2005 Companion of the Centre

The 2005 Companion of the Centre award recipient:

Edith Shore
Edith Shore began a long journey of ministry in the late fifties when she attended and graduated from the Anglican Women's Training College. Her first position was in a parish working as Director of Christian Education. Her efforts did not go unnoticed and in the early-sixties, she began work for the Diocese of Toronto as Director of Youth Work. She was a pioneer in this field, and also became part of a support group for women workers in the church. She was very adamant that while ordination was important, there were many other vital roles that women could play in the church, either as deacons or lay workers.

A few years later Edith moved to the National Office of the Anglican Church to continue her work in Youth Ministry. This led to work writing and editing educational materials and working with women's committees in the church.

In the mid-sixties, Edith took a break from paid work with the church to raise her family. She still continued to do freelance writing and was involved with many organizations as a volunteer.

In 1970, Edith became very involved in several groups who advocated for women's rights and inclusion in the Anglican church. This soon expanded to similar work on an ecumenical level, and Edith was invited to serve on the planning committee for the first ecumenical Women and the Church Conference.

Edith return to paid work in 1981 with the Canadian Council of Churches, responsible for social justice issues. She also did several contracts for the Anglican Church including the AIDS portfolio. In the 1990's her focus shifted again as she became deeply involved in the area of justice and corrections, particularly related to women, as a staff member on the InterChurch Working Group on Violence and Sexual Abuse. This resulted in publication of a book, Lying down with Lions, about supporting women who have served time in prison.

During this whole period Edith was also committed to supporting AWTC/CCS. She has worked on several events and was a Board member for 23 years, including a time as President. She played a key role in supporting the amalgamation process between AWTC and Covenant College which resulted in the formation of Centre for Christian Studies. She has also worked to create publications that promote CCS and its programs. Currently Edith serves on the Tapestry Editorial Committee and as a member of the advisory group for the CCS History Book Project.

All seven letters of support which were included in Edith Shore's nomination provided testaments to Edith's strong leadership and commitment to areas of social justice, women's advocacy, Christian Education and writing.