Duncan Montgomery Gray Sr. Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific Prefix:The Right Reverend
Duncan Montgomery Gray
Honorific Suffix:D.D.
Bishop of Mississippi
Church:Episcopal Church
Diocese:Mississippi
Elected:January 20, 1943
Term:1943–1966
Retired:-->
Predecessor:William Mercer Green
Successor:John Allin
Ordination:June 21, 1926
Ordained By:Theodore DuBose Bratton
Consecration:May 12, 1943
Consecrated By:Henry St. George Tucker
Birth Date:5 May 1898
Buried:Lakewood Memorial Park, Jackson, Mississippi
Parents:William Franklin Gray & Annie L. McClung
Spouse:Isabel Denham McCrady
Children:3

Duncan Montgomery Gray Sr. (May 5, 1898 – June 25, 1966)[1] was the fifth bishop of Mississippi in The Episcopal Church.[2] His son Duncan Montgomery Gray Jr and grandson Duncan Montgomery Gray III were the seventh and ninth bishops of Mississippi.[3]

Early life and education

Gray was born on May 5, 1898, in Meridian, Mississippi, the son of William Franklin Gray and Annie McClung. He attended the Rice Institute in Hudson, Texas and later .

Priest

Gray was ordained deacon on June 21, 1925, by Bishop Theodore DuBose Bratton. He served as deacon in Grace Church, Rosedale, Mississippi and Calvary Mission in Cleveland, Mississippi. He was ordained priest on June 21, 1926, after which he served as rector of Grace Church in Canton, Mississippi. He also served as rector in Nativity Church in Greenwood, Mississippi and St Paul's Church in Columbus, Mississippi. He was also a member of the Diocesan executive committee.[4]

Bishop

Gray was elected, on the third ballot, bishop on January 20, 1943, during the 116th diocesan convention. He was consecrated on May 12, 1943, by Presiding Bishop Henry St. George Tucker in St Andrew's church in Jackson, Mississippi. As bishop he managed to keep the church growth in the diocese steady and increased the diocesan budget. He was also the first bishop to be installed in the diocesan cathedral after its establishment. He was also instrumental in promoting racial integration. Gray retired on May 31, 1966, and died a less than a month later on June 25. His funeral took place on June 27 in St Andrew's Cathedral, presided by the Bishop of Mississippi, John Allin.[5]

Personal life

Gray married Isabel McCrady, who died on May 31, 1966, a few weeks before Bishop Gray. Together they had 3 children including Duncan M. Gray Jr. who later became Bishop of Mississippi.

Notes and References

  1. News: . Episcopal Bishop Gray Dies . Daily Herald . . June 27, 1966 . The Episcopal diocese of Mississippi today mourned the loss of Bishop Duncan M. Gray.
  2. . 1944 . Annual Cyclopedia of the Church: Gray, Duncan Montgomery (437) . The Living Church Annual: The Year Book of the Episcopal Church, 1944 . 34 . The Rt. Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray was consecrated fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi on May 12, 1943.
  3. News: Head. Tom. May 4, 2011. A Good Shepherd. Free Press. Jackson, Mississippi. 2017-06-18. The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi is the only diocese in the country to have a third-generation bishop. .
  4. (1944). The Living Church Annual, p. 34. Morehouse-Gorham Company, New York.
  5. "Gray of Mississippi dies", The Living Church, New York, 10 July 1966.