SENIOR WARDEN NOTES
Some may say, “Some things always stay the same.” Some may say, “Nothing stays the same forever.”
So, what is it for us at St Paul’s’ Episcopal?
If you attended our annual meeting on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, you know that Kim Bohler and I did a bit of a “Musical Chairs” switch around. After serving the past 3 years as Sr. Warden, most of which was without a full-time or even a part-time priest, Kim asked for someone else to step up and fulfill her 4th year as Sr. Warden. And she was willing to take a Vestry seat if someone on the Vestry would take the Sr. Warden position. The Sr Warden position within the Episcopal faith is the effective leader of the Parish when there is not a Rector or Priest in charge. Even for a small sized Parish such as ours, it can be a very time-consuming job. So, a big “Thank You” is due to Kim Bohler for her 3 years of Sr. Warden Leadership.
So, what about the two questions at the top of this article?
“The thing that seems to stay the same:” Somehow we are still able to support our own Parish needs with unselfish servants over the many years giving of their time as Wardens, Vestry members, and several other dedicated parish members. This Leading and caring for ourselves to help serve the many functions of the church over many years, has been a constant for our Parish. It’s one of those things that seem to stay the same, over many years. “Nothing stays the same forever:” Our current situation now for approximately 2.5 years of operating without any kind of priest in charge support, I believe will not last forever. We’ve been here before since our last full-time rector Rev. Mauri Kaiser retired in 1995. We eventually regained some sort of priest arrangement to serve our Parish. And, several times over the past 30 years, beyond just Sunday supply priests.
To that end, we recently received some encouraging news from the Bishop’s staff. Two members of the Bishop’s staff will be visiting our Parish and conducting a Holy Eucharist service on Sunday Feb 9, 2025. They will then meet with our Vestry after the service to discuss our current no-priest situation and review some options and possible directions.
This is especially timely for us, as we also recently (mid-December 2024) received notice from St. James Episcopal in Piqua, that they decided to withdraw from the Bishop-encouraged and signed agreement to share a clergy person between St. James and St. Paul’s. Kim has done a magnificent job of scheduling Sunday supply priests for 2 out of 4 Sundays thru April 2025, including Rev. Charlie Brumbaugh for Easter Sunday, April 20. In February, we will have 2 Holy Communion services and 2 Liturgy of the Word services.
Chris Nelson, Senior Warden
Click here for the February Epistle