"Mississippi has lost one of its great leaders with the death of Duncan M. Gray Jr.," said the Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, Bishop of Mississippi.
The Rt. Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray Jr. was the VII Bishop of Mississippi, and died at his home in Jackson Friday morning. Bishop Gray served as bishop from 1974 through 1993.
The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, at 2 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Jackson. Burial will be in Canton, Mississippi. Visitation with the Gray family begins on Monday, July 17, from 5-7 p.m., and Tuesday, July 19, from 12 noon to 2 p.m.
A vigil with the body begins in the Cathedral chapel on Monday at 4 p.m. People are invited to volunteer for an hour of watching until service time on Tuesday. Please call the Cathedral office (601 354-1535) if you wish to sign up for the vigil.
“He [Bishop Gray] was a breath of fresh air at all times, especially during the turbulent moments in the civil rights era. The Episcopal Church is indebted to him for his courage, his leadership and vision,” said Seage.
Bishop Gray, born September 21, 1926, was ordained by his father, Bishop Duncan Montgomery Gray Sr., V Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi, in 1953. During Bishop Gray’s years of parish ministry, 1953-1974, he served at the following parishes: Calvary, Cleveland and Grace Church, Rosedale; St. Peter’s, Oxford; and St. Paul’s, Meridian.
It was while serving St. Paul’s that Gray was elected bishop coadjutor when a special council was reconvened at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Jackson on March 9, 1974. Gray was elected on the fifth ballot and his consecration took place on May 1, of that same year, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral with Presiding Bishop John Hines as the chief consecrator. Presiding Bishop-elect, John Maury Allin, still bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi, was a co-consecrator.
Bishop Gray Jr. believed a bishop’s role “is to be a pastor to the people within his diocese, both clerical and lay . . . all duties, from ordination to the most mundane of administrative details, need to be carried out in a pastoral manner; in a manner reflecting a creative concern for all persons affected or involved,” wrote Gray in a research and recommendation committee questionnaire in 1974.
“His life and ministry have been concurrent with Mississippi’s struggles to bring about reconciliation, equality and justice for all races. He was on the front line of many of those struggles accompanied by his wife, Ruthie,” said Bishop Seage.
Bishop Gray Jr. was also a strong supporter of women in the ordained ministry as well as making sure that laywomen were allowed to serve on vestries and diocesan committees.
Bishop Gray Jr. was predeceased by his beloved wife, Ruthie. They are survived by sons, Duncan and Lloyd, and daughters Anne and Catherine, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Clergy and bishops are invited to vest and process at the funeral on Tuesday.
The Rev. Scott Lenoir is the editor of The Mississippi Episcopalian.
