Donald MacAdie 1931-1958

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Donald MacAdie was the youngest member of a family of eleven children.  He was educated in Bayonne schools, attended Calvary Church, Bayonne where Father Filkins was rector.  (Father Filkins had been curate to Father Bentley at Saint John’s.)  He later entered Kenyon College at Gambler, Ohio and graduated from Bexley Hall Divinity School there.  He also attended The General Theological Seminary and Hebrew Seminary in New York City.  When Bishop MacAdie was consecrated in 1958 both Kenyon and General conferred honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity upon him.

Donald MacAdie was ordained deacon in his home parish, Calvary Church, Bayonne, by Bishop Edwin G. Lines in 1924.  A year later he was ordained priest, also by Bishop Lines.  After serving five years at St Mary’s, Haledon, he was appointed Canon and Executive Secretary for Social Service by Bishop Wilson R. Stearly.  In 1931 he became rector of St. John’s Church, where he remained until he was elected Suffragan Bishop in 1958.  Thus Bishop MacAdie served his entire ministry in the Diocese of Newark.

In his first sermon at St. John’s, Father MacAdie said:

“…there seems to be a changing vision of religious ideals. Many are asking questions  prompted by the advent of scientific learning and its seeming disparity with religious teachings of the past.

It has often been repeated lately that many people are hungry for reality in religion; many are confused, astray, and adrift, with the Church not seeming to meet their needs in recent years. Yet the church can bring light into darkness with its new message.  She can hold the young, win the attention and respect of the scientist, attract Mr. Everyman, reform the wicked, heal the sick, and nurture the spiritual values of life. And this new teaching is still the Old Gospel; the Gospel of Christ, in all its creative and redeeming wonder, interpreted in terms of the thought and need of these new times.  The Gospel by its truth and vitality makes of the new learning an instrument, not an enemy.

We must first cast aside the idea, which still prevails here and there, that God runs this world by absentee management.  The old idea of the world as being created and wound up and let run by itself with God, from time to time, indulging in interruptions of its running order to please Himself, is a thing of the past.  God is ever present in the world, with His people constantly perfecting his handiwork.

When the Rev. Donald MacAdie came here in 1931, the depression was at its height; the church was saddled with debt and there was only a handful in the Sunday School.

Life at St. John’s in those days took more than a valiant heart to carry on the pastoral duties and to administer a none-too-solvent parish.

Father MacAdie reintroduced some of the “high church” practices in existence prior to Mr. Wilson’s rectorate.  For example, he brought back the use of a large priest’s host and the elevation during the Prayer of Consecration.  We also know that before the principal service on Sundays he would sit by the side altar and make himself available for “counseling” or private confession.  Apparently he attempted the reintroduction of incense in the liturgy but it did not receive acceptance at that time.

In his 27 years in Passaic, Donald MacAdie identified himself not only with St. John’s parish but also with the whole community.  Appointed by two mayors, he served as a member of the Board of Local Assistance throughout the years of the Depression.  As chairman of the Four Town Federation of Social Study he directed the social study needs of Clifton, Garfield, Passaic and Wallington.  He served on the Community Chest and was a member of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army.  He was an organizer of the Passaic Rotary Club, the Century Club, and the Passaic Ministerial Association.  He was the first Chaplain of Memorial Post, American Legion.

On the 25^th anniversary of his pastorate, it was recorded, the church membership had more than doubled, the Sunday School had been reorganized with an enrollment of 200 and an additional 75 were in the Guild of the Christ Child, a pre-school age group.

Through his long pastorate, Bishop MacAdie had baptized 698 infants, had prepared 637 for confirmation, and had officiated at the marriage of 291 couples.  By the time he left many of these same couples were beginning to bring their own infants for baptism starting the same cycle over.

To the affairs of the Diocese of Newark, Bishop MacAdie gave devotedly of his time and energy.  While serving as rector of St. John’s, he was active on numerous diocesan committees and helped direct the parish-by-parish survey preparation for the Episcopal Advance Fund which led to the setting of its $1.1 million goal.  As Bishop, he was a member of the executive committee for the drive, which was over-subscribed.

Bishop MacAdie was never far from St. John’s even after being raised to the purple.  A month before his death, he visited St. John’s for a farewell reception given in honor of Peter Allen, the church’s sexton for 37 years, on his retirement.  There was a deep bond of affection between the two men, and Allen, a Scot, never spoke of the bishop without referring to him as “His Reverence.”

Bishop MacAdie’s funeral was held at St. John’s on August 3, 1963 with over 150 priests and three bishops in attendance.