zoom. A worship guide is posted in advance, and recorded services stay on the church's YouTube channel for later viewing. The weekly Thursday newsletter carries the latest news, prayer requests, and a link to submit prayer intentions. Newcomers can follow along with Southminster Reads, drop into a First Tuesday book discussion, or simply attend a Wednesday coffee hour and introduce themselves. For those who want to serve, the Mission committee's activism teams and partner organizations welcome new volunteers year-round.