One of The Presbyterian Church in Canada's first woman elders died on June 15. Joan McInnis (nee Watkin) was an elder at St. Andrew's, Arthur, Ont. McInnis was ordained on the same day as Mrs. J.M. Thomas of Fallingbrook Church, Scarborough. They were ordained in 1966, the same year General Assembly gave the go-ahead for women to hold such positions.
Rev. Dr. Robert Spencer, who came to the charge when McInnis was about six months into her eldership, recalls her as “a caring, gracious, and faith filled person, who was devoted to her family and the church.”
“My wife and I felt it an honour to have one of the first two women elders in our pastorate,” Spencer told the Record. “She was a gifted and dedicated elder throughout my ministry.”
McInnis was a WWII bride who came to Canada with her husband Norman, who was an active participant at St. Andrew's. She served in the choir, was part of a long-standing bible study and prayer group and various women's groups, and helped with “every luncheon or dinner that needed willing hands.”
“We could count on her support in so many ways,” said Spencer, “in everything from words of encouragement and prayer to babysitting our young family or performing a humorous skit in our special choral concerts.”
McInnis, born in 1925, raised four daughters and had nine grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
“Her faithfulness lives on in them all,” said Spencer. -AM
