Born in Gilmore City, Iowa, on January 18, 1891, Myrtle Saylor Speer felt a call to ministry from a very early age. She graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1912 and later graduated from the Chicago Training School (CTS) in 1916 with a Bachelor of Religious Service (BRS), studying homiletics under Dr. Lucy Rider Meyer. Sadly, women were not admitted to ministerial studies at this time, so even though she desired to attend Methodist seminaries, like Garrett Biblical Institute, she was unable to pursue her calling in this way; however, this did not stop her determination and fervent desire to serve God.
In 1920, Myrtle Saylor Speer was the first woman to be licensed to preach in the Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Shortly afterward, Rev. Speer was the first woman to be ordained a Deacon in the Kansas Conference in 1926, after the General Conference extended ordination to women in 1924. Later, in 1929, she was ordained a local Elder in the Missouri Conference, making her the first ordained woman in the Missouri Conference. She served on many national and local boards and at least 10 appointments throughout her ministry. In 1974, after many years of fighting and being rejected by her bishop, she was granted full conference membership and retired with full and equal status, even though ordination had been extended to women in 1956. In 1976, Rev. Speer shared her inspirational story at the first Consultation of United Methodist Clergywomen in Nashville. She may have been small in stature, but she was mighty in spirit and perseverance. In many ways, she was the first woman to accomplish many things in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Church, and United Methodist Church.
In October 1975, Rev. Speer, along with other CTS alumni, visited Garrett-Evangelical for the 50th Anniversary of the Founder's Day of the Chicago Training School. While attending the celebration, she delivered a speech at the luncheon where letters and stories about her were shared with much admiration and respect. In response to her trailblazing spirit, the Women's Caucus at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary decided to name an award in her honor in the mid-1970s. Since then, the Myrtle Saylor Speer award has been given to many outstanding women graduates of the seminary.
