Jean Enid Skuse (born 1 January 1932) is an Australian Christian leader and ecumenist who served as the general secretary of the Australian Council of Churches and the Vice-Moderator of the Central Committee of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
(WCC).
Life
Early life
Jean Skuse was born in 1932, and grew up in
New South Wales
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. She was raised in the Methodist faith, as her father was a Methodist minister. She began her professional life in accounting and auditing, working in this field from 1949 to 1963 in Sydney, Australia, and in London, England.
Church work
In 1963, Skuse became the administrator of a girl's
hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...
in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney, that was managed by the Methodist church. This marked the beginning of her long-career working for organizations connected to the Methodist Church, and later, the wider ecumenical movement. From 1969 to 1970, she worked as an observer to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, for the newly formed
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
in the United States, which was established in 1968 through a merger between two American churches with similar Methodist roots. In 1970, she was appointed to the
UN Commission on the Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main United Nations System, UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the U ...
. She was international secretary of the World Conference of Methodist Women from 1971 until 1976, and also served as a member of the executive of the World Methodist Council.
In 1971, Skuse was appointed executive secretary of the New South Wales Council of Churches. She became General Secretary of the
Australian Council of Churches
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian churches in dialogue and practical cooperation.
The NCCA works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils ...
(ACC) in 1975 and served in this post until 1988. She was the first woman to serve as the head of the ACC.
Skuse attended the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
' fifth Assembly held in Nairobi in 1975. At this global gathering of ecumenical leaders, she was elected as Vice-Moderator of the Central Committee of the WCC, a post she held from 1975 to 1983. In 1988, she became the national co-ordinator for the seventh WCC Assembly, which was held in Canberra, Australia in 1991.
Skuse was a member of the group Christian Women Concerned, which was the first explicitly religious feminist organisation in Australia. This small ecumenical group also included
Marie Tulip
Marie Tulip (12 March 1935 – 19 September 2015) was an Australian feminist writer, academic and proponent for the ordination of women as priests.Dorothy McRae-McMahon and together the group published the Magdalene (newsletter) from 1973 to 1987.
Awards and recognition
In 1978, Skuse was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...
. The following year, in June 1979, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). For the
1992 Australia Day Honours The 1992 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 25 January 1992 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden.
The Australia Day ...
, Skuse was elevated to an
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AO) for "service to religion, particularly through the World Council of Churches, and to women's affairs".
Some of Skuse's personal papers are held at the
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
. An interview with Skuse, conducted by Australian historian
Hazel de Berg
Hazel Estelle de Berg (21 March 1913 – 3 February 1984) was a pioneer of oral history in Australia. Between 1957 and 1984 she produced 1291 hour-long sound tape reels of interviews with writers, historians, artists, musicians and scientists a ...
in 1977, is also held at the National Library of Australia.
Works
* ''To See With One's Own Eyes''. Sydney: Australian Council of Churches, 1982.
Australian Women's Register
''The Australian Women's Register'' is a fully searchable online database which aims to cover Australian women and Australian Women's organisations. It combines many resources and allows users to find historical and contemporary material on not ...