It was a delight to welcome Canon Gallagher to St. John’s on Sunday to preach, to preside at our celebration of the Eucharist, and to offer some prayers for my not-so-new ministry here. And it was especially delightful to stand to make those vows with our two wardens, Alice Krapf and Doug Heim. It seemed to me to be a perfect symbol of the place of the wardens within the life of the church: standing alongside the rector as the people’s elected leaders, in need of your prayers!

“Senior Warden” and “Junior Warden” are no longer positions of power and prestige, to be occupied by the most-important and second-most-important men in the parish for such time as they see fit. (God bless dear Mr. Peter Hubbell, who served this parish as warden for twenty-three years; God bless especially Mrs. Hubbell.)

But the role of “warden” is still an extraordinarily important one. In ordinary times, they serve as close advisors to the rector, working together to lead the Vestry and the parish and to shape the ministry of the church. In a practical sense, they bring the ideas and concerns and dreams of the laypeople of the parish to the clergy, and ensure that the property and finances of the church remain in good order.

In extraordinary times, the wardens transform from sage advisors and dedicated volunteers to become, in many ways, the primary leaders in the parish. In the absence of a rector, for example, the wardens take over many of the rector’s responsibilities, supervising other staff and chairing the Vestry, ensuring that worship continues and picking up much of the slack of what is usually another person’s half- or full-time job!

Needless to say, Doug and Alice—and Catherine and Sarah before them—have spent much of their time as wardens leading in extraordinary times. During a sabbatical and a medical leave, an interim period and a global pandemic, they have epitomized the Christian ideal of “servant leadership,” holding the church together with calm strength.

I’d like to think things have become a bit less extraordinary over time, and they’ll continue to do so; absent some crisis, Doug and Alice’s final months as wardens, before their terms end at our Annual Meeting early in 2022, should be among their least tumultuous! I’ll be sad to lose their wisdom and their laughter at our meetings every few weeks, although I’m sure they’ll share them with me in other contexts. And I’ll look forward to working with whomever the Holy Spirit, the Nominating Committee, and your votes elect as our next wardens!

For now, I can only express my deep gratitude to Alice, Doug, Catherine, and Sarah for their leadership over the last few years: Thank you!