After a lifetime of being—at best—a lukewarm Catholic, I heard God’s call in the days following the earthquake in Haiti, as my Haitian-American family and I tried desperately to reach loved ones. That season cracked something open in me. It transformed my faith and led me into the Episcopal Church, where I went from not fitting in at all to knowing, in my bones, that building God’s Kingdom is the only work I will ever do.
I’m missionally minded and community-rooted. I’ve taught in Mexico and the U.S., built libraries in Haiti and Jamaica, and helped create spaces for healing, learning, and joy across borders. I served as Director of Social Transformation Ministries at St. Andrew’s in McKinney, Texas, and launched the BlessMobile (a mobile food ministry). Along the way, I was honored to represent Presiding Bishop Michael Curry as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
During the pandemic, I pastored youth at Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas—helping them find hope, voice, and community in a time of collective grief. I also helped Bishop Joseph Wandera of the Diocese of Mumias, Kenya, write a grant for a rural, diocesan educational center. I went on to attend Virginia Theological Seminary and served at St. Gabriel ~ San Gabriel, a bilingual parish in Leesburg, Virginia, where I preached monthly (in English and Spanish), offered pastoral care, and led healing prayer.
I was ordained in 2024 and now serve as Priest in Charge at historic Trinity Episcopal Church in Marshall, Texas—the first female priest in the church’s 175-year history. In a small town with a complicated past, I’m trying to live out a big Gospel: one rooted in justice, tenderness, and truth-telling. I also serve as Chaplain at Trinity Episcopal School, where I get to do some of my favorite ministry—helping kids explore faith with their full imagination (including the time I had second graders lie on the floor and “come alive” like the valley of dry bones).
I’m a writer, preacher, activist, and the keeper of two very opinionated dogs: Joan of Bark (a standard poodle) and Gidget (a chihuahua who may or may not be leading a small revolution).
I’m also a mother of three adult children, trying to walk gently through life after divorce, a lover of books and beauty, and a hopeful believer in the slow, sacred work of repair.
Thanks for reading!
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Dana M. Jean
Speaking & Collaborating
I am always available for ministry collaborations and talks worldwide. If you want to chat about how we might partner in ministry, please be encouraged to reach out! Some of my favorite subjects are mission and ministry, race, gender, evangelism, practical theology, the intersection of faith and politics, and pastoral care. If you are interested in engaging me for a retreat or conference, let me know!
Contact me at revdanaj@gmail.com or 903.309.2213.
Invisible Leftovers 