Both professionally and as a volunteer, Edith Shore worked to advance causes such as women's inclusion in the church, helping women who have been incarcerated rebuild their lives, and ending the HIV/AIDS health crisis. Photo: Contributed
Edith Shore, a strong advocate for social justice and women’s rights and inclusion in the church, died on Jan. 24 in Newmarket, Ont., at the age of 78.
Shore graduated from the Anglican Women’s Training College in Winnipeg in the late 1950s. She continued to support the school throughout her life, serving on the board for 23 years, including a time as president. She helped see the school through its merger with Covenant College to form the present-day Centre for Christian Studies.
As a young graduate, Shore began working in parish ministry as director of Christian education, and then in the early 1960s, she worked as the diocese of Toronto’s director of youth work. Shore helped pioneer youth ministry and, few years later, continued her work at the national offices of the Anglican Church of Canada, where she worked for the General Board of Religious Education from 1963 to 1968, writing and editing many educational resources. She also worked on women’s committees in the church.
Shore (nee Clift) married William Shore and left her work with General Synod in the mid-1960s to raise their children, but she continued to do some freelance writing and volunteering. In 1970, she worked with several groups advocating for women’s rights and inclusion in the Anglican Church and ecumenically. She served on the planning committee for the first ecumenical Women and the Church Conference.
In 1981, Shore was hired by Canadian Council of Churches as associate secretary for Canadian concerns, responsible for social justice issues. She also did contract work for the Anglican Church, including on the AIDS working group.
In the 1990s, Shore served as a staff member on the interchurch working group on violence and sexual abuse and became deeply involved in justice and corrections issues, particularly related to women. In that role, she published a book in 2000 titled “Lying Down with Lions: Building the Peaceable Kingdom : Helping Women Who Have Served Time in Prison and Building Healthy Communities.
With many family and friends, Shore is mourned by her husband William, sons Geoffrey (and wife Alexandra) of Newmarket, Ont. and Peter (and wife Miranda) of Toronto and grandchildren Ryan and Claire.