WILLIAM J. G. McDONALD - Moderator 1989
The Very Revd WILLIAM J. G. McDONALD MA BD DD
MODERATOR 1989
By the Revd Ralph C. M. Smith MA STM Edinburgh
The Moderator disapproves of this Year Book! Not at all that he is a judgemental sort of person. But he hates the fact that it prints the statistics of congregational income and membership; because these can encourage false assumptions about the nature of church ‘success’. Of course his own congregation, Mayfield in Edinburgh where he has ministered for thirty years, is revealed as being quite exceptionally ‘successful’ in these terms; and his innate modesty would eschew any suggestion that the credit for this should go to him.
The visitor to Mayfield is struck by several things, if he came early enough to find a seat.: the crowds of children and young people; the relaxed and warm welcome from office-bearers; and, as he returns over the weeks, he notes the conduct of worship is always fresh, often unexpected, yet always right and ungimmicky; and that the congregation is made up of folk of many different theological persuasions. The latter are held together because worship embodies the centralities without being needlessly divisive.
Such leadership comes, of course, from the top – from the man of rare fluency, perception and wit, allied to a self-effacing sensitivity to the needs of those around him. It is remarkable that Bill McDonald should have succeeded as Moderator the man whom he succeeded at Mayfield, James Whyte. (James had left for a University chair, Bill might have done the same.) Remarkably again, Bill had followed James Whyte as dux of Daniel Stewart’s College, his Edinburgh school. Later he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery, and served in south-east Asia, obtaining there an understanding of Islam. On returning to Edinburgh he took a first in classics, followed by a BD with distinction, with post-graduate study with Jeremias in Germany.
Bill married Patricia Watson in 1952, a lady as lively and full of fun as himself. They have three of a family – Sheena, Roderick and Alison.
Bill shared his family’s enthusiasm for theatre and music. His preaching is an embodiment of the arts: an attempt not to explain the mysteries but to deepen them with a true sense of the numinous. His horizons are as wide as his taste in music – from Bruckner to Beiderbecke. And fresh air invigorates his relaxation – hill-walking and cycling around the parish (a practice developed long before it was ecologically fashionable, as witness the age of his bike!).
Bill has an effective ministry on radio also, thanks to a lively, informed mind, an arresting lightness of touch, and a generous spirituality.
Bill has served the Church in its big Committees and the Assembly Council. Now he takes very seriously the privilege and responsibility of representing the Church nationally and internationally. Afterwards he will return happily to the midst of the life and people of his parish.
Bill McDonald died on December 9, 2015. His Memorial Service, A Celebration of LIfe, took place at Mayfield Salisbury on January 8, 2016.