Thomas E. McGrath is a native of New Castle, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Westminster College (Pa.). He attended Dubuque Theological Seminary and graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1973. He earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1996, with a focus on gender oppression in Old Testament texts.

Dr. McGrath served Presbyterian churches in Leesburg, Pennsylvania, Ashland, Ohio, and Winter Haven, Florida. He is an Honorably Retired member of the Presbytery of San Francisco, where he has served on the Committee on Ministry. He attends the Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church, where he is an ad hoc member of the congregation’s Pneumatrix Team. In his spare time, Tom is an amateur gardener, an amateur carpenter, and avid putterer.

Dr. McGrath and his wife Denise reside in Brentwood, California. She is a retired middle school math teacher. Their daughter Mari lives in Oakland and is a Senior Product and Promotion Manager for Ghirardelli Chocolate.