Date: October 30, 2026
I am always impressed by her senior sermons. It is wonderful to see fellow seminarians turning out to support their colleague as they step into the ambo as the preacher, a place from which Bishops Rowan Williams and Katherine Jefferts Schori, and the Reverend Otis Moss, have preached. As you step into the ambo, you follow in the steps of some great preachers.
When the international worship team put together their service, we had no idea that it would coincide with the Anglican Communion Science Commission. In fact, we thought that their schedule had not included the Eucharist at seminary. All of us were astonished when some 30 bishops from around the communion made their way to the chapel. One of those bishops, Bishop Jill Duff, the Bishop of Lancaster in England, sent a delightful email to me, expressing her gratitude for “the richness of the international Eucharist this morning” and that she was particularly “moved by the preaching of Thoma.”
There are moments when one really appreciates the time a person sets aside to express their gratitude for the work of another and the way in which that gratitude makes a difference to the team, and especially in this case to Thoma. The takeaway this morning that I want us all to remember is that taking a moment to thank somebody can make all the difference in the world. And yes it was a great sermon Thoma.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theologial Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary.