Celebrating the Life and
Legacy of The Late Rev. William H. Gray, III
Pastor Emeritus of
Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA
and
Former Majority Whip of
the U. S. House of Representatives
Vividly,
I recall my first trip to Bright Hope Baptist Church and my first time entering
the sanctuary. I college classmate who
has become a lifelong friend and spent his formative years in this church
invited me to worship with his family over a Thanksgiving weekend. As we approached the parking lot, I noticed
the external side of a large stain-glassed window which adorned the sanctuary
and held a rather prominent place in the edifice as it was discernible to
everyone within and outside the building.
At time, I had discovered recently writings of relating to the Civil
Rights and Black Power Movements particularly pieces detailing the
distinguishing characteristics of Black Religion in America. Excoriating the prevalence of the blond hair,
blue eyes Jesus who had sanctioned chattel slavery in the American South and
the insidiously violent century of segregation inclusive of nearly four
thousand lynchings permeates these pieces.
Accordingly, I held my breath as I hoped against hope that this
historic, traditional and socially progressive African American Baptist
congregation would not have committed the sin of self-hatred by displaying an
image of a god who does not reflect their divinity. As I inched around the corner from a rear
entrance into the sanctuary, to my great surprise and almost tearful
exuberance, I beheld for the first time the largest replica of the Black Christ
in North America.
In
his venerable Autobiography, Malcolm
X posits that one of the greatest crimes that the United States of America
perpetrated upon people of African descent is teaching us to serve a divine
being who does not look like us. My
initial glance of the Black Christ at Bright Hope Baptist Church on the chilly
fall Sunday morning immediately reminded of Malcolm X’s spiritual maxim. It would introduce me to a Black Baptist
clergyperson and pastor who personified in his daily and practical ministry the
supreme moral, ethical and biblical tenets of Black Theology. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ does not
sanction social, economic and political ideas, traditions, policies and systems
that impede anyone’s rights and just opportunities to actualize his divine
gifts of life and talents and actualize his natural endowments. Although he would become a Member of Congress
and ascend to the fourth highest leadership post of Majority Whip and serve as
Chairperson of the Budget Committee and subsequently raise billions of dollars
as the President and Chief Executive Officer of The United Negro College Fund, primarily
Reverend William H. Gray, III was a Pastor.
As a seminarian and later as a duly installed Minister of Word and
Sacrament, I observed in Pastor Gray a bold and prophetic clergyperson who
challenged and expanded society’s assumptions of the gospel of Christ. Beyond attending self-satisfying and blissful
worship services, establishing mutually beneficial relationships within the
fellowship of local churches and gleaning methods for strengthening personal
piety, Christians are called by our Lord to create a more just and equitable
society. More especially, Christians of
the African Diaspora cannot comply uncritically with the manipulation of the
gospel in furthering systemic injustice and inequities. As African Americans must serve a god who
reflects their holistic “Blackness,” they equally must demand that the country,
in which they live to which they have been exceedingly loyal and patriotic
notwithstanding its victimization of them, also celebrate and respect their
divinity and “Blackness.”
In
many ways, as I reflect upon and celebrate Pastor Gray’s ministry and legacy, I
view him as stalwart “Old Testament Christian” who preached and exemplified the
teachings relating to the combination of social justice and righteousness as
equal components of a relationship with Almighty God. He believed disciples had an obligation to
speak for those persons who cannot speak for themselves and advocate removal of
all barriers to their dignity as fellow human beings and citizens as well as
children of God. In the teachings of
Christ, Pastor Gray concentrated upon society’s debt to care for “the least of
these,” the most vulnerable persons who reside amongst us. As the Chairperson of the U. S. House of
Representatives Budget Committee, Pastor Gray understood the critical spiritual
maxim that budgets are moral documents which reflect a society’s genuine
religious principles and ethical practices.
What we believe is most clearly reflected in our treatment of our fellow
citizens who do not possess financial, educational, cultural and other social
privileges. I remember his fierce and enduring advocacy for preserving programs to
assist and empower the neediest persons amongst us. Most regrettably, he is no longer in the
Congress to fight continually for these fellow citizens who live on the margins
of life. In addition, Pastor Gray
contributed significantly in organizing one of the most effective political
coalitions in Philadelphia. Whereas this
group became a direct means of accomplishing his personal political ambitions,
it also emerged as one of several instruments in which he fulfilled the
foregoing grand aims of the Hebrews prophets; “Do justly, love mercy and walk
humbly before God.”
