Freda Gardner (April 7, 1929 - May 9, 2020) was the professor emerita of Christian education at Princeton Theological Seminary, and was the

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

of the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

in 1999. She was elected as Moderator, the church's highest elected position, at the 211th General Assembly, on the second ballot. Gardner was the first woman to serve as a tenured faculty member at Princeton Seminary, teaching there from 1961 until her retirement in 1992. In 1981 she was named Educator of the Year, in 1994 she was a recipient of the Women of Faith award, and in 2001 she was recognized as a Champion for Children. She had written numerous books on religion and ministry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Freda 1929 births 2020 deaths American religion academics Princeton Theological Seminary faculty