The Life of Lillian Dickson

The story of Lillian Dickson and the organization that she founded while living in Taiwan as a missionary’s wife, The Mustard Seed, is a long and well documented one. Her first years living in Taiwan from the late 1920s to the early 1940s were that of adjustment and bringing together their family while her husband, the Rev. James (Jim) Dickson, conducted missionary work on behalf of The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC).

After the Second World War and a brief period in British Guiana, Lillian and Jim returned to Taiwan. With the children grown and attending school in the United States, Lillian became much more involved in her surroundings and attempts to help the Taiwanese. Her efforts resulted in the creation of The Mustard Seed, now an international organization with several national branches under its umbrella.

In this exhibit you will get a sense of Lillian, her life, and her personality; what the Dickson family was like; a sense of life in Taiwan; and an overview of The Mustard Seed organization while Lillian was alive.

The materials featured in the exhibit – quotations and images – come from the Lillian Dickson Collection at The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives.

Lillian Dickson in Readers Digest reprinted from July 1962 - 1997-5006-4-2
First page of the Reader's Digest article, July 1962 (Item from file 1997-5006-4-2 at the PCC Archives)

This Project has been made possible [in part] by the Government of Canada through the Young Canada Works and Heritage Organizations Program. « Ce projet a été rendu possible [en partie] grâce au gouvernement du Canada par de Jeunesse Canada au travail et le Programme des organismes patrimoniaux». This exhibit was created by the Archives summer intern, Victoria Baranow.

*Copyright 2012 – The Presbyterian Church in Canada
If you wish to quote or use any part of this website exhibit, please give credit to The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives.

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