John Rodger Gray, (9 January 1913 – 9 August 1984) was a Scottish minister serving in

Dunblane Cathedral Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-standi ...

who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1977.

Life

He was born on 9 January 1913 in

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was educated locally before going to

High School of Glasgow The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...

, a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Glasgow. He studied economics at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating in 1934. He then studied Divinity for three years, before doing further postgraduate study under a Commonwealth Fellowship at both

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in the United States. He graduated from Yale with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) in 1938 and from Princeton with a

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a sta ...

(ThM) degree in 1939. Returning to Britain in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he was assistant minister of

Barony Church Barony Hall, also known as Barony Church, is a red sandstone Victorian neo-Gothic-style building on Castle Street in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland, near Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the city's oldest surviving ho ...

, Glasgow, between 1939 and 1941. He then served as a chaplain in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

from 1941 to 1946. After the war, he became minister of St. Stephen's Buccleuch in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1960, the church merged with St Matthew's Blythswood. He continued his military service as a chaplain in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1946 to 1963, and was awarded the

Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, post-nominal letters VD until c. 1947 and VRD thereafter, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time commissioned officers in the United Kingdom's Royal Naval Volunt ...

(VRD) in 1953. In 1966 he was called to

in Central Scotland. He was select preacher at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1977. He additionally served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1977 to 1978. After eighteen years as minister of Dunblane Cathedral, he retired in April 1984. He died later that year, on 9 August 1984.

Family

In 1952 he was married to Dr Sheila Mary Gray (1928-2013) a doctor. She was author of "Annus Mirabilis, Memories of a Moderator's Wife". Their three sons are the MP James Gray, the diplomat Charles Gray and Lt Cdr David Gray Royal Navy

Publications

*''Something to say to the Congregation : The Sermons of the Rev John R. Gray 1961-1983''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, John Rodger 1913 births 1984 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Yale University alumni Princeton University alumni Royal Navy chaplains Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel