The Park Cities community grieves the sudden death of Pastor Bryan Dunagan. Members of Highland Park Presbyterian Church share kind words about who Dunagan was as a pastor, and as a person. “He was so humble, and his very calculated choice of words of encouragement and affirmation was never fake, it never felt fake, it never sounded fake,” Minister Charley Hellmuth said. Photo courtesy of Highland Park Presbyterian Church
By Libby Howell
In the journey of life, there are some whose presence leaves a remarkable impact on a community through eloquence and faith, and some who genuinely change the lives of the people around them.
Highland Park Presbyterian Pastor Bryan Dunagan was described as all of these things and more.
“He was known to be a very gracious and an incredible speaker,” Charley Hellmuth, minister of families, kids and students at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, said. “The way he presented our Christian faith was very winsome to really anyone that heard it.”
The loss of Dunagan's bright personality has led the community to grieve his unexpected death. The church is offering services and care teams in order to help the community and his family grieve in peace.
Hellmuth states that in addition to the remedials the church is offering to its attendees, remedials are also being offered to church staff.
“I think the other part that has been interesting in this whole process has been our congregation's response to us as a staff team, knowing that we worked with him day in and day out,” Hellmuth said. “It was almost like this reversal of grace and mercy being poured out, where that's what we're trying to offer and provide as a staff and a serial team to our congregation.”
This grace shown by the congregation allows Dunagan’s memory to live on. Dunagan was described as someone gracious enough to invite everyone into his church no matter if they believed in God or not.
“I have seen people who have been dechurched, they've been hurt by the church in some way, and they come back because of how winsome his communication was and how gracious his speech was,” Hellmuth said.
His gentle communication and eloquent speech shined through when teaching the congregation about the Bible on Sundays.
“He helped me through a time of transition in my life and guided me through troubling times by reminding me of the importance of Jesus."
“He talked about and communicated the gospel in ways that no one else could, which was really inspiring to me and a lot of people,” senior Caroline Whitlock said.
Along with his uplifting manner, Dunagan was also known for his youthful and bright energy.
“He was young and charismatic, and had such a good sense of humor which kept everyone engaged,” senior and HPPC member Ali Jackson said.
Hellmuth recalls many stories that showcase Dunagan's playful personality.
“Teslas have all kinds of apps and can make noises, so when I went to sit in his front seat, he hit the whoopie cushion app,” Hellmuth said. “I was like, ‘oh my Lord, am I with the children's minister or am I with the senior minister right now?’ He was always kind of jokey like that.”
Hellmuth also shared that Dunagan's words of encouragement allowed Hellmuth to grow as a minister and as a person.
“He pulled me aside one day and was so encouraging, affirming and caring toward me,” Hellmuth said. “[The conversation] actually gave me a really clear picture of what it meant to be biblically masculine.”
Dungan made a lasting impact on individual members of the church, but he also helped the church grow as a whole. As the senior pastor of the church, he worked with local government officials and other senior pastors in order to address mental health issues in the community.
“It's his heartbeat, and now it's ours.”
“Bryan would always solve issues in a very understated way that had a massive impact,” Hellmuth said.
Though this work was led by Dunagan, the church will continue to collaborate with government officials and other pastors to carry on his work.
“It's his heartbeat, and now it's ours,” Hellmuth said.
While Dunagan was working with other senior pastors to help solve this mental health crisis, Hellmuth states that Dunagan became close with the other pastors, which is unusual between community leaders.
“We had over ten different senior ministers present at the funeral. The ones that I interacted with were so sad,” Hellmuth said. “They lost their friend, and you just don't hear [about] that kind of camaraderie among other leaders in the community.”
The friendship that Dunagan had with other senior ministers was the kind of bond that Dunagan shared with many people in the community.
“Though I had only been to HP Presbyterian a couple of times with my mentor, [Dunagan] made worship so fun and was just pure with the way he taught,” Whitlock said.
The sudden loss of Dunagan’s life and personality has left the community upset and grieving. But Hellmuth believes that the church and its members can understand and cope with this grief by leaning on God.
“He's a good God and He's a loving God, and I have to trust that His plans are good,” Hellmuth said.