Mission Yearbook: 70 years of women clergy are celebrated

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In 2026, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is celebrating 70 years of women clergy. Twenty years ago, the PC(USA) held anniversary events to celebrate the 50th year of the ordination of clergywomen, the 100th anniversary of women deacons and the 75th anniversary of women elders. These events were a result of General Assembly action referred to the Women’s Ministries unit who were charged with planning these celebrations.

At the event held at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, the Rev. Margaret Towner, the first woman ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), was one of the featured preachers. She was quiet, humble and welcoming, characteristics that she undoubtedly employed as she navigated her ministry in 1956 as the first woman to serve in this role in the Presbyterian Church. 

Despite the attention and recognition she received at her ordination — her photo was featured in Life magazine and other publications — Towner said she “chose to avoid the limelight and continue my work in the local congregation.” No one will ever fully understand her experience. Suffice it to say that she paved the way for many others to follow her.

In 2026, Presbyterians celebrate 120 years of women deacons and 95 years of women ruling elders. Sarah Dickson was the first woman ruling elder, and Tillie Paul Tamaree was the first Indigenous woman ruling elder, both ordained in 1930. There have been numerous women deacons over the past 120 years.

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The Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries area planned events where the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, the first African American woman ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA), was a conference speaker. She was straightforward, funny and a natural-born teacher. She was ordained in 1974 in Catawba Presbytery, which was then an all-Black governing body in the Presbyterian Church.

In 2011, the ministry area held a Clergywomen’s Leadership Institute at The Big Tent in Indianapolis and invited the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Campbell, the first woman to serve as president of a Presbyterian theological seminary, as keynote speaker. Campbell recalled the day that she was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1974. “One thing that stuck in my memory was the ordination certificate,” she remembered. “San Gabriel Presbytery’s stated clerk had to add an ‘S’ to the printed ‘He’ on the certificate. Likewise, ‘his’ was typed over on an IBM Selectric typewriter with ‘her.’”

The Rev. Peggy Howland was a frequent guest at the PC(USA)’s Women of Faith Awards breakfast held at the General Assembly, having received the award in 2011. She shared historic photos and articles on her ordination, which were published in the Racial Ethnic Torch magazine. When Howland was ordained two years after Towner in 1958 at Union Church of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, New York,  The New York Times carried the story the next morning. The headline read, “Presbyterian Church Gets Woman Minister.”

Another Women of Faith Awards recipient was the Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr, ordained in 1974, two years before her “out” ministry with those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Spahr made headlines throughout her ministry and faced disciplinary proceedings. Her call was not recognized by the denomination. Decades later, the 219th G.A. (2010) voted to allow the ordination of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians. Amendment 10-A was ratified by a majority of presbyteries in 2011.

The world has changed from Towner’s world in 1956 —  or since 1889, when the Rev. Louisa Woosley was ordained to ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Woosley’s ordination was withdrawn, then 24 years later, it was again recognized.

Over the years, many have asked, “Why do you remember the ordination of women? And why do you celebrate the gifts of women?” As the saying goes, if we neglect to remember our past, we are doomed to repeat it —  or at least risk falling into old, harmful patterns. Yet, if we confront our history, we have opportunities to use lessons learned as a guide for our actions, so we can make positive changes and continue to pave the way for others to authentically serve in the church and the society. 

The Rev. Dr. Rhashell Hunter is author of the 2025-2026 Presbyterian Women Horizons Bible Study and teaches Presbyterian Heritage and Polity at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Formerly, she was director of Racial Equity and Women’s Intercultural Ministries in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Life & Witness (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Andrew Browne, Executive Vice President, Engagement & Church Relations, The Board of Pensions
Laura Bryan, Manager, Grant & Scholarship Processing, Presbyterian Life & Witness       

Let us pray:

Lord of the harvest, be with your laborers, so that their faithfulness may bear much fruit. Amen.