Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Life of Thomas H. Olbricht

Note: This prayer and introduction were offered at a dinner held in honor of Tom Olbricht at the 2021 Christian Scholars’ Conference.

Introduction
I was a member of Tom Olbricht’s last class at Abilene Christian University, almost the only woman in a large group of men, and the only Asian woman for certain. He treated me with respect as someone who had come to learn. And he was always proud to tell people that I was his student. That was a great honor. Let us pray.

Our dear Lord,

Along with the blessing of food, we thank you for the blessing of our teachers, who modeled for us what it meant to be people of faith, grace, and encouragement. In particular, we thank you for the life of Tom Olbricht, who shared with us his unceasing curiosity, his spirit of generosity and kindness, and his relentless pursuit to understand better himself, his heritage, his friendships, and your Holy Word. Many of us have been touched by his life, and we are better for that touch.

We thank you for Dorothy Olbricht, who shared life with Tom for many decades and continues to bless us.

And we thank you for all the men and women who teach us and young people around the world so that we may all be part of a better world tomorrow than the one we received yesterday. Grant us love for our neighbors, patience during tribulation, humility during success, and in all things a deeper sense of your love for all your creation.

We ask these favors in the name of Jesus Christ, our Master Teacher and Lord. Amen.