Scott Dalgarno, Senior Pastor
Scott was raised in Sacramento and the Bay Area of California. He is a graduate of Whitworth College and has an M.A. in Literature and Film Studies from the University of Oregon. He is first and last a proud Duck.
After college, he taught Italian Renaissance literature in Rome and was a part-time instructor of Comparative Religions and Film Studies at Southern Oregon University. He is a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary and has been the preaching pastor (in the following order) at Grace Presbyterian (Portland), First Presbyterian (Ashland), Westminster Presbyterian (Eugene), Westminster Presbyterian (Portland), and Wasatch Presbyterian (Salt Lake City). He has never pastored a church he didn’t love.
Scott taught various classes in Preaching, Desert Spirituality, Jewish-Christian Relations, The Historical Jesus, and Poetry & the Bible at Cascades Summer Conference. He has also twice been dean of Cascades Presbytery’s “Dad & Me” camp for kids ages 5 to 7.
He has demonstrated his commitment to justice and equality over many years of ministry. He was a charter member of Cascades Peacemaking Committee. In the 1990s he spoke in many evangelical Presbyterian churches in Cascades in favor of gay ordination. A commissioner to the 1996 PCUSA General Assembly in Albuquerque, he spoke in favor of gay marriage. In response to the burning of a copy of the Islamic Qur’an by a Florida Baptist sect, Scott challenged the Session of his church in Utah to buy 90 copies of the Qur’an and give them away with a bookmark in each one saying, “This book was donated by the leaders of Wasatch Presbyterian Church who are not afraid of truth wherever it can be found.”
Don Ludwig, Associate Pastor for Family Life
Don joined the staff at Southminster in May 2006. Currently, he oversees Family Life, Youth, and Children’s ministries. Recently however, he served as the Interim Pastor from December 2019 through May 2021, leading the church through unprecedented times. Under Don’s leadership and guidance, Southminster has becme a Matthew 25 congregation. Don also serves on the Committee on Representation for the Presbytery of the Cascades which seeks to mobilize equitable and inclusive practices in churches statewide.
He attended Princeton Theological Seminary and Rutgers University where we obtained both the MDiv and MSW degree in four years. For Don, ministry and social work are one and the same. In his words, “We are called to ministries of equity and justice that create a Beloved Community wherever we find ourselves”. He has worked many years as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) in the Philadelphia and Portland metro areas, mostly serving at-risk youth and families in various capacities. He attended Portland State University and earned his Ph.D. in Social Research in 2009. Currently, Don is a tenured Professor of Sociology & Criminal Justice at Clark College in Vancouver, WA, where he also serves as both the Sociology Department Chair and Behavioral Sciences Division Chair.
Over the years at Southminster Don has built an intentional intergenerational ministry for adults, youth, and children and strengthened our church’s connection to families, mission, and each other. Don has led mission trips for youth and adults to Cuba (twice), Alaska (twice), New Mexico, San Francisco, Wapato, Washington (twice), and Spokane (seven times). For Don, “God exists in the community and is revealed as we work toward social justice in all ways and all things.”
Dan Anajovich, Director of Handbell Choir
Dan started playing bells in 2010 after a hiatus from any musical performance since high school. He was drawn to the bells as a place where the whole really is more than the sum of the parts. Dan started in a non-audition church choir and moved to audition and then a community ensemble (Pacific Ringers) within a few years. Dan is a self-taught conductor, although he has been very lucky to be mentored by his current director at Pacific Ringers.
Dan feels that his job as a director is to enable the group to bring their offering to the congregation. All the bells together form 1 instrument, which means it takes everyone connecting to everyone else to create a moving experience. The pursuit of that experience is what keeps him going.
Steven Schaefer, Choir Director
Steven, a native of Flagstaff, Arizona, is a recent Portland resident and 
a graduate from Northern Arizona University. He earned his Masters of Music degree in Choral Conducting in Spring 2020 and his bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance in 2013. After completing his BA degree, he taught music and Spanish to grades 1-8 at the Montessori Schools of Flagstaff. For the following three years, he worked as a choral director at BASIS Flagstaff, where he conducted five choirs and grew the music program from 90 to more than 200 singers. He has served as conductor of the NAU Chamber Choir, the NAU Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell Ensemble, and the Artistic Director of the Flagstaff Youth Chorale. Steven also served as the Director of Music for the First Congregational church of Flagstaff for eight years and was the Principal Organist for the Peace Lutheran Church. Currently, Steven teaches middle school choir at the Oregon Episcopal School and sings in the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland.
Dr. Kenneth Willson, Pianist
Kenneth Willson was born in the beautiful “Big Sky” state of Montana. He earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from George Fox University, the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Portland, and the Doctor of Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado.
His passion is the piano! He studied piano with Lou Anna Braughton, Istvan Nadas, Robert Hallquist, and Errol Haun. Dr. Kenn is Faculty Emeritus in Music from George Fox University.
Kenn has played the piano since he was 6 when he taught himself to read music. Formal piano education began at the age of 10. Kenn conceived and implemented an “Encounters with…” Series at the turn of the century! He was asked to teach the general music history course at George Fox University and as he worked within that capacity, he thought, “Why not combine the “real” composer’s thoughts and emotions with their music”? “Why must all the composer information be so dry?” ” Let’s discuss the rock and roll–a-bility of Beethoven!!” The result is endless fun and a concert series which is slightly off the beaten path each time it is presented.
Kenn was named a Bösendorfer Educational Artist by the Viennese Piano Manufacturing Company in October 2005. Along with this honor, he was invited to come to Vienna and present a recital in Bösendorfer Hall on May 1, 2006 as part of Bösendorfer’s “Happy Birthday Mozart” celebrations. He was named as “Distinguished Artist” by Bosendorfer in the spring of 2020. He continues to work within his passions of performing and teaching!
Judith Foster, Children’s Life Coordinator
Judith grew up in West Virginia which still claims a part of her soul. She came to Oregon as a single mother with a three month old son in 1972 to attend Pacific University. With God’s helping hand and through the generosity of Lyndon Johnson, the loving hand of the First Christian Church in Forest Grove she graduated from Pacific with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
Following college, Judith taught art and special education. She created and managed the Staff Development Department at Good Shepherd Lutheran Home in Blooming, Oregon. After eight years she was employed as the administrator of the facility for two years. Following that, Judith worked for the State of Oregon as a Medicaid Case Manager for Adult and Family Services and Seniors and People With Disabilities. In retirement she cared for her partner of 26 years until his death in 2014. She served as a volunteer for Care Partners Hospice, and as a teaching assistant for after school art classes for children
Before coming to Southminster in 2002, She was an active member of the First Christian Church and the Quaker Meeting. She has served several terms as a Deacon at Southminster as well as working with the Women’s Retreat Planning Committee.
Judith enjoys gardening, connecting with her five granddaughters, and long meandering conversations with her son Robert. While she does not claim professional status, she loves to paint and write.
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