Alistair_Macrae

Alistair Macrae

Alistair Macrae

21st-century Australian Christian minister

For the British motor rally driver, see Alister McRae.

Alistair Macrae AO (born 1957) is an ordained Christian minister of the Uniting Church in Australia and was formerly a moderator of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania,[1] and President of the National Assembly.[2][3]

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Early life and education

Macrae is the son of the Reverend Donald and Anne Macrae. He was born in Melbourne and spent most of his childhood in Sale, Victoria, before moving to Melbourne for secondary education and then Melbourne University.[4]

Macrae has degrees in arts, theology and philosophy from the University of Melbourne and the Trinity College Dublin.

Ordained service

Macrae was ordained in 1984 and has served in rural, regional and inner-city congregations in Victoria, at Mt Beauty, Portland and West Brunswick. He served as Moderator of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania (2000–2003) and as executive director of the Uniting Church Centre for Theology and Ministry (2004–2009) in that Synod. He was a member of the board of Wesley Mission Melbourne and chaired its social policy committee. He has been a Director on the Board of Uniting Vic.Tas since 2020.

Macrae was an inaugural member of the Victorian State Government's Community Support Fund and served on the advisory committee of the Community Alcohol Action network of the Australian Drug Foundation.

President of the UCA

Macrae became President of the UCA in July 2009, at the 12th Assembly. His theme for the three years of the Assembly was "Living Water, Thirsty Land".

In September 2013 Macrae commenced as Minister of Wesley Uniting Church, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

On Sunday 12 February 2023, Macrae retired from formal ministry, in a service at Wesley.[5]

Personal life

Macrae is married to Clare Boyd-Macrae, a writer,[6] and they have four children, Tess, Patrick, Hamish and Fiona. His interests include sport of most kinds, notably Australian Rules football (he played nearly 300 games of Victorian Amateur and country football) as well as cooking, reading, running, renovating, gardening and being with family and friends.

Macrae was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Australia Day Honours for distinguished service to the Uniting Church in Australia through executive and ministerial roles at state and national levels, and to the promotion of ecumenism, interfaith dialogue and reconciliation.[7][8] In 2021, he (along with several others)[9] handed back his award as a response to Margaret Court being elevated from Officer to Companion of the Order of Australia.[10]

References

  1. [1]
    "The Uniting Church accepts all people. It always has". The Age. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  2. [2]
    "About the Uniting Church in Australia". UCA National Assembly website. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  3. [3]
    "Key people at the Assembly". UCA Assembly. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  4. [4]
    Assembly leaders and staff Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, UCA, accessed 15 May 2010
  5. [5]
    ALISTAIR HEADS INTO RETIREMENT, Crosslight magazine, 2023-02-15
  6. [6]
    Boyd-Macrae, Clare, National Library of Australia catalogue, accessed 15 May 2010
  7. [7]
    "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). Australia Day 2017 Honours List. Governor-General of Australia. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) entry for The Reverend Alistair James MACRAE". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2021. For distinguished service to the Uniting Church in Australia through executive and ministerial roles at state and national levels, and to the promotion of ecumenism, interfaith dialogue and reconciliation.
  9. [9]
    Eddie, Rachel (27 January 2021). "'Bad theology kills': Senior cleric returns honour over Margaret Court decision". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  10. [10]
    Macrae, Alistair (27 January 2021). "Faith rattled in Australia Day honours". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
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