At the height of his political career, Rev. Gray
arguably was the most powerful African American public servant as he attained
the position of Majority Whip in the Democratic controlled U. S. House of
Representatives. His achievement enabled
many of us to harbor the idea of an African American obtaining the Presidency
of the United States as Pastor Gray stood within an arm’s reach of the
position. Certainly, his successes paved
the road for President Obama. Additionally,
I highly respected Pastor Gray’s formidable stance in opposing apartheid and
calling for sanctions against the South African government. That was one of the seminal moral issues during
my collegiate years. As I write, I
recall a broadcast of The McNeil-Lehrer
News Hour in which Pastor Gray characterized President Reagan’s comments
about tribal conflicts amongst Black South Africans as asinine. Then, U S. Undersecretary of State, Chester
Crocker, was stunned into complete silence as he could not offer a reasonable
rebuttal. Still, I appreciate Pastor
Gray’s force of tone and character as he straightforwardly condemned the
treatment of Black South Africans by their own government and the U. S.
government’s acquiescence of that despicable racism.
Conceivably, Pastor Gray’s work with the United
Negro College Fund will be his definitive contribution to the African American
community and our country. His grand
successes in raising billions of dollars and preserving that entity for many
years to come will enable future generations of leaders in all segments of
society to obtain the foundational education and training necessary for their
success. It is ironic how destiny often
finds us when we least expect it. I hope
future generations of African American collegians will revere Pastor Gray as
they should. His labor of love will
encourage and empower future twenty-first century leaders to enter proactively
and forthrightly the global village and marketplace in which we live in a post
9 September 2001 world. Living with a
myopic worldview that accepts xenophobia, practices jingoism and furthers
economic and political elitism will be very costly for any nation. It shall be particularly so for Americans as
we witness fundamental and irreversible shifts in geopolitical and
international relations. As a prophet who boldly proclaim the truth and foresaw
future developments, Pastor Gray exhorted us to surmount these domestic
societal ills enroute to embracing the world’s progressive pluralism and
intermixture of economies and interests.
Quintessentially, Reverend William H. Gray, III was
a Pastor. Throughout his years of public
service within the Congress and at The United Negro College Fund, Pastor Gray
returned faithfully to the Bright Hope pulpit three Sundays per month to
demonstrate his commitment to a church that fostered his personality, ministry
and prophetic vision. Thereby, he showed
his true calling to serve God as he strove to meet the practical needs of
people. I still recall his Thanksgiving
1987 sermon, “The Moving Hand Writes,” in which he paid tribute to the late
Harold Washington, Mayor of Chicago at the time of his death. I also recalled how he left the building
shortly after delivering that sermon as his congressional duties mandated he
leave. As a Pastor, I admired Pastor
Gray’s dedication to his priestly duties; he did not ignore them and allow them
to lapse and suffer as he met the demanding schedule of elective office and
educational administration in the public and prophetic sphere. Additionally, I appreciate the way in which
Pastor Gray handled the snafu that surrounded his initial period of
retirement. He put Bright Hope before
his own interest and ensured her future would be secure. His return to the Church until the
installation of the current pastor was a testament to his grandfather and
father as well as to the great people of Bright Hope to whom he must have felt
an incalculable debt.
My final tribute to Pastor Gray is recognition of
his esteem of marriage and family while juxtaposing his priestly duties as Pastor
and prophetic calling as a public servant.
His untimely death occurred during a perennial period of enjoyment of
Wimbledon in London. One of his sons
accompanied Pastor Gray on this year’s pilgrimage to watch superlative tennis
matches. Sharing a favorite and
heartfelt interest with a son can be a father’s greatest delight. I imagine Pastor Gray feasted upon the food
for the soul that such times yielded. I
pray his son will find enduring comfort and sustaining healing in his
reflections of these final days with his beloved father.
Assuredly, the Bright Hope family mourns the loss of
Pastor Gray as his death signals the end of an important era for your
Church. I recall the pride of my
classmate and his fellow congregants in electing Pastor Gray to Congress and
thus enabling the African American community throughout the country to ascend
to greater heights of leadership and success.
Whereas these will become the glory days for many in the Bright Hope
family, hopefully, they will be a foreshadowing of many more significant
accomplishments in creating a more just and equitable society. Nevertheless, I pray our brothers and sisters
will find refuge in God’s Word and comfort in His presence.
With thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, I celebrate the life,
ministry, public service and legacy of the late Reverend William H. Gray, III,
Pastor Emeritus of Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA and former
Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives. “Blessed are the dead in Christ for they rest from
their labors and their deeds follow them.” (Revelation 14:13).
