Kathleen Bliss

Kathleen Mary Amelia Bliss (née Moore, 5 July 1908 – 13 September 1989), was an English theologian, missionary, and official of the World Council of Churches.

Kathleen Bliss, 1962. Collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Early life

Bliss was born in Fulham.[1] She attended Girton College, Cambridge, graduating in theology (First Class, 1931) and history (Second Class, 1929).[1] While at university, she participated in the Student Volunteer Movement.[2]

Bliss left for an extended missionary trip to Tamil Nadu in 1932, under the auspices of the London Missionary Society. She went with her husband Rupert, whom she married that year, and they remained in India until 1939.[2][1]

Literary career

Upon her return to England, Bliss began working at the Christian News Letter, then managed by J. H. Oldham. She became assistant editor in 1942 and editor in 1945, in which capacity she served until the publication folded in 1949.[1] From 1950–55, she worked at the BBC as a producer.[1]

World Council of Churches
Bliss delivers a lecture at the second assembly of the World Council of Churches, 1954.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Bliss served in various capacities in the World Council of Churches (WCC), an ecumenical organisation founded in 1948. She became a member of WCC's executive committee in 1954.[2] Her work with WCC focussed in particular on the role of women in the church.[2] She published a monograph on the subject in 1952.[3]

Academic career

From 1967/8[lower-alpha 1] to 1972, Bliss was a senior lecturer in religious studies at the University of Sussex.[2]

Religious views

Originally a Congregationalist, Bliss had become a member of the Church of England by 1948.[1]

Works

In addition to the published works listed below, Bliss prepared, but never finished, a book-length biography of J. H. Oldham.[2]

  • Bliss, Kathleen (1952). The Service and Status of Women in the Churches. London: SCM Press. OCLC 7432626.
  • Bliss, Kathleen (1963). We the People: A Book about Laity. London: SCM Press. OCLC 1015592371.
  • Bliss, Kathleen (1970) [1962]. "The Role of Religion in the Pursuit of Freedom". In Jeleński, Konstanty A. (ed.). History and Hope: Tradition, Ideology, and Change in Modern Society. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press. pp. 142–144. OCLC 1149158973.
  • Bliss, Kathleen (1972). The Future of Religion. London: Penguin Books. OCLC 1014547705.
  • Bliss, Kathleen (1984). "The Legacy of J. H. Oldham". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 8 (1): 18–24. doi:10.1177/239693938400800105. ISSN 0272-6122.

Notes
  1. Accounts differ slightly as to the year Bliss was appointed as lecturer at the university.
  1. Edwards, David L. (23 September 2004). "Bliss [née Moore], Kathleen Mary Amelia". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39995. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Jackson, E. M. (1999). "Bliss, Kathleen Mary Amelia (Moore)". In Anderson, Gerald H. (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8028-4680-8.
  3. Bliss 1952.
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