Elizabeth Kilbourn

1926-2006

Elizabeth Kilbourn (nee Sawyer) is one of the first women to be ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada and was the first woman President of the Canadian Association for Pastoral Education (1981).

She was previously a broadcaster and journalist, writing on issues of the arts, society and culture. Elizabeth Kilbourn was born Mary Elizabeth Sawyer on July 18^th, 1926 to Violet M. Hill and Rev. Philip A. Sawyer. Sawyer attended Caledonia High School (1939-1944) and Trinity College at the University of Toronto (1944-1948), where she studied Modern History and graduated with High Honours. At Trinity College, Sawyer was an active member of the university's debating team and the social life of St. Hilda's College.

In the summer of 1946 and 1947, Sawyer worked in Alberta on the Western Canada Anglican Sunday School Caravan Mission. Sawyer studied for her Master's at Radcliffe College at Harvard University (1948-1949) and married her fellow Trinity alumnus William Morley Kilbourn (1926-1995) on September 10^th, 1949. The couple lived in the United States and England, while William Kilbourn studied at Oxford and Harvard, and later lectured at Harvard, McMaster and York Universities. The couple had five children.

During the late 1950s and 1960s, Kilbourn was an art critic for The Hamilton Spectator, CBC Radio and The Toronto Star. Between 1972 and 1973 she was an art lecturer at the Art Gallery of Toronto. During this time, she also published works in such publications as Art, Canadian Forum, and Tamarack Review.

In 1975 Kilbourn returned to Trinity College and the Toronto School of Theology to study for her Masters of Divinity. After graduating with her M.Div. in 1977, she studied at St. George's College in Jerusalem. She was ordained deacon in 1977 and priest in 1978.

Between 1976 and 1984, Elizabeth Kilbourn studied towards certification in C.P.E. (Clinical Pastoral Education). She also served as President for CAPE/ACEP during the year from 1981-1982, and this was the first time a woman held this office.

Elizabeth worked as the Anglican Chaplain at Toronto General Hospital (1977-1981), and within

the Diocese of Toronto (1978-1981). She was also active on the International Council for Pastoral Care and Counselling during the 1980s. In 1986 she was the first woman to be nominated for the position of Suffragan (assistant) Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.

Source of information: Clara Thomas Archives, York University, “Inventory of the Elizabeth Kilbourn fonds” – found on the Internet at http://archivesfa.library.yorku.ca/fonds/ON00370-f0000131.htm.