VERGER – a what?

When asked what do I do now at church, I reply, “Among other things I’m a Verger.”  The usual response is “A what?”   To further clarify the answer, I list a number of synonyms which are more familiar words.  These include servant, escort, leader, planner, assistant, and back-up. 

The role of Verger dates back centuries when a person was needed to clear the way through animals and people for entrance into a church. This was done by the use of a staff called a Virge. Through the years this has evolved into scholastic, legal and religious dignitaries being escorted in processions by a person carrying a virge or a pole sometimes called a “mace.”  In the United States the contemporary role of Verger has expanded rapidly.   The over-seer of the lay ministry of vergers is known as The Vergers’ Guild of the Episcopal Church and was founded in 1989.

At the St. Peter’s Cathedral vergers were called into service by Dean Johnson in the Fall of  2004.  His vision of this calling was two-fold.  As servants, the vergers are called to help see all is in order for worship to run smoothly and to lead clergy and lay ministers to worship in our traditional weekly procession and at special services. Vergers are also called to escort a visiting priest or reader to their location of service.  The term “back-up” is a good way to describe the verger’s role further as an assistant where and whenever needed in a liturgical setting: Eucharistic Minister, Lay Reader, Acolyte, knowledge of  Altar, Sound, and Light System basics. The back-up role of the parish verger is to anticipate problems and to be ready to step into any role the service requires.