Princeton graduate joins First Presbyterian Hobbs
RICH TROUT
NEWS-SUN
It wasn’t an easy ride for First Presbyterian Church of Hobbs.
It was more like a stalled roller coaster.
After First Presbyterian’s previous pastor retired, the church did what all Presbyterians do – they formed a search committee.
“The first thing we do is form a committee to fill out forms and figure out what we’re looking for,” said Paula Seeker, a retired teacher and member of the church’s Pastoral Nominating Committee.
For two years, First Presbyterian received almost no responses to its job query through a new computer database the national Presbyterian Church established to match pastors with the ministers’ preferred locations.
“We had just about given up hope when we heard from Breeann (Dean) and we were absolutely thrilled to hear from her,” Seeker said.
About three people had been interested in First Presbyterian of Hobbs, but everyone the Nominating Committee contacted wanted to live in a bigger city or live closer to the East Coast.
The Pastoral Nominating Committee conducted a Zoom meeting with Breeann Dean after her graduation from Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.
Breeann arrived in Hobbs in September.
“She had to preach in a neutral setting (on Oct. 21),” Paula said. “Afterwards, she said she very much wanted to come to Hobbs. We would text daily, she just felt like one of us, she felt like a part of our family, then we decided.”
In a two-for-one blessing, the Hobbs church received an extra laborer in the form of her husband Zach Dean, also a graduate of Princeton University.
Not only do Zach’s mother and grandparents live in Lubbock, but Zach knows West Texas like the tumbleweeds stuck in a fence.
“It seemed to be a God thing,” said Paula, smiling. “Breeann is so solid, only 25 years old, but she has maturity and grace and intelligence. She is kind, she listens, she has great ideas. I think if we had to pick out of thousands of candidates, we’d pick her.”
The church is grateful for Zach as well.
“I can’t tell you how happy we are, and we love Zach, he’s just as cool as Breeann is,” Paula said. “We have great hopes of them making Hobbs their long-term home. They’re talking about family, and they have family close by; it all feels very comfortable to everyone.”
Pastor’s daughter
Breeann grew up as a pastor’s kid in Tucson, Ariz., where she has two sisters who remained.
“I have four sisters, two older, a twin, and a little sister,” Breeann said.
The developing pastor said she was always attuned to her twin’s emotions growing up. Because most schools wouldn’t put twins in the same classroom, Breeann and her twin never had class together.
“I went to a public school but attended church and wanted to attend a Christian college to balance things out,” Breeann said.
That Christian college turned out to be Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif.
After COVID hit, Breeann took classes online from California, did some church internships, and attended a nondenominational church. For her Chaplain internship, Breeann worked in a hospital, mostly helping women struggling with eating disorders.
Breeann received a Master of Divinity, then served in a 1-year full-time residency.
On the side, she served as a chaplain for six months, helping patients with mental health and substance abuse issues, including the exploration of spirituality. Breeann also worked in palliative care, assisting many people transitioning to hospice.
“It was really hard but really fulfilling,” said Breeann, who worked with about 300 patients.
“I walked with them while they died,” she said. “It’s meaningful to walk with someone at the end of their life. However, part of me wanted to cultivate a community that lasted beyond these short periods.”
Breeann and Zach met at Princeton University, where neither she nor Zach had family.
After graduation, with her parents in Arizona and Zach’s parents in Lubbock, Breeann submitted an application to First Presbyterian Church of Hobbs.
“In my first conversation with church members, it was like we’d known each other forever,” Breeann said. “To survive and thrive without a pastor for two years is unusual.”
Nurtured in Joyland
Zach grew up in Lubbock, his parents the owners of Joyland Amusement Park.
“I grew up at an amusement park,” Zach joked in his Southwest persona.
Zach’s grandfather is a Southern Baptist preacher who ministered around the Lubbock area.
“My first work experience was at Joyland, and I had to be 16 to operate machinery,” Zach said.
His responsibilities included cash handling, Dip-n-Dots and the arcade. His mother, Kristi, handled all of Joyland’s finances.
At First Presbyterian, Zach’s role is joyful too.
Zach said he gets to support the church and his wife in the space of a pastor’s husband, “in behind-the-scenes sorts of ways, what’s going on in the church and things we want to do, including ideas parishioners are kind enough to share with us.”
It’s a huge responsibility to be a solo pastor without a partner by your side, Breeann said.
“You have to be mindful of what you say in the pulpit,” she said. “I can say, ‘This is what I want to say’ and Zach can provide feedback. I trust that he’s going to give me a fair assessment.”
The Bible comes alive for her in conversation, Breeann noted, helping her to revise the sermon.
Zach started seminary in 2021, a year after Breeann did.
“We had a class together, but we were only friends,” he said. “The following fall we got really connected, including having similar social groups. We also had a life-giving conversation; it was pretty soon after that we started dating.”
Breeann’s plan
Her first step at First Presbyterian is getting to know the congregation.
“I want to know who’s here now and what’s most important to them,” Breeann said. “I want to be mindful of how these people want to do church. We are also reassessing our resources and how people want to get involved including partnerships.”
On the organization side, First Presbyterian needs to update its website, “so people can look us up and hear about us,” Breeann said. “My parents’ church had a great youth program, so my hope is to develop more of a kids and youth ministry.”
First Presbyterian holds 9:15 a.m. Sunday school and 10:30 a.m. Sunday service.
Breeann and Zach have been doing a monthlong series titled “Reading the Bible Critically and Creatively,” held at 5:15 p.m.
“The curriculum is Bible study and fellowship,” Breeann said. “We feel like God called us here. Both my parents worked in large businesses, and we both grew up in church traditions.”
In a large churches, Breeann said people can lose a sense of who they are.
“We want to experience their joy and grief and everything in between,” she said.
Always seeking God
The long grind to finally be united with a pastor is blooming daily.
“She is just a breath of fresh air — for our church and for our community,” Seeker said. “It seemed that God was asking us to wait; we had to be patient, and the patience paid off.”
For two years, First Presbyterian kept saying, ‘Why can’t we find anyone?’ And we think it’s because God had a plan for us to have Breeann and we just had to wait until she was ready to come here.
“She is so enthusiastic, she has brand-new ideas, she’s very knowledgeable about religion, she’s a people person, she’s not just playing to like everyone, you know she genuinely cares about people.”
As a young woman, Breeann has become like family to Seeker.
“So maybe, in a way, I’ve taken her in as another daughter, and she’s precious,” Seeker said.
What’s more, she said Zach grew up in Lubbock with a job where everyone was very positive — similar to a church.
“If you grow up in a family like that, working in Joyland, they’re usually happy,” Seeker said
