2 Kings 2:1–18
When the prophet Elijah is taken up into heaven, Elisha watches in awe, crying out in grief and wonder. Then, something surprising happens: Elisha picks up Elijah’s fallen mantle. He carries it to the Jordan River, strikes the water as Elijah once did, and crosses over. The prophetic legacy is not simply observed — it is claimed, continued and embodied.
Margaret Towner knows something of this kind of legacy. In 1956, she became the first woman ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s predecessor denomination, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Though many faithful women had long been leading in Christian education, mission, and diaconal ministry, Towner was the first to cross this official threshold. She picked up the mantle.
Yet her journey was not just about a title or a “first.” Towner served congregations in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. She taught Sunday school, served as a hospital chaplain, faced discrimination, and even changed her own mind on what ordination for women might look like, mentoring other women in the same career path. She became a visible sign that peace — true shalom — requires the full inclusion of all God’s people in the life of the Church.
Her presence broke barriers, but more importantly, she built bridges. She showed that peacemaking is not always loud or combative; sometimes it is as steady as preaching the gospel week after week in word and deed, as quiet as supporting a struggling parishioner, or as bold as standing where you were once told you didn’t belong.
Like Elisha, Towner responded to the call, walking forward into a new chapter of prophetic ministry, paving the way for generations of women to serve God’s people with courage and conviction.
Today, as we discern our own place in the long line of peacemakers, may we look to her story and ask, what mantle lies before us? What river are we called to cross, not alone, but alongside the Spirit who leads and empowers us all?
Prayer: God of the prophets, thank you for those who go before us. Give us courage to pick up the mantle of peace and to walk faithfully in your calling. Amen.
The Rev. Katie Day loves Waffle House and live theater and serves as pastor of Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church in Duluth, Georgia. She shares a home with her husband, Kevin, and their child, Elijah, and everyone answers to the cats, Magnificat and Fatty Pancakes.
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