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<\/a>The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, at 2 p.m. at St. Andrew\u2019s 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 from 12 noon to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n\u201cHe 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,\u201d said Seage.<\/p>\n
Gray, born Sept. 21, 1926, was ordained by his father, the Rt. Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray Sr., fifth bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi, in 1953. During Gray\u2019s years of parish ministry, 1953-1974, he served at the following parishes: Calvary, Cleveland and Grace Church, Rosedale; St. Peter\u2019s, Oxford; and St. Paul\u2019s, Meridian.<\/p>\n
It was while serving St. Paul\u2019s that Gray was elected bishop coadjutor when a special council was reconvened at St. Andrew\u2019s Cathedral in Jackson on March 9, 1974.<\/p>\n
Gray was elected on the fifth ballot and his consecration took place on May 1 of that same year at St. Andrew\u2019s Cathedral, with then 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.<\/p>\n
Gray Jr. believed a bishop\u2019s role \u201cis to be a pastor to the people within his diocese, both clerical and lay \u2026 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,\u201d wrote Gray in a research and recommendation committee questionnaire in 1974.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis life and ministry have been concurrent with Mississippi\u2019s 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,\u201d said Seage.<\/p>\n
Gray Jr. was also a strong supporter of women in ordained ministry as well as making sure that laywomen were allowed to serve on vestries and diocesan committees.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Clergy and bishops are invited to vest and process at the funeral on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Rev. Scott Lenoir is the editor of The Mississippi Episcopalian.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"http:\/\/episcopaldigitalnetwork.com\/ens\/2016\/07\/16\/former-mississippi-bishop-duncan-m-gray-jr-dies-after-brief-illness\/ RIP: Former Mississippi Bishop Duncan M. Gray Jr. dies after brief illness By Scott Lenoir July 16, 2016 Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi \u201cMississippi has lost one of its great leaders with the death of Duncan M. Gray Jr.,\u201d said the Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, bishop of Mississippi. The Rt. Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-textcache","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236,"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andonewasapriest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a>The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, at 2 p.m. at St. Andrew\u2019s 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 from 12 noon to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n