Person

Bain, Lillian Catherine

• Bain, Lillian
• Bain, Lillian C.

• Murphy, Lillian

1916-2003

Lillian Catherine (Murphy) Bain was born in Toronto on 4 May 1916. She met Joe Bain in 1934 or 1935, and they were married in late 1935 in Toronto. They had eight daughters and two sons. In the mid-1960s, Lillian began to explore Spiritualism. She began her investigation at Toronto’s Springdale Church under the guidance of Reverend William Charles Partridge (1893-1984), where her main interest was in the healing aspects of Spiritualism. Lillian first visited Camp Chesterfield in Indiana in 1968, and visited annually until 1982, often accompanied by her husband. In 1971, she held a licentiate certificate from the Vancouver-based International Spiritualist Alliance, and gave her first lecture at Springdale Church. She was also certified as a healer by the National Federation of Spiritual Healers (Canada), Inc. In 1974, Lillian opened the Bethel Healing Sanctuary in her home at 91 Marilake Drive, Agincourt, on the instigation of British Spiritualists’ National Union minister Mrs. Hilda Martin.
Lillian worked at Springdale Church until 1978, when Reverend Partridge appointed her Pastor / Minister of the Springdale Park Spiritual Association church at Bracebridge, Ontario. She served there until the church’s closure in the mid-1980s, when she conducted the last service. For a number of years after Lillian became Pastor of Springdale Park Church, the Bains continued to live in Toronto. During those years, they spent their summers in a home on a lot in Springdale Park, on the North Muskoka River, next door to the Partridges’ summer cottage. In September 1980, Reverend Partridge ordained Lillian and Joe in Richmond. In the late 1980s, Lillian began suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which was not diagnosed until 1991, when she was already seriously ill. She died in 2003.

Toronto, ON; Bracebridge, ON; Richmond, BC

Ordained minister

UMASC

Rules of Archival Description (RAD)

Final

Full

Created by Samantha Booth, June 2015

• English

Walter Meyer zu Erpen (Survival Research Institute of Canada, President)