Highland Park Presbyterian Church has announced the election of the Rev. Thomas Daniel as the church\u2019s next senior pastor.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
Daniel succeeds the church\u2019s former senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan, who died suddenly at age 44 in October 2023. Dunagan had led the church for nine years and left behind his wife, Ali, and three young children.<\/p>\n
Daniel joins Highland Park Presbyterian from Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin, where he has served as senior pastor and head of staff since 2014, according to a news release from his new church. He has served in ministry for over 25 years and has degrees from Davidson College and Columbia Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n
He plans to start at the church in November. Daniel was not available for an interview Monday. A spokesperson for the church said Daniel will share more with the church at an upcoming town hall on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain and again, we felt the Lord at work guiding us to Thomas,\u201d Charles Davis, co-moderator of the church\u2019s Pastor Nominating Committee, said in the release. \u201cI am confident that his dynamic preaching, his compassionate discipleship and his heart for missions will be a blessing to our congregation and to the city of Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s wife, the Rev. Beth Daniel, is an ordained Presbyterian pastor who serves with the national leadership development organization The Ministry Collaborative. The couple have two daughters, Miriam and Hannah, who are both studying at Baylor University, according to the release.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a profound honor to be called as Senior Pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian Church,\u201d Daniel said in the release. \u201cBeth and I are deeply grateful for the clarity with which God has led us here, and we are excited to join this vibrant congregation in its mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Dallas and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
![\"Bryan](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/4RRYWK7MM5FBRID3VATOHAEYPY.jpg?auth=6ac635252b7e2c6178542941f183980616b96c756f9dd2f7947653e367111c0a&quality=80&height=127&width=190&smart=true\")
Dunagan\u2019s unexpected death in 2023 was ruled an accident by the medical examiner\u2019s office and shocked his congregation. He died after ingesting alcohol and \u201ctwo commonly prescribed medicines, in their regular therapeutic amounts,\u201d according to an anesthesiologist who is an elder at the church. The Dallas Morning News obtained an autopsy report that confirmed he had prescription medications and alcohol in his system when he died.<\/p>\n
In a January 2024 email to its congregation giving more information about Dunagan\u2019s passing, the church also shared a letter from Dunagan\u2019s widow, Ali.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all been warned about the possible side effects and interactions of medications. Unfortunately, Bryan is in the small statistic of folks for whom these interactions were fatal,\u201d Ali Dunagan wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last few weeks, I\u2019ve had to walk through another trauma as I\u2019m again tempted to ask God, \u2018Why?\u2019\u201d she wrote. \u201cHowever, I return to the One who walks with us through the uncertainty. God was with Bryan during his tragic passing, and He is with us as we grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
![\"Friends](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/WAHHV4J6RJCHLLKCG7XUFYZSME.jpg?auth=6399e69c5d495b085357647c424d94f86d44ed26cef19f17f1a89b26606a16d0&quality=80&height=127&width=190&smart=true\")
<\/p>\n
At an October 2024 memorial for Bryan Dunagan, Ali Dunagan again said she\u2019d found hope amid grief in her faith, along with her church community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look out in this room and I just see faces of people that have stood in the gap, who\u2019ve held up my arms when I\u2019ve wanted to lower them in despair,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSimply accepting the tremendous loss has taken much of this year because of how sudden and unexpected it was,\u201d she also said in written remarks prepared for the memorial. \u201cAnd just as true as the hurt, the pain and the despair, I have felt inexplicable comfort, hope and a deeper understanding of God\u2019s love.\u201d<\/p>\n
The election of the Rev. Thomas Daniel as the new senior pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian Church marks a new chapter for the church. With his experience and qualifications, the church is looking forward to his leadership and guidance. The church will continue to heal and move forward after the sudden passing of their previous senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan.<\/p>\n
Q: Who is the new senior pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian Church?<\/p>\n
A: The new senior pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian Church is the Rev. Thomas Daniel.<\/p>\n
Q: What happened to the previous senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan?<\/p>\n
A: Bryan Dunagan died suddenly in October 2023 due to an accidental overdose of prescription medications and alcohol.<\/p>\n
Q: When will the new senior pastor start at the church?<\/p>\n
A: The new senior pastor, the Rev. Thomas Daniel, plans to start at the church in November.<\/p>\n
Q: How has the church community been coping with the loss of their previous senior pastor?<\/p>\n
A: The church community has been finding hope and comfort in their faith and in each other as they grieve the loss of their previous senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction of New Senior Pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church Highland Park Presbyterian Church has announced the election of the Rev. Thomas Daniel as the church\u2019s next senior pastor. Related Daniel succeeds the church\u2019s former senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan, who died suddenly at age 44 in October 2023. Dunagan had led the church for nine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/PUO7DVOCKZHT7ENAFYP5UJ2X7I.jpg?auth=b5b44a107e9f708e94d652c834d542b1c89aabed37c1a9b619f886622b6568c2&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12886,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12883\/revisions\/12886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}