From Alaska-
The Rev. Virginia C. Thomas, one of the first women to be ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in America, died April 30, 2011, at the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vt. She was 93.
After raising four children and traveling the world extensively with her husband, the late R. David Thomas Jr., she enrolled in the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. She graduated in 1978 with a Masters of Arts in religion and was ordained shortly thereafter. Following her ordination she organized the Dolphin Program in the Philadelphia area. Modeled on the close-knit behavior of these sea mammals, Dolphins are volunteers who call upon lonely people in nursing homes and become their one-to-one companions. The program spread nationwide during the next 10 years before Rev. Thomas retired from it in 1988. The Thomases then moved to Vermont, building a home in rural Franklin County adjacent to their daughter Betsy and her growing family. Rev. Thomas was deacon of the local parish, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Enosburg Falls. Until a month before her death, she regularly preached sermons that were known for their good humor, sound theology and insightful observations of family and the world around her.
Read more:
http://www.adn.com/2011/05/10/1856014/first-woman-episcopal-deacon-dies.html#ixzz1M2UwkDgQ
No comments:
Post a Comment