An Announcement from the Junior Warden
Fellow Trinity Parishioners,
Regretfully I feel that I must step down as your Junior Warden for none other than personal reasons.
It has been my honor to serve and I have treasured the experience. Please know that I have full faith in the leadership and clergy of Trinity on the Green and have nothing but praise and loving things to say about them all. I am particularly grateful to David Soper, who has unselfishly agreed to step in and serve as an interim until a replacement can be found. He will continue to serve as treasurer and he will certainly bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.
In closing, I would only ask that you keep me in your prayers as I will certainly keep all of you in mine.
Bob Scott
The Role of a Church Warden and Selection Process
This transition has caused several people to ask about the role of wardens in the church and about Trinity’s warden (s)election process.
The canons of the Episcopal Church provide only a minimal description of the wardens’ responsibilities, listing only one specify duty, namely to notify the bishop “when the parish is without a Rector.” In general, wardens are an example of Christian leadership and life, who provide guidance and support to clergy, the Vestry, and the congregation.
There are different traditions in the Episcopal Church when it comes to (s)electing a new Warden. Some parishes elect wardens, others have the Vestry identify them, or in some cases the Rector appoints a “Rector’s Warden” while the Vestry selects a “People’s Warden”.
Over the past decades our parish has developed a process of warden (s)election that includes three steps:
Wardens and clergy choose a slate of candidates
Trinity’s group of former wardens convene, discuss the slate, and make a recommendation to the Rector
The Rector calls the selected candidate
At Trinity, wardens serve a term of four years. They must have been a Vestry member prior to becoming a warden, and one new warden takes office every two years. This is provided that the new warden the chance to shadow an existing one before becoming the “senior” warden.