Special Guest

Reverend Gloria Roach Thomas is an Ordained Clergy in the United Methodist Annual Conference of Minnesota. For the past nine years Reverend Thomas has served as Senior Pastor of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Prior to this appointment, she served as Associate Pastor at Brooklyn United Methodist Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Before entering the ordained ministry, Reverend Thomas worked in the areas of education and non-profit health and human services for 23 years. In addition to her pastorate, Reverend Thomas teaches in the Mortuary Science Program in the School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. She teaches “Death and Dying Across Cultures and Religions” to students in the fields of mortuary science, public health, psychology and family social science. In addition, Reverend Thomas provides culturally-sensitive individual and family pastoral care and counseling and leads support groups in the areas of grief process and grief management with a particular emphasis on suicide and other traumatic death.

Reverend Thomas is active in various organizations in the Twin Cities community. She holds B. S. and M. S. Degrees in Education from Winthrop University in South Carolina and a Master of Divinity Degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. A native of South Carolina, Reverend Thomas has resided in Minnesota for 35 years. She was married to the late Leroy Thomas for 32 years.