Rooted and Reaching on Richard Street
Southminster Presbyterian Church sits on nearly six acres at 200 Richard Street on the south side of Waukesha, Wisconsin, a few blocks east of the Fox River and not far from Carroll University, Wisconsin's pioneer college. The congregation's own phrase for its life together is "rooted and reaching" in faith, service, and community, and that saying shows up on its materials and in its daily practice. People drive in from Waukesha and the surrounding towns, and Carroll University students often find their way over through the campus shuttle, the chaplain's office, or a direct word from the church.
Southminster is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), part of the Presbytery of Milwaukee, which sits inside the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. The church describes itself as "A School of Love and Service in Christ Jesus" and gathers each Sunday morning at 10 a.m. for a service of Morning Prayer and Holy Communion that is open to everyone. Children of all ages are welcome in worship, a playroom is available for the youngest, and coffee and treats follow the service in a room that quickly becomes the social heart of the morning.
Sunday Mornings at 10
The Sunday gathering is the center of life at Southminster. The service is built around Morning Prayer and the celebration of Holy Communion. In keeping with Presbyterian practice, all who come to the table are welcomed, including those who doubt and those who have not yet been baptized. The congregation quotes directly from the PC(USA) Constitution: "The opportunity to eat and drink with Christ is not a right bestowed upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who come in faith, repentance, and love."
The Rev. Dr. Christian D. Boyd, who has served as pastor since 2012, normally presides. Elder Paula Foley Tillen directs the music ministry, and the church makes "a joyful noise" through a blend of styles shaped for a congregation that spans generations. Two elders are commissioned by the Presbytery to preside at the Lord's Table when the pastor is absent: Kay Esposito and Edee Rolli.
The service is livestreamed on YouTube every Sunday at 10 a.m. Central Time. Recordings are posted to a YouTube playlist and released as a full podcast through Podbean, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Audible, iHeart Radio, Player FM, and Podchaser. A weekly email newsletter carries the order of worship, announcements, and a calendar of the week ahead.
Open Table, Open Doors
Southminster talks about membership in un-Presbyterian-by-stereotype terms. The church writes that it "welcomes ALL people into the fellowship of Jesus Christ" and that membership "is built on the principle of using worship music and worship styles every Sunday that show equal respect for spiritual preferences of all generations." Members come from childhood through the senior years, and the bulletin board in the narthex lists, by family, which deacon is assigned to keep in touch with whom during the year.
Becoming a member follows the PC(USA) pattern. People enter through profession of faith, reaffirmation of faith, or transfer of certificate from another Christian church. Baptism, celebrated as part of Sunday worship for both children and adults, is the visible sign of entrance. Membership applications are available online, and the pastor welcomes questions from anyone discerning the next step.
First-time visitors can expect a friendly, low-key environment. There is a playroom for little ones if they need a quieter space, and the post-service coffee hour is treated as part of the worship, not an afterthought. Deacons set out the treats, make introductions, and help newcomers find their footing.
Six Acres on the South Side
The Southminster campus is unusually large for a mid-sized congregation. The grounds include an oak savanna, the Richard Street Community Gardens, an outdoor chapel, and a memorial garden. Members and neighbors are invited to walk, pray, and meditate on the property; dogs are welcome on a leash. The outdoor chapel hosts occasional outdoor services and is available to rent for weddings, small ceremonies, and other special occasions.
The campus building is also a center for the wider community. Southminster rents space to civic groups, homeschoolers, theater groups, a genealogy society, music groups, recovery meetings, and adult education programs. The church has a particular partnership with Carroll University, a PC(USA)-affiliated institution; many Southminster members are Carroll staff, faculty, or alumni, and the church provides meeting space for student organizations. A Facility Use Application is available online for groups that want to reserve space.
A Garden That Feeds the Neighborhood
The Richard Street Community Gardens have been part of the Southminster story since 2006. Anyone can rent a 10-by-20-foot plot for $20 a year and grow fresh produce for their own table. Church members prepare the plots each spring and supply tools and water. The gardens are open year-round for tours.
Alongside the rental plots, Southminster tends a Food for the Journey garden, part of a network of Presbyterian congregations in the area that grow and distribute food for those in need. Volunteers plant, water, weed, and harvest throughout the growing season. A 2025 segment from TMJ4 News featured the gardens and Pastor Boyd's description of the space as "not just a garden" but "a park, a place where people reconnect - with the ground, nature, and each other." Food grown here goes into the church's outreach ministries and into the wider Waukesha food system.
Fresh eggs are also part of the picture. Members bring empty egg cartons to Southminster, and the church delivers them to the Waukesha Food Pantry. The Blessing Box, stocked with healthy snacks for school-age children - peanut and almond bags, granola bars, juice boxes, fruit squeezers, trail mix - sits on the property and is replenished as donations come in.
Hands and Feet in Waukesha and Beyond
Outreach is one of Southminster's two main mandates alongside worship. The congregation's volunteer board keeps a steady calendar of opportunities that anyone, member or not, can join.
On the second Saturday of each month, Southminster volunteers prepare and serve a meal at the Hope Center in downtown Waukesha. Two shifts run back to back, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for meal preparation and 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for serving and cleanup. No RSVP is required; volunteers can pick one shift or both.
During the school year, church members serve as reading partners with students at Heyer Elementary. Each Halloween the church sets up a treat station for neighborhood trick-or-treaters. The congregation also collects items for Reservation Outreach and supports Pine Ridge Indian Reservation through Maggie's House, building Bed-in-a-Box kits and contributing to the ministry there. Monthly meals are prepared for the Hope Center, and ongoing drives collect nonperishable food, egg cartons, and seasonal supplies.
On the global side, Southminster is currently sponsoring Mercer Phlegar, a 2025 Carroll University graduate, as a Young Adult Volunteer in Chinook, Montana, through the PC(USA) YAV program. Mercer, who studied Elementary and Special Education and played varsity lacrosse at Carroll, is serving for a year in community-based ministries that address poverty, injustice, and social inequality. Designated gifts for her ministry can be made through the PC(USA) giving channels.
Caring for One Another
Pastoral care at Southminster is organized through the Board of Deacons. Each deacon is assigned a "parish" of members to keep in touch with throughout the year, and a list posted on the front bulletin board lets people know who their deacon is. Deacons provide meals, rides, home visits, and Communion for those who cannot make it to worship. They send cards to graduates, college students, those in military service, and anyone going through a season of grief or declining health. They help with receptions after funerals and coordinate the Christmas Clearing Council family adoption each holiday season.
In addition, several smaller groups give shape to the church's care for one another. A Caregivers Support Group gathers for occasional lunches and mutual encouragement. A Grief Support Group meets for those who have lost a loved one, recently or further back. The Email Prayer Tree circulates joys and concerns to a private group of pray-ers. The Mini Food Pantry lets anyone take what they need or drop off what they can. Most Sundays the Passing of the Peace stretches out long enough that people actually have time to greet one another across the pews.
Worship, Weddings, and Farewells
Rites of passage at Southminster follow the PC(USA) Directory for Worship. Baptisms, weddings, and funerals are all celebrated, with forms and information sheets available online through the church's Dropbox.
Baptism is described as "a visible sign of God's love" and is celebrated as part of Sunday worship for both children and adults. Weddings can take place in the sanctuary or in the outdoor chapel, and the church invites both members and non-members to consider a Christian ceremony at Southminster. Pre-marital counseling is offered through the pastor, and the Session of Elders must approve all weddings held on campus. Funerals and memorial services are understood as worship of the living God, with Scripture, prayer, preaching, and the gathering of family and friends. The pastor conducts services both on campus and off.
What Presbyterians Believe Here
Southminster's own statement of purpose says the congregation "cares for all, and uses its diverse gifts to grow in faith and community through education, worship, music, and faithfully serves God and our neighbors throughout the world." The core values the church lists are rooted in Scripture and the Reformed tradition: honoring tradition while remaining open to innovation; exploring many ways to a well-balanced spiritual life; the continual Christian formation of all ages through intergenerational mission; a community where all are welcomed, accepted, respected, heard, and valued; worship in varied forms, styles, places, times, and music; and, above all, the grace and love of Jesus Christ that frees the congregation to serve the world.
The church prints the Brief Statement of Faith (1983) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in full. The statement runs through the Trinity, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the covenant God made with Abraham and Sarah and renews in Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the world, and the hope of God's new heaven and new earth. Communion, the Lord's Supper, is treated as central: the table is open to all who come, and baptism is the other sacrament celebrated.
Governance follows the Presbyterian pattern of shared leadership. The Session, made up of the pastor and elected elders, governs the congregation. Elders currently serving include Marty Anderson (Clerk of Session), Marcelo Barros, Kay Esposito, Mike Lawrence, Edee Rolli, and Jim Ziegler. Deacons - Andrea Heinzelman, Samantha Heinzelman, Debbie Huber, Catherine Kearn, Clair Kohlman, Meghan Koos, Beth Kurz, Jan Leech, Jody Leinss, Alice Lundstrom, Dale Morgan, Besi Navti, and Nancy Pfaffle - lead ministries of compassion and service. Jeff Hein serves as Treasurer, and John-Paul "JP" Kastner as Church Administrator and Chaplain for Community Life. Josie Acosta-St. Peter serves as Sexton.
Southminster belongs to a wider network of Presbyterian and Reformed bodies. The congregation is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, the Moravian Church (North and South Provinces), and member churches of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It also holds Covenant Partnership with member churches of Churches Uniting in Christ and a deepening ecumenical agreement with The Episcopal Church.
A Walking History from 1964
Southminster traces its roots to the post-World War II growth on Waukesha's south side. Members of First Presbyterian Church saw the need for a new congregation and formed a steering committee in 1964. The first worship service was held later that year. In 1965 the church was officially chartered with the ordination and installation of its first elders. Under its founding pastor, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Nelson, the congregation grew quickly, with volunteers building worship services, Sunday School, and a choir almost from the start. A new church building went up in 1966 to accommodate the growing membership.
Dr. Nelson served until his retirement in 1991. A season of interim pastors - the Rev. Bob Anderson, the Rev. Bob Buzza, the Rev. Anne Fisher, the Rev. Beth Neel, the Rev. Mary Steege, LMFT, and the Rev. Joe Ripley - held the congregation together as it searched for its next settled pastor. The Rev. Dana Lindsley was installed in 1993 and served until 1997. The Rev. Tom Launius led the church from 2000 to 2008, with the Rev. Bill Zieche serving as Associate Pastor from 2001 to 2006. The Rev. Dr. Christian D. Boyd was installed in 2012 and continues to serve.
By its fiftieth anniversary in 2015, Southminster had built a robust set of programs serving a diverse congregation with a strong focus on local and global mission. The community gardens took root in 2006, and the partnerships with Carroll University, the Hope Center, Heyer Elementary, Food for the Journey, and the Pine Ridge ministry have all become part of the rhythm of the year. Today the congregation's reach stretches from its oak savanna and outdoor chapel to the lunch tables it sets at the Hope Center, the school rooms at Heyer Elementary, the gardens that feed the neighborhood, and a young adult serving in Montana. Being a school of love and service in Christ Jesus is, here, a working description of an ordinary week.