News Release
June 2004
The Rev. Samuel Gray has been appointed as the new Director of Intercultural
Ministries and Communication of the Board of World Mission (BWM), Moravian
Church in North America.
The Director of Intercultural Ministries and Communication
is responsible for developing the Board of World Mission’s
communication infrastructure and interfacing with Partner Provinces.
The Rev. Gray, born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
began his intercultural experiences at a young age when his parents,
the Rev. and Mrs. Joe Gray, took him to Nicaragua when he was 5 weeks
old. He lived in Nicaragua for 11 years where he was home schooled
through the elementary years. During the junior high years his family
returned to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he gave his life
to Christ at an old fashioned Revival Service at Grace Moravian Church
in 1968, where his father served as pastor. Gray attended high school
at The Stony Brook School, Long Island, New York, on a Dewitt Wallace
Reader’s Digest Scholarship
and graduated in 1972. He attended Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
in 1976, with a major in Religion.
Following college Gray took part in a Youth Exchange Program in the
Dominican Republic with Moravian, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.
He also worked for one year with the Moravian Church in Honduras where
he organized a student group in Tegucigalpa.
In 1978 Gray returned to Moravian College for further study in Elementary
Education and graduated in 1980. He then attended Fuller Seminary in
the summer of 1979.
In January 1980, Gray began full time service for the Board of World
Mission, Moravian Church, in Honduras as a high school teacher, Director
of the Bible Institute, Christian Education Director, Student Group
organizer, and founding pastor of Israel Moravian Church in Tegucigalpa
where he served for over 13 years.
Gray returned to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1993
to attend Moravian Theological Seminary. He graduated in 1996 with
a Master’s of
Divinity degree. Gray was ordained a Deacon of the Moravian Church
in May 1996. Since that time he has served as Assistant Pastor of Emmaus
Moravian Church, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, Director of Youth Ministries
for the Eastern District of the Northern Province, Moravian Church
in North America, and most recently as pastor of New Hope Moravian
Church, Miami, Florida. Rev. Gray was consecrated a Presbyter in June
2004.
Gray will begin his new duties on August 1, 2004, in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina.
The Rev. Gray and his wife, Lorena, are the parents of three sons,
Luke, Tim, and Christian David. They also have one granddaughter, Rachel.
He will be working out of the Board of World Mission office in the
Southern Province that is located at 500 South Church Street, Winston-Salem,
North Carolina. The BWM also has an office in the Northern Province,
located at 1021 Center Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The Moravian Church is one of the oldest Protestant denominations
dating back to 1457 in Europe and first coming to America in 1735.
Moravians have a strong tradition of ecumenical work and are best known
for their missionary work and rich musical heritage. The Moravian Church
in North America is comprised of the Northern, Southern and Alaskan
Provinces. The Northern Province has around 28,000 members in 102 congregations
in 13 states in the U.S. and two Canadian provinces. The Southern Province
includes nearly 20,000 members in 58 congregations, which are located
primarily throughout the Southeast. The Alaska Province consists of
nearly 2,000 members. The worldwide Moravian Church consists of 19
provinces with nearly 789,000 members, half of which live in Africa.
