Elizabeth "Betty" Beale

beale

1998 South Road, Gabriola Island, BC  V0R 1X6

250-247-0122

ebeale@telus.net

(July 16, 2008) Seneca High School: Jan 1959 - Jan 63 (when my family moved to the San Francisco Bay area)

Terra Linda High School, Marin Co, CA, grad 1963

Mills College, Oakland, Ca, 1967 Honours BA in Philosophy, Religion and Sociology

I worked as a caseworker for the NYC Department of Social Services 1967-68., then went "back to the land" from Berkeley to Lagunitas to Mendocino, CA. In 1970 I immigrated to Canada with a Vietnam War protestor/draft dodger (with an Art Degree from U of N. Carolina). I cherish those years of learning to live simply, sometimes communally, mostly rural - growing food, making music and crafts, practicing a spirituality in harmony with nature on the beautiful BC coast. And then there were those important learnings from mistakes and failures. 

In 1982 my life as single mother of 4 began at a Women's Shelter. The Women's Movement, good friends and the Department of Social Services (as a client this time) helped me get on my feet. I went back to school with my children - aged 3 - 15. I received a MDiv degree from the Vancouver School of Theology in 1989, and was ordained to the ministry. From 1989 - 2006 I worked as an Anglican Priest, most of that time in a small parish in New Westminster, BC, where we developed a large outreach program and community gathering place in a low income neighbourhood.

In 2000 I married the Rev. Dr. Thomas Harding, a United Church of Canada minister and professor, and sailor. I took early retirement in 2006 and we moved onto our sailboat La Sonrisa II to sail the BC coast. The blog from 2007 - 2012 is www.lasonrisa2.blogspot.ca.

And now we live on our "farmlet" on Gabriola Island, just off Vancouver Island. We work at  living simply and sustainably, grow our own food and practice cooperative food production, use and learn about alternate energy, share with neighbours, and have a lot of fun. We cherish our 8 children (between us) and 5 grandchildren. And we enjoy living with our our chickens and ducks.

Seneca High School—Class of '63                     http://www.senecaclassof63.com