Today for the 13th day of the "Women's History Month" project, we are celebrating this beautiful and free-spirited lady
Meet Nancy Shantia Wright-Gray, 71, wife, mother, grandmother, a dog lover...
In the fall of 1947 The Rev. M. Webb Wright accepted a call to the “White Church” (Second Congregational Church) in Biddeford. He arrived with his wife and 3 year old daughter, Anne, just in time to help the church gear up to feed and assist the firefighters as they responded to the fire that was devouring southern Maine. Two years later Nancy (Shantia) was born in a Portland hospital.
This minister’s life involved moves every six to ten years and in 1953 they all moved to Fall River MA. But the “home base” for all of them was Ocean Park, Maine. They spent several weeks each summer there on vacation and held youth retreats in the great old Annie Russell house. When the house by the beach was sold due to Annie’s ill health, they spent several summers renting places around the park and purchased a lot on Tioga. But in a few years they decided to sell the lot and buy a little rustic cottage in Rome, Maine on Great Pond of the Belgrade Lakes. So the “homestead” moved north in Maine.
Shantia (Nancy) was in Fall River through Middle School and then they moved to Woodbury, CT as she entered High School. Springfield College prepared her for Therapeutic Recreation and Social Group Work. She spent a couple of years living in Princeton, NJ, working as a Movement Therapist at Philadelphia State Hospital and then entered Princeton Theological Seminary full time. Her daughter Brianna was born in the spring of !977 just before seminary graduation.
Chaplaincy and Christian Education for families and children were what drew her to seminary. After graduation she worked briefly as a part time Interim pastor and then, moving to Montclair NJ, she worked as a part time Associate Pastor followed by a year as a Hospice and Oncology Chaplain.
When she left Montclair she moved to Unionville CT as an Associate Pastor for Youth and Pastoral Care for a UCC church in Farmington. During this time Shantia began courses in Massage Therapy and she met Jonathan Gray and his two children – Dana and Michelle. She left Farmington to move to Sterling, MA to marry her dear love and blend families – with 3 children ages 6,7 and 8.
Rome Maine continued to be the Homestead – but she spent almost 30 years in Sterling so it also became home. In the early years there she finished Massage School and eventually fulfilled the requirements to become a Trager Practitioner. Blending a call as part time Associate Pastor with part-time work in Massage and Trager, allowed for some balance between the business of ministry, the calmness of massage and the ability to be at home with her children as they grew. In 1986 Shantia answered a call to work as a part-time Associate Pastor in Christian Education for youngsters and families, and Pastoral Care in West Boylston, MA which lasted for 14 years. Then for 4 years she was a long- term Interim Pastor for Pastoral Care in Worcester. But her most meaningful ministry followed this from 2000 to 2010 when she led mission trips working on home repair in the Worcester area, shelter repair in Maryland, building a hospital and leading medical teams in the Dominican Republic and 14 trips to New Orleans after Katrina to work on rebuilding, and supporting local schools with programs and books.
As retirement approached, Shantia and Jonathan began to consider where they would move when they left the lovely old parsonage in Sterling. Jonathan grew up in Rollinsford, NH and Shantia’s “homestead” was in Maine – so they were drawn to return to roots, and to life by the ocean and near the mountains. They chanced upon a lot in Ocean Park, ME (a section of Old Orchard Beach) and bought the land in about 1996. In early 2002 the building of their home was completed and they visited several times a month for “Pastors’ Days Off” (Sunday evenings to Tuesday mornings) until retirement in 2011.
Their children are grown now, married and living meaningful and happy lives. Each of the three has one child and Shantia and Jonathan really enjoy spending time with them and being grandparents.
Shantia had some tough decisions to make at the end of 2018 when faced with breast cancer. Fortunately chemotherapy was not needed and a double mastectomy and radiation along with estrogen suppressants are controlling the progression. She continues to be cancer free and has worked hard to make peace with an altered body image and some ongoing fatigue.
Shantia and Jonathan love their home in the woods, just a short walk from the beach. They rent it out in the summers and travel with their small trailer. And the rest of the year they do occasional B&B hosting and retreats. They are very involved with their mission oriented church and have been mentors to several New Mainers (immigrants from African countries). In recent years they have also focused strongly on Anti-Rascist Social action.
They walk often with their little “rescue” dog; they kayak, read, visit with friends, enjoy cooking, do puzzles and enjoy this awesome place called Home.
Shantia's favorite quote is:
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Thank you, Shantia, for sharing your journey with us all!
#whm #womenshistorymonthproject #womansupportingwomen
6 Comments
Mar 30, 2021, 6:50:20 PM
Sue Sage - When beautiful women shine, they touch and inspire us all. Thank you, Shantia!
Mar 17, 2021, 4:53:04 AM
Cathy Larkin - Remarkable story, remarkable woman!
Mar 16, 2021, 11:15:21 AM
Donna Ravn - A lovely tribute, Shantia! And great photos of a beautiful person.
Mar 16, 2021, 7:57:16 AM
Peter Gray - A lovely narrative to a lovely women Happy she’s my sister by marriage to my brother
Mar 14, 2021, 1:57:04 PM
Wiley Beveridge - That’s my lovely friend Shantia. This made my heart swell with even more love for you and Jonathan, and for long history shared love, music, fun, food and on and on. Powerful woman of God. I love you. Wiley
Mar 14, 2021, 6:39:35 AM
Judy Gray - Honored to call her sister in love. She’s an amazing woman.