The Rev. Dr. Janet Waggoner has accepted the call of St. John’s/San Juan Episcopal Church in Olympia, Washington, to serve as their rector beginning March 1.
She said, “I am overjoyed to be joining the faithful people of St. John’s/San Juan. Provisional Bishop Melissa Skelton, Canon Alissa Newton, the Convention of the Diocese of Olympia, and the leadership of St. John’s/San Juan have created a model partnership with the goal of lasting vitalization not only of St. John’s/San Juan, but also of the congregational redevelopment process. I am humbled and grateful to accept the invitation to minister with the people of St. John’s/San Juan and the diocese in this Spirit-inspired endeavor.
Waggoner served as the canon to the ordinary in the diocese formerly known as Fort Worth. She was named to that position by provisional bishop Rayford High in 2013. She also served as canon to his successor, Bishop Scott Mayer. As canon to the ordinary, she not only worked as transition officer, but also worked closely with the diocesan legal team in the years-long litigation seeking the return of Episcopal Church property following the 2008 schism in which a former bishop left The Episcopal Church but claimed Episcopal Church property. Following the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to not hear the diocese’s appeal, which let stand the decision of the Texas Supreme Court to award the name and property to the people who left The Episcopal Church, she worked closely with displaced congregations in finding places to worship. Since facilitating the diocese’s reunification with the Diocese of Texas in 2022 she has been working as Canon Missioner for Congregational Vitality.
Waggoner is a native of Washington State. She graduated from high school as co-valedictorian and was the first in her family to attend college. There, with her campus bible study group, she was invited to attend the Easter vigil at a local Episcopal church. Awed by the beauty of the liturgy and the open hearts of the people, she been an Episcopalian ever since.
She attended Yale Divinity School, where she earned an MDiv magna cum laude, a certificate in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and a certificate from the Institute of Sacred Music, as well as prizes for scholastic excellence, liturgics, and pastoral leadership.
After serving as Associate Rector at St. Luke’s, Darien, and then at St. Matthew’s, Wilton, she was elected Rector of St. Paul’s on the Huntington Green, in Shelton, CT, in 2006.
In 2012, when Waggoner and her family moved to Fort Worth so that her spouse could pursue his vocation as a theologian, she accepted the invitation of the local Lutheran bishop to serve as interim rector of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Coppell, Texas. Then, in 2013, Bishop High called her to serve as canon to the ordinary.
She has served in the wider Episcopal Church in many ways, including as a member and chair of the churchwide Task Force for Church Planting and Congregational Redevelopment. In Fort Worth, she provided leadership in the Fort Worth Interfaith Clergy and the Circle of Clergy for Racial Justice. She also served for seven years as mentor to 4th graders in the Academy 4 program. In 2021, she earned her doctorate in pastoral theology from Brite Divinity School, accompanied by a certificate in women’s studies. Her thesis examined the role and potential of intergenerational relationships in Episcopal congregations. She has been an avowed Companion in the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross for 30 years.
She has two college-age children and a rescue dog, Comet.
