Joan S. Gray was elected moderator of the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

at the 217th General Assembly on June 15, 2006. As moderator, she served as the presiding officer of the week-long General Assembly meeting in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, followed by a two-year term as the ambassador-at-large for the denomination. She has also spent many years working in various churches and is currently serving as part of the faculty at

Columbia Theological Seminary Columbia Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It is one of ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Geor ...

Education

Gray graduated from

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1880 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by Willia ...

with a B.A. in 1973. She then continued her education at

, where she earned her M.Div. in 1976. In 1993 she attended General Theological Seminary (Episcopal), where she earned a Master of Sacred Theology in spiritual direction and received her Doctor of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2009.

Career

Gray is considered an expert on church polity and structure, and is the co-author of ''Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers''. She previously served as moderator of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission and a member of the

’s Advisory Committee on the Constitution. Through five General Assemblies before and after Presbyterian reunion in 1983, she served on the Provisional Constitutional Committee. All of these are very important positions that provided Gray with insight and skill needed to be the moderator of the General Assembly. Gray was ordained as a minister of the Word and

Sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

on March 12, 1978. Prior to serving as the moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Gray served seven churches in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

area — Fellowship, Oglethorpe, Columbia, Hemphill, Good Shepherd, Smyrna, and College Park. In 1978, Joan was the first woman ordained to pastor a church in Atlanta Presbytery, PCUS. At these churches her ministries have included solo pastor, associate pastor, lead pastor/head of staff, parish associate, and interim pastor. She has served as adjunct faculty at

and Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and has taught at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

as part of the Continuing Education Faculty. She served as the interim dean of students and vice-president of student services at

Publications

* ''Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers'', co-authored with Joyce C. Tucker, John Knox Press, 1986 (4th edition, 2012, Geneva Press) * ''Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers'', Geneva Press, 2009 * ''The Sail Boat Church: Helping your Church Rethink Its Mission and Purpose'', Geneva Press, publication date: May, 2014

External links

— Official Biography of the Moderator of the PCUSA {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Joan 20th-century American Presbyterian ministers 21st-century American Presbyterian ministers Columbia Theological Seminary faculty Living people Presbyterian Church (USA) teaching elders Year of birth missing (living people) Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)