When reflecting on her previous career, Mary Ann Dimand offers this observation: “Once an economist, always an economist.”

And in Dimand’s current line of work, a background as an economic analyst certainly has some advantages. Dimand, pastor at the United Church since last July, said her background helps with church management. But it’s also useful on a different level.

“Economics is about choices, and if you have a theology involving human free will — choice is really excruciatingly important,” Dimand said.

Dimand, her husband, Sheeyun, and son Thomas Chun Woo Park currently live in Arvada.

She’s in her second appointment as a pastor — her previous posting was in Wyoming — and will be ordained in June, a title change she likens to becoming a tenured university professor.

“After which I can run amok to some extent — but I actually probably won’t do anything any differently,” Dimand joked.

Born and raised in Carbondale, Ill., Dimand said she always thought that she’d be a minister when she grew up.

But in college she started to pursue a degree in English — that is, until a particularly dismal course swayed her to go into economics instead.

“Well, economics is a body of theory about how choices are made and what parameters people can take into consideration, what the consequences of choices are and how things fit together,” Dimand said. “… This just fits me, and it’s still just very useful.”

Dimand worked as an academic economist for 12 years. She specialized in international trade and finance, game theory, history of economic thought and feminist economics. She eventually transitioned into technical writing until the dot-com meltdown of 2000-01. It was then that she and her husband left Silicon Valley for the mountains of Colorado to escape the backlash in the tech sector.

It wasn’t long after that she again felt the “call” to join the ministry.

“I suddenly thought, ‘Wait, OK, if I do what you’re supposed to do and tell people I feel like I’m being called to ministry, they’ll say, “Oh that’s ridiculous,” and then it will go away’ — (but) here I am.”

Her only previous experience with Idaho Springs was when she’d drive by on I-70 to go skiing.

“ ‘Boy, that looks like a neat little town; I would like to spend some time there’ — so when I actually wandered around a little bit at first, ‘Yeah, this is even neater then I thought,’ “ she said.

And she’s become attached to the town and the county.

“… I’ve been struck by the variety (of) talent, especially musical and visual arts talent, the crankiness, and learning about mountain towns.”

Dimand said that as she gets to know Idaho Springs even better, she’s been amazed by the complexity of interaction in the local networking.

“I think that the reason so many interesting things happen here is because people are used to working together on a teamwork basis, not on a paid-for-service basis,” said Dimand, referring to nonprofit, volunteer-based organizations like Loaves and Fishes.

“… I think in fact Idaho Springs has come up with some really remarkable solutions for getting things done beyond what you would anticipate would be the ability of a couple of thousand people.”

Contact Ian Neligh at couranteditor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreekcourant.com for updates and breaking news.