Rev. Jeffrey Dauses Comes to St. Andrew

Despite the bare walls and the constant hammering and buzzing of drills, new pastor Jeffrey Dauses is enjoying the serenity and the beauty of the Broadneck area.

Dauses was assigned to lead the parish after .

“I know the church members will miss Father Burnham,” said Dauses in one of his first days on the job. “But everyone here has been very welcoming, very ready to move forward and serve their community in new and exciting ways.”

The experienced Dauses comes to St. Andrew after a short time as interim pastor of a Frederick area church. Before that he had served in parishes in Timonium, Clarksville, Bel Air, Hunt Valley and Gambrills, including serving as rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.

Dauses comes to St. Andrew just as construction and major renovation of the church grounds begins. But this amiable, soft-spoken leader doesn’t mind the brief chaos as the church expands to better serve the needs of the community.

Dauses grew up with his parents and siblings in Baltimore, attending Catholic school, until one day, he recalls his class took a field trip to seminary in the Pittsburgh area. Once he set foot on the place, he knew where his destiny would take him.

Dauses received a bachelor’s degree from the Borromeo College of Ohio in 1985 and completed seminary at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore in 1989. 

Traditions of the church will continue, said Dauses, who will be assessing the current programs and outreach initiatives of the church to examine how his congregation can do even more to help their brothers and sisters in need, both in the local community and across the world.

He also plans to get to know the other religious leaders in the Broadneck area. “I have heard they work together on community efforts. I am eager to get to know everyone.”

In a recent note to his congregation, Dauses shared his thoughts on this new, and what he hopes is a long-term assignment.

“I am immensely grateful for the overwhelming warm welcome that I have received from all of you,” he wrote. “I am mindful of the difficulties and challenges of change, and especially when that change involves the loss of a pastor as beloved and esteemed as Fr. Martin. Yet despite the struggle and grief of bidding him farewell, I have nonetheless felt a wonderful sense of openness and welcome as I begin my ministry here at St. Andrew by the Bay. For that, I am most grateful.”