The Reverend Gray Goes Green
Community coordinator with the team that raised funds to save Gorton Monastery as an events centre and community development catalyst, David is also a member of the Magic Circle, and if that's not enough, in what spare time he has left, he sings in a punk band!
And if you think his Christian credentials are admirable, his ‘green' credentials are equally impressive! Rev. Gray has recently taken delivery of a bright yellow Peugeot 107 to replace his ageing gas guzzling Ford Mondeo and given the amount of miles he covers in his travels across the eastern fringes of Greater Manchester in the course of his duties, it's important to him that the environmental performance of his new vehicle matches his own aspirations to reduce his carbon footprint.
As a third order Franciscan tertiary, Rev. Gray lives by his own set of defined rules - a Rule of Life - appropriate to his own life/work situation. Philanthropy is a fundamental rule of life for him and currently he financially supports a child in Peru as well as various local and international causes.
So, to get the best out of his finances and given that he donates generously to help others, Rev Gray opted not to purchase his new car outright, but by chance, found an excellent opportunity to finance the car as he explains.
"My 9 year old Mondeo was not an environmentally
friendly car. I also wanted to be sure that I didn't overstretch my finances because of my other commitments. I arrived home one night and by sheer chance, there lying on the doormat was a flyer from Newgate Motoring Solutions which summed up all that I was looking
for. The leaflet spoke volumes.
I already knew of the company and the deals it brokered for the clergy. The leaflet discussed various finance options, which gave me no sudden financial surprises. I also found it cheaper to finance the car than to buy a new one, so I contacted Newgate and in no time I had the keys to a delightful brand new Peugeot 107 in a dazzling bright yellow. Carbon footprint is very important and its environmental credentials are exemplary. Emissions are very low and it gives me an excellent miles-per-gallon return."
Rev. Gray's ‘day-job' involves him in all aspects of the life of the local community, and it all began when he left the security of a full-time job in social work to help with the team that breathed fresh life into Gorton Monastery - which re-opened its doors last year, following an extensive £6million heritage restoration scheme.
Sitting close to Gorton Monastery is Rev. Gray's main base -The Angels. Once known as All Saints Primary School, the Angels hosts a Surestart crèche and art rooms where Gorton Visual Arts group work on projects that express the life of the local community, including
a Mosaic that graces the walls of the Market Hall of the new Gorton District Centre, which tells the story of Belle Vue Zoological gardens, once a major visitor attraction to the area.
Then there's a Luncheon Club and Car Wash run in partnership with the Probation Service; meeting rooms for courses and community events. Not so much a community centre as a centre of community, the Angels also links with a community allotment, where David's wife
Elaine leads the volunteer force that helps grow fruit and vegetables for the luncheon club and local drop in centres.
His previous experience as a social worker, psychiatric nurse and as founder of the Lifeshare project that works among homeless people and sex industry workers in his home city, gives David the background and confidence needed to tackle well-documented inner-city community issues such as those related to gun crime, gang culture, the carrying of knives, or easing asylum seekers into the local community.
His approach has played a part in ensuring that, building on the long history of Manchester, East Manchester communities are more welcoming of asylum seekers, recognising that their skills are needed alongside those of local people to build up a community that all belong to and benefit from.
His belief that people needed to articulate their experiences, hopes, fears and aspirations in order to attain their full potential, led David to help revive local traditions in the shape of community festivals and encourage expression through art, music, poetry and drama. He played a part in helping establish Gorton Voice Community Choir too,
but his musical experiences don't stop there.
"When Gold Blade are in their home city", David relates, "I am invited to gigs to sing with them as their
guest Punk-Monk Rocker and introduce other bands on the bill. At a recent gig, Sylvia Lancaster got on stage with me to introduce the Manchester Punk scene to the S.O.P.H.I.E. campaign, inviting people to transcend boundaries of race, culture and even musical preferences to Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere in honour of her daughter Sophie, who was killed in a Lancashire park for expressing her personality as a Goth.
As well as appearing with The Damned, when the Tsunami occurred, Gold Blade got Manchester bands together for an appeal concert involving members of The Stone Roses, Badly Drawn Boy and
other Manchester music legends and we all got together at the Apollo theatre for a cracking gig".
Community cohesion is clearly very important to Rev Gray and his role as a Franciscan tertiary, which he begun in 1990 after meeting an old friend from his nursing days who had become a Franciscan while they were negotiators during the Manchester prison riots, has guided
and influenced his approach to now embrace other religious faiths.
He is currently studying to be an interfaith minister and whilst he'll stay rooted in Christianity, he'll study other faiths and work closely with rabbis and imams. He is secretary of the Faith Network for Manchester,
so is already putting into practice his childhood conviction that society
benefits when people of difference work together for the good of all.
"I am fulfilled in so many ways, having the pleasure of a supportive partner, children and grandchildren and the spiritual structure of being a tertiary and priest. As chaplain of the Federation of Allied Combatants and the Manchester Royal Artillery, with the honorary rank of Major, I even have the privilege of being padre to my childhood heroes who stood up to Fascism and saved the world from a
monstrous and wicked intent. Everything in my life is conscience driven, so my choice of car was important in this process. We should all be conscious about the changing nature of our local, national and global environments and just by making small changes to our way of life we can each make a marked difference to the overall balance."
