Presbyterian Woman to be "Moderator"

Margaret Waning - undated

Eugene Register Guard
October 23, 1971

"Mrs. James (Margaret) Waning, a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Eugene, has been elected "moderator" of the Willamette Presbytery of the Oregon Synod of the United Presbyterian Church.

Mrs. Waning, who lives at 4637 Old Dillard Rd., is the first woman to be elected to a top district layman's post in Oregon's Presbyterian organization.

Elected this month by the clergy and lay delegates in the Willamette presbytery, Mrs. Waning will take office Jan. 1.

The Willamette Presbytery includes 31 Presbyterian churches in west central Oregon.

Mrs. Waning, who is 56 is an elder at Covenant Presbyterian and has been a member of the church since it was founded in 1963.

She was a delegate last spring to the Presbyterian General Assembly, which elected the first woman national moderator in the assembly's history.

Mrs. Waning's principle duty will be to preside over the four meetings of the presbytery to be held this year.

Also, she says, she will serve as "sort of an interpreter" between General Assembly and Oregon Synod officials and representatives in the Willamette Presbytery.

Mrs. Waning and her husband, James have three daughters and nine grandchildren."