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By Jeff Krueger, Springfield Advance-Press Pastor Dennis Brech has been serving as the interim pastor for Zion Lutheran Church in Springfield and Trinity Lutheran Church, Willow Lake Township. This September, he celebrated a milestone—fifty years in the ministry. That calls for some celebration!
Pastor Brech grew up in Mt. Vernon, South Dakota. He attended grade school at Hopper Consolidated School near Plankinton and then Mt. Vernon High School until transferring to Concordia Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota for his junior and senior years. He continued his education at Concordia College in St. Paul and graduated with a B.S. degree in elementary education with a major in math and science. From there, he attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois.
From an early age, he had thoughts about going into the ministry. “I made mention of being a pastor when I was in the sixth grade. I made the “mistake” of mentioning that I wanted to be a pastor because they only work one hour a week and get paid so much that everyone complains about it,” he commented. “Fifty years and I still haven’t found that job that only has one hour of work a week expected of him,” he added with a smile.
Pastor Brech has served congregations in New Britain, Connecticut for one year; Corona, South Dakota for four years; Exeter, California for twelve years; Boulder, Colorado for thirteen years; and Wabasso-Sanborn, Minnesota for ten years before retiring in July, 2012. In retirement, he has covered for a number of congregations in the area. He did a stint in Slayton, MN at the Trinity Lutheran Church while they were between pastors.
As a pastor, he enjoys meeting new people in new areas across the country. There are challenges, too. “It is difficult to present the true God in Jesus Christ when people are so busy making up their own gods and not interested in finding peace in forgiveness won for them free of charge by Jesus on the cross,” he commented. The biggest challenge of moving to different congregations across the country was getting to know what is important to the people where they live.
Pastor Brech and his wife, Janice, have set up their retirement home on Lake Shetek. They are the parents of three sons: Randy, who resides in Greeley, Colorado; Dale, who lives in Tucson, Arizona; and Alex, who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Aside from ministry, Pastor enjoys car mechanics, playing guitar and piano, woodworking and generally “fixing” things.
“We live on Lake Shetek but I haven’t done much fishing. I was told that is the way it would be if I live on a lake—found out you have to drive to the lake to fish,” he concluded.
