I was the organist at a parish who had a volunteer cantor who needed to quit. He wasn't old, but his sense of pitch left something to be desired. It wasn't up to me to decide, so he kept singing and nobody did anything about it.

For choir, I've had a couple people remove themselves from the choir of their own will due to a failing voice so I've not had to make that decision myself. Yet.

My recommendation is to do exactly what you have done, sending people to the MD or the pastor since it's not your responsibility and let them handle it. If you're ever in a position to make that decision yourself then you do need to gently let them go at some point or another.

One way is to have annual voice check-ins on an individual basis for all cantors (and choristers where it can be an issue).

I suppose if you're not in charge, but something needs to be done, you can point out the situation to whoever is in charge, and then that's all you can do. It her "performance" is unbecoming at Mass (and the Mass deserves the very best we have to offer), the music director should be informed, and hopefully the music director will make the right decision.

I eventually began wearing

https://www.macksearplugs.com/

when I went to Mass to avoid the distraction.

If you live near one of these voice teachers, get him or her in for a choral workshop (or send the cantor for individual coaching):
https://www.mcclosky.org/teachers
The McClosky voice "method" aims at healthy singing and at recovery for damaged voices.

When I saw this discussion title I thought, "Uh-oh, my organist posted about me!" Being a 68 year old female, I am only half kidding. I mentioned to our organist that it might be time for me to retire but he begged me not to because there are others he would consider weaker singers. We are all volunteers and two are mid-20's and the rest of us are collecting social security!

I listen to myself as I sing and sometimes I do think it is nearing the time for me to hang it up. I hear weak spots in my voice, but I am learning how to compensate. I try to never listen to recordings of myself because that undermines my confidence and when my confidence is shaky so is my voice. It is hard to know which kind of pride may be at play-- not wanting to be anything less than perfect and therefore stop singing or thinking I am still fantastic and everything is fine.... I think my husband will let me know when it is time to step down if I haven't figured it out for myself.

Carol.. I wish all my singers had your disposition and aire of reality. Your sensitivity to the matter probably means you are careful to ‘do no damage’ and you really need to keep singing as long as possible. I have had divas who I think are so determined they are still singing from their graves.

I think part of the problem, at least in my parish, is the cantor is often over-amplified by a mic that needs to be turned down a bit, especially in a congregation of parishioners that actually sings. Loud mics can make even the good cantors sound not as good.

Carol, I think the fact that you have the self-awareness demonstrated above shows that you’ll know when it’s time. However, I think you are in the minority.

One of the "problems" is that she is "dependable" and "available." It's really difficult to find someone who is both of these things. People are often not, bailing for no reason. So, she is available. She is called. "It is better than nothing." We had someone like this and she did something egregious and ended up losing her position. I don't miss much about her except for the "dependability" and the "availability". (And 30 years is not really that long. ;) )