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Reverend Elizabeth (Betty) Baxter Forbes Kinniburgh (1 May 1929 – 23 October 2016) was one of the first women to gain the license to preach in 1969 and became ordained as a minister for the
Kinniburgh became one of the first women with the license to preach in 1969 while she was lecturing in religious studies in
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
in 1970.
Life
Elizabeth Kinniburgh (who preferred the name Betty) was born inGreenock
Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
, Scotland.
Education and early work
She attended Greenock Academy, until her family move toEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. While at Trinity Academy she was described as a brilliant scholar, and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree at Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
and then a Diploma in Education at Moray House
The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood Campus, ...
at the same university.
Kinniburgh worked as a school teacher at the Aberlady
Aberlady (, Gaelic: ''Obar Lobhaite'') is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. The village had an estimated population of in .
Etymology
The name ''Aberlady'' has Brittonic origins. The first part of the name is t ...
Public School in East Lothian
East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In ...
, but gave up teaching to pursue biblical studies and a Bachelor of Divinity course at New College and continued post graduate research in Cambridge publishing ''Religious Education - An Attempt at a Theological Appraisal'' in the ''Scottish Journal of Theology''. She continued teaching religious topics in her position at the University of St. Andrews
The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...
and later at Dundee's College of Education.
Work in the Church of Scotland
Kinniburgh became one of the first women with the license to preach in 1969 while she was lecturing in religious studies in Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
followed by full ordination to minister in 1970 after the Church of Scotland began allowing the ordination of women in 1968. She was accepted as minister and Moderator of the Presbytery in the parish of Birse
Birse () is a parish in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which includes the communities of Finzean and Ballogie. However the name Birse is often used to refer only to the northwestern part of the parish which lies on the sou ...
, which was linked with the communities of Finzean
Finzean ( ; ) is a rural community, electoral polling district, community council area and former ecclesiastical parish, which forms the southern part of the Parish of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Finzean was the subject of many well-known lan ...
and Strachan in 1983.
Kinniburgh was acting as Moderator of the Presbytery and running three kirk sessions and three Sunday schools when she suffered a severe stroke in 1986 which left her in a coma for six weeks. She made only a partial recovery from the incident and had to retire from ministry to a small house in Aboyne
Aboyne (, ) is a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis cou ...
. She lived there the rest of her days and died 23 October 2016.
See also
*Ordination of women in the Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland was one of the first national churches to accept the ordination of women. In Presbyterianism, ordination is understood to be an ordinance rather than a sacrament; ministers and elders are ordained; until recently deacons ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinniburgh, Elizabeth 1929 births 2016 deaths 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews People from Greenock People from Aboyne