The Reverend Roger Elmer Dallwig, 86, of Southgate, Michigan, died February 18, 2025. A devoted minister, he served in both the Congregational and Cumberland Presbyterian traditions and was a retired minister of the North Central Presbytery. North Central Presbytery honored him at their spring meeting in 2022.
Rev. Dallwig accepted Christ as his Savior while a student at the University of Chicago. Feeling called to pastoral ministry, he pursued theological education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, earning a Master of Divinity in 1964 and a Master of Theology in 1972.
Ordained as a Congregational Minister in 1972, Rev. Dallwig pastored several Congregational churches in Illinois and Michigan. Through his friendship with Rev. Terence McCain, he felt led to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. On April 6, 1990, Rev. Dallwig and Rev. John Weaver-Hudson presented themselves to North Central Presbytery with their credentials and letters from the Southeastern Michigan Association of Congregational Christian Churches. The were examined by the presbyterial Committee on the Ministry consisting of Reverends Roger Reid, Curt Singleton, Ron Gross, Jeremias Aros, and Karl Schwarz and, after a presbyterial vote, were accepted into North Central Presbytery on April 7, 1990.
He accepted a call to Grace Cumberland Presbyterian Church (North Central Presbytery) in Lincoln Park, Michigan, where he served from 1990 to 2003. Following this, he ministered for two years at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Warren, Michigan, and Faith Cumberland Presbyterian Church in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, in a yoked ministry in North Central Presbytery. Shortly after his departure, First Church closed. In 2006, he returned to Grace Cumberland Presbyterian Church, retiring in 2010 after a total of seventeen years with the congregation. Even in retirement, he remained active, filling the pulpit for several churches in the presbytery, including two years of preaching every other Sunday at New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Yale, Illinois.
Rev. Dallwig was elected Moderator of the North Central Presbytery in 2006. Beyond the church, he was deeply involved in community service, serving as president of the Rockwood Rotary Club, member of the Advisory Committee for the Southgate Youth Assistance Program, and moderator of multiple religious associations.
Over his 50-year career, Rev. Dallwig pastored six churches across two traditions. In addition to his pastoral work, he dedicated seventeen years as the owner and director of His & Her Place Counseling Center in Lincoln Park, Michigan.
Known for his thoughtful and engaging Bible studies, Rev. Dallwig left a lasting impact on those he ministered to. His dedication to both spiritual and community service will be fondly remembered.
