BEHIND THE SCENES
GLENN CHILDES, SEXTON In every issue, we take a behindthe-scenes look at one of our many ministries that make worship at Trinity so vibrant. He’s usually the first to arrive and the last to leave on a Sunday, and his personal, diligent touch is in almost every aspect of our weekly worship. Even though his work is often behind the scenes or when the building is quiet and emptied, if you attend Trinity for any length of time, you probably know our sexton, Glenn Childes, and how important he is to the orderly, tidy manner in which it functions. Glenn takes care of things, makes problems go away, and opens doors—literally—to make our worship happen each week. Many people take pride in Trinity Church, but few more than Glenn. So we decided to get a view of Trinity on a Sunday from the perspective of our beloved sexton.
How long have you been at Trinity and how did you wind up working here? I started working here 12 years ago. I used to work for Anvil Knitwear as a lead dyer, before they moved everything down to Honduras, and then I worked for PBI doing office installments. I used to do side work with a contractor who called me to do some work in a church. When I was there, this dude asked me to have lunch with him. It was none other than Bill Whisenhunt. We ate lunch, and he interrogated me, got all up in my business, and then he pulled open a drawer, handed me a set of keys, and said, “Be here on Saturday.” And I’ve been here ever since.
What does a typical Sunday look like for you? I get here around 6:30 a.m. and I start my routine: cutting on the lights, check the A/C, put out the flag, put out two or three handicap signs, cut the oven on, the dishwashers, and the coffee. And then it’s nonstop, cooking bacon, setting up coffee station, making sure the chafing dishes are hot. I take a little break after the building is clear after the services and then I come back for the Celtic and am here to about 7:30.
What do you think would surprise people about Sundays at Trinity? That I’m doing a lot, and when I get here I’m gathering up trash outside, sometimes syringes and other stuff that shouldn’t be there.
What do you think would surprise people about you? My ability to deal with homeless people. Scott taught me something a long time ago. You can’t meet anxiety with anxiety. You have to be calm, and usually I can defuse a situation no problem.
There are a lot of your personal touches here in making every room at Trinity look nice. Why is that important? I’m just like that. I’ve been like that all my life. It has to be just right. It bothers me if it’s not done well, if it’s not done right. I like for it to be perfect or as close to it as I can get it.
You take a lot of pride in preparing for funerals. Why is that particularly important to you? For me, first of all, even though they are dead, they still deserve
respect as if they were living. It’s for family also. I want it to be the best that we can give them. And sometimes you have to go beyond the call of duty not just to get the job done, but to give them the best. And the reward is not that anyone recognizes it or gives you attention for it, but that you know it’s the best you could have done.
What does Trinity mean to you? It means a place of good being, plenty of love, a lot of respect. It’s a good place to be. It’s my church. I love it. I love taking care of it. I love it when we have people here, even if it’s outside groups. It makes it feel alive. I enjoy being here. I think I’m going to retire from here one day. It’s the best job I’ve ever had. Seriously. And you can tell from people’s faces when they come in here that they appreciate it when it’s clean and everything looks right.
Page 5 trinity commons
