Prayers for a Friend
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Please keep a friend of mine in your prayers. She's recently taken on a position as associate director of music at a thriving parish, but her experience with the director has not been a positive one (denigrating comments, condescending attitude, arbitrarily messing with her schedule, etc.)
    Thanked by 3melofluent CHGiffen noel jones, aago
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    Be assured, she is in my prayers.
    Thanked by 1StimsonInRehab
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    The schedule one is a rough one. I had a gig once where I had to confirm for myself each week in bulletin's schedule to make sure we could rehearse. No one would let us know (despite requests) if there were conflicts.
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Ben, if I had a nickel for every time that happened - well, I'd have a sufficient choir budget!
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    The joys of having an unsupportive pastor.

    Things to offer up, I suppose.
    Thanked by 2StimsonInRehab CHGiffen
  • ronkrisman
    Posts: 1,394
    @St__ab wrote that, in this particular case, the director of music was the problem, not "an unsupportive pastor."

    Still, I have to wonder why a director of music would participate in the hiring of an associate that he or she cannot get along with. And, if the DM had no part in the hiring of the associate, I'd have to wonder about that too.
    Thanked by 2M. Jackson Osborn BruceL
  • bhcordovabhcordova
    Posts: 1,164
    Praying for her
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    For this to go on, the full blame lies on the pastor.

    Has the pastor called the new hire in and asked how things are going?

    If the pastor is active and pays attention to the staff and sees this happening it can be dealt with. If, however, the priest is from the all too common seminary school of thought that janitors, cooks, plumbers and church musicians all are somewhat necessary evils, he could be enjoying watching the crappy behavior of the DM.


    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Fr. Krisman,

    My friend was hired out of necessity, as she was one of the few people willing to work with this DM when he "assumed" the position. I know from working with this current DM that he can be a very charismatic fellow upon first meeting him, but there is an ambitious, more complex side to him as well. (My organist friend, who I mentioned in a post some time ago, used to be DM until he went on a trip out of country, only to find upon his return that the new DM had taken over all his duties save organ playing, and that they were slowly phasing him out in that regard, paying him less and less until basically telling him that he would have to play for free, due to new DM's "budget concerns".)

    Noel,

    Pastor is not so much sitting back and eating popcorn as this is happening; he is a very holy man, but handling touchy situations such as this is not his forte. He wants as little friction as possible as he's trying to juggle fundraising for both a new organ and a new rectory.

    Prayers for all mentioned, please.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    Do I know which church this is?
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Yes, CK, you do. And you've sung with this person (and myself) at the penultimate Colloquium.
  • BruceL
    Posts: 1,072
    Whew...I see it's a lady. I was worried someone was writing about me (the DM) clandestinely there for a second! ;-) In all seriousness, though, will pray for her. That must be tremendously hard. Some people are not good administrators, and some people are not good bosses, either too friendly (and not demanding enough) or too demanding and unable to remember that they are dealing with an actual person with a soul.
    Thanked by 1Daniel Bennett Page
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