The Rev. Canon Janet Cuff Waggoner was hired by the Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr., to serve as his Canon to the Ordinary in 2013. When the Rt. Rev. J. Scott Mayer was elected the fourth provisional bishop of the then Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in 2015, he asked Waggoner to continue in this role. Waggoner is the first woman to serve as Canon to the Ordinary since the founding of the diocese.
Waggoner is a native of the Pacific Northwest, born in The Dalles, Oregon, and raised in Goldendale, Washington. She and her brother, Tom, were raised by their parents, Tom and Peggy, in the Church of the Nazarene. Waggoner, a musician and scholar, was active in a wide range of school and community activities, while also working as a Certified Nurses Aide at Mt. Adams Care Center and a disc jockey at KLCK radio. She graduated as co-Valedictorian of Goldendale High School in 1985.
In 1989, Waggoner received her BA in Religion from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. At Willamette, Waggoner met her future husband, Ed, and they were married in 1997. In 2001, Waggoner earned her Master of Divinity degree (Magna cum laude) from Yale Divinity School, as well as a diploma of Anglican studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and certification from the Institute of Sacred Music.
Canon Waggoner was ordained deacon in 2001 by the Rt. Rev. Robert Ladehoff (Oregon) and ordained priest in 2002 by the Rt. Rev. Andrew Smith (Connecticut). She served as assistant rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien, Connecticut, and at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton, Connecticut, before being elected rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Shelton, Connecticut, in 2006. Waggoner moved to Fort Worth in 2012 when her husband was appointed the first Rt. Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Chair of Episcopal Studies at Brite Divinity School. Waggoner served as interim pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Coppell, Texas, in 2012-2013, prior to being called to serve as canon to the ordinary for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in Spring, 2013.
She is a board member of WIKS-USA, partnering with Kenyans to provide quality education for underprivileged children. She also serves as an Academy 4 mentor for 4th graders in a local public school with a targeted improvement plan. Waggoner is a clergy coach, as well as an Advisor in Title IV disciplinary processes in The Episcopal Church. She is a long-time member of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, an Episcopal women’s group committed to intercessory prayer, social justice and simplicity of life. Waggoner is the Chair of the church-wide Task Force on Church Planting and Congregational Development.
At the 2018 General Convention, Waggoner served on one of the subcommittees of the special House of Deputies Committee on Sexual Harassment and Exploitation. She also served on the Resolution Review Committee.
Waggoner lives in Fort Worth with her two children.