PC(USA) celebrates 70 years of women clergy

LOUISVILLE — In 2026, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) celebrates 70 years of women clergy. Twenty years ago, the PC(USA) held anniversary events to celebrate the 50th year of the ordination of clergywomen, 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.

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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.

Decades after her ordination, Witherspoon Press published “African American Presbyterian Clergywomen: The First Twenty-Five Years,” compiled by the Rev. Karen Brown and the Rev. Phyllis Felton. In the opening pages, Cannon wrote that she wanted to “make visible our curious invisibility.”

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."

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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. In March of 1993, the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York invited Spahr to become their evangelist to spread the good news by "personing the issue,” which then led to the formation of the advocacy organization That All May Freely Serve. 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.

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Over the years, many have asked. “Why do you remember the ordination of women? And why do you celebrate the gifts of women? We are equal now, so why are you lifting this up?” 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. And, we celebrate because significant accomplishments are worth celebrating. 

Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA) is honoring ministry milestones in the Spring 2026 issue of Horizons magazine. The theme of the spring issue is “Women in Ministry.” There are online and print versions published by Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA).

A few important names and dates include:

• The Rev. Rachel Henderlite was the first woman ordained as a minister (1965) in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS)
• The Rev. Blanca Estrella Otaño-Rivera was the first Latina woman ordained (1975) as a minister in the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA)
• The Rev. Rebecca Reyes was the first Latina woman ordained as a minister (1979) in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS)
• The Rev. Elizabeth Kwon, who transferred her ordination from Japan, was the first Korean-American clergywoman in the Presbyterian Church (1979).
• The Rev. Holly Haile (Smith) Thompson was the first Indigenous woman ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church, ordained in 1986. 

There are other pioneering women whose names are not in record books, including new immigrant women and those in the LGBTQIA+ community who, even today, are becoming the first women of their ethnicities, cultures and genders to be ordained in the geographical areas in the church.

We follow in the footsteps of many named and unnamed women who have steadily and faithfully spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and they have significantly impacted our church, our community and the American culture.

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.).