“…there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Jesus Christ” (Gal 3:28)

Sixty years ago in 1964,it was reported to the General Assembly of the New Zealand Presbyterian Church that all Presbyteries had approved the amendments to regulations regarding women and the Ministry and that the way was now clear for suitable women to be accepted as ministry candidates.

Rev. L.H. Kerr the Convenor of the Special Committee on the Position of Women in the Church wrote in that committee’s report:

“We believe that the true Christian standard in the relation of the sexes is a frank recognition of sex equality,…”.

Less than a year later, on 13 May 1965, Margaret Reid (later Margaret Reid-Martin) became the first woman to be ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the New Zealand Presbyterian Church.

The progress towards this moment began in 1948 when the Special Committee on the Position of Women in the Church was set up to examine whether women as well as men should be eligible to become elders in the New Zealand Presbyterian Church. Although women played a substantial role in the life of the Church, because they were not allowed to become elders they could not officially participate in the governance of the Church. This included both at the level of the local congregation and at the national level at the General Assembly, where only elders could be delegates and have voting rights.

This was particularly difficult for deaconesses who played a significant role in the running of many parishes and yet were not officially permitted to attend the meeting of parish sessions, where decisions about parish life were made.

In 1950 this committee produced a pamphlet entitled Neither Male nor Female. Written by the Rev. Ian Fraser, this booklet explored attitudes towards the position of women in First Century Palestine and discussed the writings of both Paul and Timothy in relation to the position of women in the Church. It stirred discussion and debate within the Presbyterian Church which over the next five years eventually led to the decision to ordain women to the eldership. The first women became elders in 1955 and in 1957 the first women attended the General Assembly as voting members.

1958 saw the publication of Women’s Work in the Church. It included an appendix on “The Ordination of Women” written by Molly Whitelaw, who wrote:

“The main point at issue is this: are the Churches carrying out the purposes of God and acting according to the Mind of Christ when they deny the full ordination of women to the Ministry of the Word and the Sacraments?”

This was a question that resonated with many and in 1959 the Committee on the Position of Women in the Church turned its attention to the question of whether women should become ministers of Word and Sacrament. Again, there was lengthy discussion and debate, and ultimately agreement that women should be enabled to become ministers.

Molly Whitelaw was one of a number of women and men who worked hard to campaign for an increasing role for women within the New Zealand Presbyterian Church. Sadly, she died a few months before the 1964 General Assembly, but her legacy can be seen in the lives and service of the women who have ministered in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand over the last sixty years.