Helen Margaret Aitken Reid (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 Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister, and the second woman to serve as

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 of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Biography

Born on 25 June 1923, Reid was the daughter of Isabel Watson McKenzie Reid (née Aitken) and James Reid. She graduated

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from the University of Otago in 1948, and went on to study at the Deaconess College in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

from 1948 to 1950, and was the first woman to take the advanced course at Theological Hall. After her ordaination as a deaconess, Reid served at St Paul's Wanganui and Wanganui Girls' College between 1951 and 1955, before working for the New Zealand Council for Christian Education. 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 Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, becoming the first female Presbyterian minister in New Zealand. A decade later, in 1975, Reid served as moderator for the Wellington Presbytery, preaching widely. In 1978, married David Brown Martin, the minister of Mount Albert Presbyterian Church in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. 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. 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. Her chosen theme was "choose life in all its fullness". In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, Reid was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service. She died in Auckland on 19 August 2018, having been predeceased by her husband in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Margaret 1923 births 2018 deaths University of Otago alumni New Zealand Presbyterian ministers Women Protestant religious leaders Companions of the Queen's Service Order 20th-century New Zealand Presbyterian ministers 21st-century New Zealand Presbyterian ministers