Community coordinator with the team that raised funds to save Gorton Monastery as an events centre and community development catalyst, David is also a member of the Magic Circle, and if that's not enough, in what spare time he has left, he sings in a punk band!
And if you think his Christian credentials are admirable, his ‘green' credentials are equally impressive! Rev. Gray has recently taken delivery of a bright yellow Peugeot 107 to replace his ageing gas guzzling Ford Mondeo and given the amount of miles he covers in his travels across the eastern fringes of Greater Manchester in the course of his duties, it's important to him that the environmental performance of his new vehicle matches his own aspirations to reduce his carbon footprint.
As a third order Franciscan tertiary, Rev. Gray lives by his own set of defined rules - a Rule of Life - appropriate to his own life/work situation. Philanthropy is a fundamental rule of life for him and currently he financially supports a child in Peru as well as various local and international causes.
So, to get the best out of his finances and given that he donates generously to help others, Rev Gray opted not to purchase his new car outright, but by chance, found an excellent opportunity to finance the car as he explains.
"My 9 year old Mondeo was not an environmentally friendly car. I also wanted to be sure that I didn't overstretch my finances because of my other commitments. I arrived home one night and by sheer chance, there lying on the doormat was a flyer from Newgate Motoring Solutions which summed up all that I was looking for. The leaflet spoke volumes.
I already knew of the company and the deals it brokered for the clergy. The leaflet discussed various finance options, which gave me no sudden financial surprises. I also found it cheaper to finance the car than to buy a new one, so I contacted Newgate and in no time I had the keys to a delightful brand new Peugeot 107 in a dazzling bright yellow. Carbon footprint is very important and its environmental credentials are exemplary. Emissions are very low and it gives me an excellent miles-per-gallon return."
Rev. Gray's ‘day-job' involves him in all aspects of the life of the local community, and it all began when he left the security of a full-time job in social work to help with the team that breathed fresh life into Gorton Monastery - which re-opened its doors last year, following an extensive £6million heritage restoration scheme.
Sitting close to Gorton Monastery is Rev. Gray's main base -The Angels. Once known as All Saints Primary School, the Angels hosts a Surestart crèche and art rooms where Gorton Visual Arts group work on projects that express the life of the local community, including a Mosaic that graces the walls of the Market Hall of the new Gorton District Centre, which tells the story of Belle Vue Zoological gardens, once a major visitor attraction to the area.
Then there's a Luncheon Club and Car Wash run in partnership with the Probation Service; meeting rooms for courses and community events. Not so much a community centre as a centre of community, the Angels also links with a community allotment, where David's wife Elaine leads the volunteer force that helps grow fruit and vegetables for the luncheon club and local drop in centres.
His previous experience as a social worker, psychiatric nurse and as founder of the Lifeshare project that works among homeless people and sex industry workers in his home city, gives David the background and confidence needed to tackle well-documented inner-city community issues such as those related to gun crime, gang culture, the carrying of knives, or easing asylum seekers into the local community.
His approach has played a part in ensuring that, building on the long history of Manchester, East Manchester communities are more welcoming of asylum seekers, recognising that their skills are needed alongside those of local people to build up a community that all belong to and benefit from.
His belief that people needed to articulate their experiences, hopes, fears and aspirations in order to attain their full potential, led David to help revive local traditions in the shape of community festivals and encourage expression through art, music, poetry and drama. He played a part in helping establish Gorton Voice Community Choir too, but his musical experiences don't stop there.
"When Gold Blade are in their home city", David relates, "I am invited to gigs to sing with them as their guest Punk-Monk Rocker and introduce other bands on the bill. At a recent gig, Sylvia Lancaster got on stage with me to introduce the Manchester Punk scene to the S.O.P.H.I.E. campaign, inviting people to transcend boundaries of race, culture and even musical preferences to Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere in honour of her daughter Sophie, who was killed in a Lancashire park for expressing her personality as a Goth.
As well as appearing with The Damned, when the Tsunami occurred, Gold Blade got Manchester bands together for an appeal concert involving members of The Stone Roses, Badly Drawn Boy and other Manchester music legends and we all got together at the Apollo theatre for a cracking gig".
Community cohesion is clearly very important to Rev Gray and his role as a Franciscan tertiary, which he begun in 1990 after meeting an old friend from his nursing days who had become a Franciscan while they were negotiators during the Manchester prison riots, has guided and influenced his approach to now embrace other religious faiths.
He is currently studying to be an interfaith minister and whilst he'll stay rooted in Christianity, he'll study other faiths and work closely with rabbis and imams. He is secretary of the Faith Network for Manchester, so is already putting into practice his childhood conviction that society benefits when people of difference work together for the good of all.
"I am fulfilled in so many ways, having the pleasure of a supportive partner, children and grandchildren and the spiritual structure of being a tertiary and priest. As chaplain of the Federation of Allied Combatants and the Manchester Royal Artillery, with the honorary rank of Major, I even have the privilege of being padre to my childhood heroes who stood up to Fascism and saved the world from a monstrous and wicked intent. Everything in my life is conscience driven, so my choice of car was important in this process. We should all be conscious about the changing nature of our local, national and global environments and just by making small changes to our way of life we can each make a marked difference to the overall balance."
