Connie Thomas

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune

The Rev. Connie Marie Thomas, a minister who used her zeal to help repair buildings and souls that Hurricane Katrina had battered, died Nov. 24 of pneumonia at Touro Infirmary. She was 51. "She had what I would call a pastor's heart," said the Rev. Ramonalynn Bethley, district superintendent for the New Orleans area in the United Methodist Church's Louisiana Conference. "To me, it is a faith that is lived out in actions toward others -- in listening to others, in caring for others and in serving their needs," she said. "Christ can come in a warm meal or a cold glass of water. "Pastor Thomas, a native New Orleanian who had led two churches in the city when the storm struck in August 2005, helped establish Luke's House, a free clinic at Mount Zion United Methodist Church. She was no stranger to storm-related losses. Katrina's winds peeled off the roof of her Uptown home. In another church-related duty, Pastor Thomas was in charge of about 30,000 volunteers who converged on New Orleans after the storm. That job, which she held for two years, included finding housing for these people, feeding them and deploying them.

That is what the newspaper said. This is what I want to say:

Connie Thomas was one of the first people that I met when I went to New Orleans in January of 2006. She visited Woods Chapel Church that next month. She preached to us and told us the story of need in new Orleans. Her words opened the hearts of many to go to New Orleans and work in the mission field there.

She welcomed our groups and was so kind and jovial. Her laughter and smile were contagious.

I had lunch or dinner with her every time I went to New Orleans. We talked about ministry and life. She invited me to say a few words to her congregation one year when I was there on a Sunday. She was one of God's foot soldiers. She was my friend.

Pneumonia. Age 51. Hard to figure. I will miss her. This is still our Father's world.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.