63 years ago — November 12, 1956
By 1930, the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A. had opened the door to ordination for women serving as elders. In 1955, the denomination approved women’s ordination to the office of pastor. On October 24, 1956, Syracuse Presbytery ordained 31-year-old, five-foot-two-inch Margaret Towner affirming her call as a minister to First Presbyterian Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “She wants people just to keep on calling her Margaret, as they have been doing before …
she doesn’t want people to feel differently toward her now.” She “was born in Columbia, Mo., majored in art and music at Carlton College, Northfield, Minn., and then began work on pre-medical courses. Upon graduation she became a professional photographer at the Mayo Clinic, taking pictures of operations and other medical activities. In Syracuse, N.Y., she opened her own photographic studio … . Then she decided to enter church work, taking the full three-year course at Union Seminary in N.Y., and obtaining the Bachelor of Divinity degree in May, 1954.”
From “Woman minister” by Aubrey N. Brown
Note: In 1965, Rachel Henderlite was the first female pastor ordained by our Southern branch of the Presbyterian family.
