Nationality Scottish Alma mater University of Glasgow | Died 29 July 2016 | |
Born 20 August 1925 Dailly, South Ayrshire Known for Motherhood of God, Scottish Malawi Network | ||
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Anne Hepburn (20 August 1925 – 29 July 2016) was a Church of Scotland missionary and a teacher, feminist and social justice advocate. She served as National President of the Church of Scotland's Women's Guild in the early 1980s, where she led the debate on the issue of the "Motherhood of God".
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Early life and education
Anne Burton was born in Dailly, South Ayrshire on 20 August 1925. Her mother died when she was a child, and she grew up with her blacksmith father, who was also a church elder. She went onto study at Glasgow University, before training as a teacher at Jordanhill. When she graduated, she taught at a small village school in the village of Barr for three years before applying to the Women's Foreign Mission Committee of the Church of Scotland. She was accepted for training at St Colm's College, a Church of Scotland college.
Mission work
In 1950 Anne Burton was sent to Malawi, then called Nyasaland, as headmistress of a mission primary school for girls. She married fellow missionary Hamish Hepburn and their three children Catherine, Margaret and Kenneth were born. The political struggles that began in 1959 resulted in independence for Nyasaland, but an uncertain climate for those who opposed the new regime. In 1964, when on furlough in Scotland, the Hepburns were advised not to return to Malawi.
Life in the Church
Anne Hepburn settled in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries & Galloway, where her husband Hamish became minister. Anne was active in the Women's Guild, serving as National Vice-President from 1972-1975, and she was ordained as an elder of the Church of Scotland in 1974. In 1981, Hepburn became National President of the Women's Guild.
Motherhood of God controversy
In her opening remarks to the 1982 April annual meeting of the Women's Guild, Anne Hepburn decided to use a prayer written by the Rev. Brian Wren which addressed "God our Mother" (the original typewritten script is now preserved in the New College Library Archives). The prayer caused audible upset, and two letters of complaint followed.
Nevertheless this first step was followed by the creation of a study by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to study the theological implications of the Motherhood of God. But when this group reported back to the General Assembly, the topic was shelved. Nevertheless, the discussion continued around the world.