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Board of World Mission Announces New Director of Intercultural Ministries and Communication

 The Rev. Samuel Gray was called to the position of Intercultural Ministries on June 6^th. The Rev. Gray has been serving as pastor of New Hope Moravian Church in Miami, FL. He will begin his new duties on August 1 in Winston-Salem, NC.

 The Rev. Gray was born in Winston-Salem, NC in 1954. His intercultural experience began at an early 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; his mother taught her five children all through elementary school.

 He attended Junior High School in Mt. Airy, NC where his father was pastor at Grace Moravian and had many positive experiences in the church youth group and in the school band. He gave his life to Christ at an old fashioned Revival Service at Grace Moravian in 1968.

 He attended high school at The Stony Brook School (Long Island NY) on a Dewitt Wallace Reader’s Digest Scholarship and graduated in 1972.

 He attended Moravian College from 1972 – 1976, majoring in Religion where he was active in Choir, band and a jazz band – “The Brethren”.

 After college, he took part in Youth Exchange Program in the Dominican Republic with Moravian, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches.

He worked for the Moravian Church in Honduras for one year, organizing a student group in Tegucigalpa.

 In 1978 he returned to Moravian College for further study in Elementary Education and attended Fuller Seminary in the summer of 1979.

 In January 1980 he began full time service for the Board of World Mission in Honduras as a high school teacher, director of Bible Institute, Christian Education Director, Student Group organizer and founding pastor of Israel Moravian Church in Tegucigalpa, serving there for 13 1/2 years.

 During that time, he married Lorena Alvarez, from Cocobila, Honduras, who studied nursing in Honduras, Pennsylvania and Florida, and is now a Registered Nurse.

 He returned to Moravian Theological Seminary in 1993, graduating in 1996 with an M.Div. and was ordained as a deacon in May, 1996. He served as Assistant Pastor of Emmaus Moravian Church and Director of Youth Ministries for the Eastern District of the Northern Province.

 He accepted the call to be pastor of New Hope Moravian Church, Miami, in August of 1998, a congregation made up of Moravians and friends from 18 countries from all over the globe. His linguistic gifts as well as his musical talent and pastoral attitude enabled this congregation to flourish under his ministry.

 Sam and Lorena have three sons: Luke, 22, who lives, studies and works in Tampa, Florida; Tim, 21, who is studying at Columbia College in Missouri; and Christian David, 12, entering 7^th grade in the Music Magnet program and likes to spend his spare time practicing his electric bass, playing video games, and trying to convince his parents that The Simpsons are not sacrilegious, and one precious granddaughter Rachel, 4 (who keeps granddad on his toes!).