Rita Snowden (1907-1999)
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Rita Snowden (1907-1999) |
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She was then stationed into Auckland, and with the exception of one year at Kurahuna Home in Masterton, all her ministry was spent there, firstly in social service work at the Auckland Central Mission. For over four years she was the travelling representative of the Methodist Literature and Colporteur Society, taking books all over the country in her caravan, and during the war years she worked in Epworth Bookshop in the city. From 1946 onwards she was on the staff of the Home Mission Department, and in 1948 was invited to visit Australia to speak at the Queensland Methodist Centenary.
She wrote her first book in 1933. The reaction to Through Open Windows, written during a time of illness, encouraged her to continue writing, and over a period of 56 years, she averaged more than one book, mostly of a devotional nature, each year. At the same time she took up broadcasting and became well-known in that medium as well. Her international reputation was considerable, and she was elected a Fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters (F.I.A.L) in 1962. She was also elected to the Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists (PEN) in 1970.
The Church honoured her by electing her as the first woman Vice President
of Conference in 1956, and some years later in 1975 her international
status as a writer was recognised with the award of the O.B.E.
She retired from active deaconess work in 1966. In retirement
she lived in various parts of Auckland, and kept up a regular flow of
books for publication until in her eighties. She died early in
December of this year (1999).
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| 1. | Through Open Windows;
Letters from Joan to Jill ... Unity Press, Auckland, 1933 (reprinted 12 times up to 1940) |
| 2. | If I Open my Door
... Epworth, London, 1937 (reprinted 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940) |
| 3. | When we two Walked; a
Pilgrimage in Spring
... Epworth, London, 1939 |
| 4. | The Winds Blow
... Epworth, London, 1940 |
| 5. | 'With Two Hands'
... Methodist Literature and Colporteur Society, Auckland, 1940 |
| 6. | A Thousand Sunrises
... Epworth, London, 1944 |
| 7. | 'While the Candle
Burns'; a Book of Devotions
... Epworth, London, 1946 |
| 8. | The Lark is in the Sky
... Epworth, London, 1946 |
| 9. | Safety Last! Stirring
Tales of the Pacific
... Epworth, London, 1946 |
| 10. | 'Listen, Children!'
True Stories and Object Talks
... Epworth, London, 1948 (reprinted 1949, 1952) |
| 11. | Never a Dull Moment;
Life and Letters of Annie James
... Presbyterian Bookroom, Christchurch and Dunedin, 1948 |
| 12. | Prodigal of the Seven Seas
... Epworth, London, 1949 |
| 13. | Today; a Book of
Devotions
... Epworth, London, 1949 |
| 14. | There's no place like Home
... Epworth, London, 1950 |
| 15. | Story-time Again
... Epworth, London, 1951 |
| 16. | From the Pen of F. Truby
King; Chapters compiled from the Writings and Lectures of the late
Truby King. His Life and Work, by Rita F.
Snowden. Infant loss in New Zealand, by Helen Deem.
