Rev. Dr. Gary Bruce MacDonald

A Celebration of Life service for the Rev. Dr. Gary Bruce MacDonald, 64, will be held on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, at 10 a.m., at The Nett United Methodist Church, 444 Bethesda Church Road, Lawrenceville, GA 30044. A reception will follow at the church.

Clergy are invited to gather at 9:15 a.m. and robe, wearing white stoles, in the church’s fellowship hall (lower level) for the procession.

Rev. MacDonald died suddenly May 27, 2026, at his home in Lawrenceville after suffering a heart attack weeks earlier.

His life and ministry embodied a spirit of love, empathy and service to others. He was gifted with the ability to connect in meaningful ways with all he met, always exhibiting genuine care and generosity to strangers and family alike. His gentle spirit emanated strength, a self-effacing humility and a character shaped by his deeply held moral principles and integrity.

Rev. MacDonald had a keen awareness of the brokenness in this world. His daily choice was to continue to live and love fully. He always looked on the bright side of life.

He also buoyed himself—and others—with his wicked sense of humor (he could quote Monty Python in any context), his love of music (particularly The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, whom he saw in concert 13 times), his brilliant smile and his singular, infectious laughter.

At the time of his death, Rev. MacDonald was serving at Murphy-Harpst Children’s Centers of Cedartown, Ga., where he was Stewardship and Advancement Manager. Prior to this role, he spent most of his ministry in higher education administration. During his almost-two decades at Perkins School of Theology-Southern Methodist University (SMU) and subsequent years at Duke Divinity School, he contributed to global theological education through institutional leadership, strategic planning and academic programming.

An ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church and member of the New England Annual Conference, Rev. MacDonald’s ministry included pastoral leadership in diverse contexts, including appointments to churches in Red Oak and Dallas, Texas; Lynn, Mass.; and Concord and Kannapolis, N.C. He also served as an intentional interim ministry specialist, guiding congregations through seasons of transition and renewal.

In both church and academy settings, Rev. MacDonald taught courses in theology, leadership, philosophy and religion, equipping students and leaders to engage complex moral and organizational challenges with clarity and integrity.

Prior to entering ministry, he worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for the high technology industry in Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts.

Rev. MacDonald was born Aug. 17, 1961, in Boston, Mass. to beloved parents Bruce Coleman MacDonald and Carolyn Anne (Bohmann) MacDonald, both now deceased. He grew up in Worcester, attended the former Covenant United Methodist Church and graduated from Burncoat Senior High School.

Rev. MacDonald was a magna cum laude graduate of both Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., where he earned a B.A. in journalism in 1984, and of Perkins School of Theology, SMU, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1994.

In 2019, Rev. MacDonald was awarded a Ph.D. from SMU’s Graduate Program in Religious Studies. A scholar of religious ethics and particularly the intersections between church and society, his dissertation was entitled "The Church and Social Responsibility: Contributions to Contemporary Social Ethics from the Ecumenical Method of the Oxford Conference on Church, Community, and State of 1937." The work examined the responsibility and place of the church in political dialogue through the lens of ecumenical social ethics. He continued to write and publish for both scholarly and broader audiences.

A proud son of Scotland whose family crest reads “Per Fidem Per Spem” (By Faith By Hope), Rev. MacDonald served as national chaplain of Clan Donald USA and Clan Donald Canada from 2011 until his death. He was an avid student of Scottish heraldry and heritage, and, in 2013, the Scottish Court of Lord Lyon awarded Rev. MacDonald the title of Armiger: official bearer of the MacDonald Coat of Arms, historically held by his father and generations preceding him. He took any opportunity to wear his Clan MacDonald kilt and faithfully celebrated Robert Burns Day each Jan. 25, dancing to reels played on a bagpipe and toasting the haggis with a “wee dram.”

He is survived by the love of his life, Dr. Heidi A. Miller, whom he met in 2011 when she joined the faculty of Perkins School of Theology. They were married on Nov. 30, 2013, and together created a firm foundation built on daily gratitude for their deep love, abiding faith in God and in each other, and a life of service and hospitality. They both carried an image of their marriage as a table set by God’s love and their own love each day, strong, steady and overflowing with bounty—both for them and for others.

Rev. MacDonald is also survived by his children and their partners: Alison Bohmann MacDonald and partner Robert Hamilton of West Yarmouth, Mass.; Jonathan R. MacDonald and his wife, Danni M. Davis MacDonald of Denver, Colo.; Joshua C. MacDonald and his fiancée Stephanie Howard of The Colony, Texas; Brynn A. Yoder of Harrisonburg, Va.; and three grandchildren, Maxwell Paul MacDonald of Carrollton, Texas; and Harvey Bruce MacDonald and Lewis Nyx MacDonald of Denver, Colo.

He is also survived by a sister, Jesslyn A. McManus, and her husband, Jack, of Barnstable, Mass.; four brothers-in-law and their spouses: Paul Miller and David Selmer of Poland, Maine, David and Julie Miller of Lawrenceville, Ga., Mark and Wendy S. Miller of Hesston, Kan., and Scott and Laura Miller of West Chicago, Ill.; aunts and uncles, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Another memorial service for Rev. MacDonald will take place in 2027 on his beloved Cape Cod, near his family’s summer home in West Yarmouth. The service will be held at Northside United Methodist Church (701 Airline Road, Brewster, MA, 02631) on Saturday, June 12, 2027, at 10 a.m., and with reception at the church afterward. A private interment of ashes with family will follow later that day.

In lieu of flowers, and to honor his lifelong generosity in mission for the most vulnerable, Rev. MacDonald’s family requests memorial gifts be made to Murphy-Harpst Children’s Center through this shared link: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/MHCC_Gary_MacDonald

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem (Merciful Lord Jesus, grant him/them rest.)