Hold Fast That Which Is Good
My Dear People,
When the time came for me to be ordained priest, it turned out that I was in the unusual position of needing to find a bishop to ordain me. Or, to put it another way, I was in the unusual position of getting to ask a bishop to ordain me. This had to do with the fact that the bishop who sent me to seminary was down in South Carolina, while I was serving up in northern Virginia. Anyway, what this all meant is that I got to ask the Right Reverend Duncan M. Gray, Jr., of Mississippi, to ordain me.
Now, we shouldn't confuse him with his son, of the same name, who is currently bishop of Mississippi; or with his father, of the same name, who was also bishop of Mississippi. (No, I'm not making this up.)
I got to know Bishop Gray (the middle one, that is) when I was Lay Chaplain, at All Saints' Chapel, in Sewanee, and he was Chancellor of the University.
It would be impossible to put into words my regard for him. He is gracious kindness embodied; he is humble; he has a twinkle in his eye; and he is afraid of nothing. I am currently reading a new biography of him; and, at the moment, he's wandering a campus, in his collar, on a dark night in September 1962, as tear gass wafts by, and as he tries to persuade students and others to put away their bricks and their bats and go home. Some do, some don't. There comes a moment when he is thrown to the ground and does not know whether he will ever get up again. The next morning James Meredith successfully registers as a student at Ol Miss.
Not only did I ask Bishop Gray to ordain me priest, which he did, in Christ Church, Alexandria, almost ten years ago, but, as I shared with him and his wife Ruthie at the time, I dedicated my priesthood in their honor. If a church can remember a particular saint, then my priestly ministry would be an offering in thanksgiving for Duncan and Ruthie Gray and their shared ministry.
At the close of my ordination I said the blessing that Bishop Gray is known for saying. The blessing captures, as well as any few words can, the essence of the man:
Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no man evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be upon you, and remain with you for ever. Amen.
Your brother in Christ,
Wallace+
