Margaret Reid (minister)

Helen Margaret Aitken Reid QSO (25 June 1923 – 19 August 2018), also known by her married surname Reid-Martin, was a New Zealand religious leader. She was the first woman in New Zealand to be ordained as a Presbyterian minister, and the second woman to serve as moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Very Reverend

Margaret Reid

QSO
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
In office1987
PredecessorKenape Faletoese
SuccessorNeil Churcher
Orders
Ordination13 May 1965
Personal details
Birth nameHelen Margaret Aitken Reid
Born(1923-06-25)25 June 1923
Died19 August 2018(2018-08-19) (aged 95)
Auckland, New Zealand
Spouse
David Brown Martin
​
​
(m. 1978; died 2002)​

Biography

Born on 25 June 1923,[1] Reid was the daughter of Isabel Watson McKenzie Reid (née Aitken) and James Reid. She graduated Bachelor of Science from the University of Otago in 1948,[2] and went on to study at the Deaconess College in Dunedin from 1948 to 1950, and was the first woman to take the advanced course at Theological Hall.[1] After her ordaination as a deaconess, Reid served at St Paul's Wanganui and Wanganui Girls' College between 1951 and 1955,[1] before working for the New Zealand Council for Christian Education.[3]

When, in 1964, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand passed regulations allowing for the ordaination of women to the ministry, Reid quickly applied, and on 13 May 1965, she was ordained at St Andrew's on the Terrace in Wellington, becoming the first female Presbyterian minister in New Zealand.[1][3] A decade later, in 1975, Reid served as moderator for the Wellington Presbytery, preaching widely.[3]

In 1978, married David Brown Martin, the minister of Mount Albert Presbyterian Church in Auckland.[1][4] She worked part-time for the Parish Development and Mission Department in Auckland from 1979 to 1980, and was an honorary associate minister at Mount Albert from 1980 to 1989.[1]

Reid served as moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand in 1987, the second woman and first ordained woman to hold the position.[1] Her chosen theme was "choose life in all its fullness".[3]

In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, Reid was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for community service.[5] She died in Auckland on 19 August 2018,[6] having been predeceased by her husband in 2002.[4]

References
  1. "Register of New Zealand Presbyterian Church: ministers, deaconesses & missionaries from 1840 – Rae to Reith". Presbyterian Church Archives. 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Q–R". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  3. Tombs, Rachel (2018). "We dont look at the women". Treasures of the Presbyterian Research Centre. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. "Register of New Zealand Presbyterian Church: ministers, deaconesses & missionaries from 1840 – Mabon to Matheson". Presbyterian Church Archives. 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  5. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2003". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  6. "Helen Margaret Aitken Martin death notice". New Zealand Herald. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
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