Rev Fraser MacDonald obituary 30/4/13
By John Macleod
The Rev. Fraser MacDonald, first Free Presbyterian minister of North Tolsta, twice
Moderator of Synod and, latterly, his Church’s most senior minister, has died after
a brief illness. He was eighty-
Born in Oban on 14 December 1924, of a well-
Though never robust – and thus precluded from service in the Second World War – he was of evident and considerable ability and duly graduated MA from the University of Edinburgh. By then a converted man, he was received as a student for the Free Presbyterian ministry and, after training (he was in the last theology class of Rev. Donald Beaton, ordained in 1896 and then in his 54th year as its tutor), he was licensed to preach on 10th June 1952 and duly ordained and inducted, to the North Tolsta congregation, on 27th August that year.
Mr MacDonald’s ministry in Tolsta was signally blessed and his name is still much
honoured in the district. Though not a native speaker, he had quickly mastered the
Gaelic language. And, though at first without a manse, he happily directed the design
of a suitable property and himself happily laboured, alongside the men, in its construction.
And, still better, he had acquired a gracious wife -
He was besides soon fast friends with the redoubtable Free Church minister, Rev.
Angus Finlayson -
Mr MacDonald especially liked to recall the visit of Rev. Petros Mzamo, a minister in the Free Presbyterian mission of what was then Southern Rhodesia, in 1965 – the year Mr Mzamo served as Moderator, the first black man ever so honoured in a Scottish Presbyterian church. He was accompanied by a venerable Christian, Alexander Mpofu, to whom the Tolsta elders fast warmed – insisting he share the elders pew and, within hours, calling him ‘Alasdair’ and, after worship, sharing their tobacco.
He himself would twice serve as Moderator, in 1967 and 1976. In 1966, though (and to Tolsta desolation) Rev. Fraser was called to the charge of Portree in Skye, and was inducted there on the 21st June. Though he had many opportunities to leave it – he was called to the Ullapool congregation as late as 1993 – he never did so; and in August 2002 many friends gathered for a special service of thanksgiving to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination.
By then, of course, he had long become a Portree institution; an immaculate figure
of regular habits, brisk routine and no mean bearing – and a characteristic habit
of gazing you keenly in the eye, under shrewd bushy brows. ‘A fine gentleman and
as accurate as a Swiss watch,’ a youth of the Skye capital recalls. ‘I would see
him walk into Portree square each morning. I accidentally got in his way one morning
and his look spoke to me more than words could say -
In April 2006, though, he bowed to old age and – to general sadness – resigned the
charge and retired from the pastoral ministry. ‘In all of these years,’ his colleague
Rev. Dr James Tallach later wrote, ‘his life and work has been bound up with the
study and preaching of the Word. Such a preoccupation carries with it a reward of
its own. The ox which laboriously trod out the corn for its master was allowed to
satisfy itself from that same corn (1 Cor 9:9). But the Apostle also speaks of his
joy over those to whom his ministry was blessed -
‘Our hope is that, though pastoral work has had honourably to be set aside, Mr Macdonald will continue to feed the flock of God by the preaching of His Word, as strength and opportunity allow.’ And indeed, the MacDonalds did remain in Portree and he was able for a year or two longer to preach and – until too frail – at least pronounce the benediction.
Though not as consistent as, for instance, the late Rev. Donald MacLean, most would
regard Rev. Fraser MacDonald – when in song – as the greatest preacher in the post-
All was underpinned by profound personal holiness and a piety that, though never
intimidating, was profoundly Christ-
If there are regrets, one would be that he never played great part in the leadership
of his denomination, save for a brief spell as Assistant Clerk of Synod. But he had
a distaste for ecclesiastical politics – which are not always to edification -
It was also sad that a growing, nervy reluctance to travel (he refused all his life to fly, and in later decades became very averse even to ferries) eventually restricted Mr MacDonald’s pulpit gifts largely to Skye. (His last visit to Lewis, for Breasclete Communion, was in August 1996.)
In final years – latterly resident at the Budhmor Home, Portree – he bore with great serenity the loss of strength, faculties and finally even his speech; his witness and bearing, even in such indignities of great old age, made an impression on many.
Rev. Fraser MacDonald is survived by his wife, Sarah, and grieving brothers and sisters,
including the Rev. Alfred MacDonald, now in his forty-
‘It is only those who receive Christ in truth,’ our late friend preached in 1965, ‘that can refuse what the world has to offer; and it is only those who are brought to refuse what the world has to offer, who in truth receive Christ.’