Whitcombe and Tombs, Auckland, 1951 (for the Truby King Booklet Committee) |
| 17. | Sung in our Hearts;
Studies in the Psalms
... Epworth, London, 1952 |
| 18. | I turn to Ducks
... Epworth, London, 1953 |
| 19. | As the Sun Climbs
... Epworth, London, 1952 |
| 20. | Trees Unafraid
... Epworth, London, 1952 |
| 21. | What Time is
it? A Book of Stories for Preachers and Teachers and Fathers and
Mothers and all Friends of Boys and Girls
... Epworth, London, 1953 |
| 22. | Here be People
... Epworth, London, 1954 |
| 23. | His Interpreters; a
Book for the Dawning and the Closing of the Day
... Epworth, London, 1955 |
| 24. | Over the Hills and Home
Again
... Epworth, London, 1955 |
| 25. | The Ark at the end of the
Garden; Children's Stories for Church and Home
... Epworth, London, 1956 |
| 26. | Seven Days of the Week
... Epworth, London, 1956 |
| 27. | From a Hilltop
... Epworth, London, 1956 |
| 28. | Hobson's Choice;
Thirty Stories for Boys from nine to twelve
... Epworth, London, 1957 |
| 29. | The Ladies of Wesleydale
... Epworth, London, 1957 (published as Vol 15, No.2 Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society NZ Branch) |
| 30. | I believe in the Dawn
... Epworth, London, 1958 |
| 31. | 'Parts of His Ways';
a Book of Devotions
... Epworth, London, 1958 |
| 32. | Love came down at
Christmas
... Epworth, London, 1958 |
| 33. | The Kindled Flame
... Epworth, London, 1959 |
| 34. | Trumpets in the
Morning; Stories for Boys and Girls
... Epworth, London, 1960 |
| 35. | Richly to Enjoy
... Epworth, London, 1961 |
| 36. | Bells from many a
Steeple; a Book for the Dawning and the Closing of the Day
... Epworth, London, 1961 |
| 37. | High Business
... Epworth, London, 1961 |
| 38. | Around the World;
True Stories for Boys and Girls
... Epworth, London, 1962 |
| 39. | As Fresh as a Daisy
... Epworth, London, 1963 |
| 40. | Such a Woman; the
Story of Susanna Wesley
... Epworth, London, 1963 |
| 41. | The Fifth Sparrow
... Epworth, London, 1964 |
| 42. | Grasshopper Green
... Epworth, London, 1964 |
| 43. | Sunlight and Sea
... Epworth, London, 1965 |
| 44. | Ten Little Tadpoles
... Epworth, London, 1965 |
| 45. | Over the Doorstep
... Epworth, London, 1966 |
| 46. | The Time of our Lives
... Abingdon, Nashville, 1966 |
| 47. | A Woman's Book of Prayers
... Collins, Fontana Paperbacks, 1968 This book was commissioned by Collins as a companion to William Barclay's A Plain Man's Book of Prayers. Barclay himself wrote the Foreword to Rita Snowden's work. The book ran to 17 editions. |
| 48. | A Show of Hands
... Epworth, London, 1969 |
| 49. | Prayers for the Family
... Epworth, London, 1970 |
| 50. | Travelling Light
... Epworth, London, 1970 |
| 51. | People are People
... Epworth, London, 1971 |
| 52. | On the Tip of my
Tongue; Devotional Openings for Meetings
... Epworth, London, 1972 |
| 53. | Where the Action is;
Modern Stories and Prayers
... Collins, in cooperation with Christian Book Promotion Trust, 1972 |
| 54. | The Sun is High . . .
(autobiography)
... Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1974 |
| 55. | Prayers in Later Life
... Fontana, London, 1974 |
| 56. | Lively Stories for
Children; for Teachers, Parents, Preachers, and Club-Leaders
... Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1975 |
| 57. | More Prayers for Women
... Collins (Fontana), London, 1975 |
| 58. | When my Visitors go;
a Book for one sick in Hospital or at Home
... Collins (Fontana), London, 1976 |
| 59. | Shafts of Sunlight
... Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1976 |
| 60. | It's a Pleasure;
Devotional Openings for Meetings
... Epworth, London, 1977 |
| 61. | When Sorrow Comes
... Collins (Fountain Books) with the Christian Book Promotion Trust London, 1977 |
| 62. | Christianity Close to Life
... Collins (Fount Paperbacks) London, 1978 |
| 63. | Prayers for busy People
... Collins (Fount Paperbacks) London, 1978 |
| 64. | Bed-time Stories and
Prayers
... Collins (Fount Paperbacks) London, 1979 |
| 65. | I Believe Here and Now
... Collins (Fount Paperbacks) London, 1981 |
| 66. | Discoveries that
Delight; a Fresh Love of the Psalms
... Collins (Fount Paperbacks) London, 1982 |
| 67. | Good Company
... Collins (Fount Paperbacks) London, 1985 |
| 68. | Sharing Suprprises
... Fount London, 1989 |
(compiled by Donald Phillipps)