A Resilient Faith

A native of Ohio, John Thomas graduated from Denison University and Crozer Theological Seminary. He also received a M.A. in psychology in 1933 and, later, a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was ordained in 1931 and served churches in New Jersey before becoming secretary of the Cities Division of the ABHMS in 1936. In this role, by then called Director of the Department of Cities, he became the lynchpin for coordinating ministries to Japanese migrants and Japanese Americans during World War II. In addition to the work of coordinating responses from the ABHMS and WABHMS and their missionaries, Thomas also served on the board of the Japanese American Student Relocation Council which had been organized by the American Friends Service Committee. Because of this experience, Thomas insisted that the peace denominations (Friends, Mennonites and Church of the Brethren) should be included in plans and work for resettling Japanese Americans despite not being part of the various councils and interdenominational Protestant mission agencies. With those peace church bodies, Thomas helped organize the Religious Council on War Relocation and served on its Executive Committee. This Council’s goal was to aid in resettlement for all those incarcerated regardless of religious belief. That his work was driven by a deep concern for individuals and his unwavering sense of justice is evident in the extensive correspondence he carried on with both students and missionaries.