Yes its true (Leaving position)
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,189
    I alluded to my situation on another thread, but some of you have encouraged me to speak about it.

    My pastor has decided to change the direction of what he wants and I do not fit into that paradigm. Of course I am disappointed, but its not news for those who have done this work for any length of time. One moves on....

    SO, if you know of any leads, please pm me. I am happy to share my vitae if you wish.

    The usual wishes....chant,polyphony, organ, choir conducting, training of voices, both adult and children.

    Thanks for any help,
    Kevin
  • praying for you
  • JulieCollJulieColl
    Posts: 2,465
    Praying for your needs to St. Cecilia whose feast day is next Sunday.
  • Just went through that myself, brother in the midwest. You have my prayers.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Unbelievable. This is so disheartening and attributable to HHF's cavalier attitude towards liturgy. Kevin, your program was so strong. I don't know what to say.
  • very sorry to hear it, Kevin... wishing you the best in your future!
  • Charles (Melo),

    I don't want to drag this thread off its topic, but could you explain why HH's "cavalier attitude toward liturgy" can cause the problem. ( I completely agree with you, but an elaborated presentation on this point might be helpful, especially for those who don't leap to agree with you.)

    Kevin,

    I will pray for you.

    God bless,

    Chris
  • MBWMBW
    Posts: 175
    HHF?
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    I'm stunned. Will pray.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    His Holiness ____________.
    I don't want to be responsible for digression either, CGZ. Suffice it to say, the arbitrary ambivalence witnessed that first Holy Thursday of the pontificate tells the tale and has come to fruition, IMO. YMMV.
    Thanked by 2MBW Gavin
  • I don't know if it has been filled, but this might be what you seek:

    http://www.catholicjobs.com/job/7317121700

    PS--I can give you a bit of a description of the town (via PM).
  • doneill
    Posts: 207
    I played and sang in a concert Kevin recently did at his parish, and can testify to the good work he has done with the adult and children's choirs. There is a good camaraderie in the groups of diverse personalities and skill levels, and they love singing great music. He has been a great commiserating colleague and friend, and we will miss him around here.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,503
    Also this parish http://www.catholicjobs.com/job/7428121823

    Beautiful church, oldest in Virginia, George Washington may well have donated to its founding, in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, on the Potomac.

    It's a great parish and in the outstanding diocese of Arlington, where you will find a very high concentration of rotr minded priests. And even those who are not rotr are almost all orthodox and sympathetic.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • Praying for you. :(
  • It sounds like you got a good deal of kick-back for being, well, what many of us here would regard as simply a responsible Catholic liturgical musician.

    The thing I have come to realize, though, is that pastors don’t hire us to be that, per se. They hire us to implement their vision, which may or may not be what we consider fitting/proper. In that sense, in exchange for payment for our services we effectively sacrifice part of our “voice” that we could otherwise use to effect change. A staff music director really has very little sway in changing the parish’s musical life on his/her own. If you find yourself at odds with what prominent parishioners want, and especially with what the pastor wants (whether he expresses it explicitly or not), you probably should be looking elsewhere rather than thinking you can/should strive for improvements where you are.

    Kevin, I’m really sorry for what you’re going through. :-(
  • ghmus7
    Posts: 1,478
    So true. Preists and rectors are not usually interested in the veiws if the musician(s) but rather how they music people can implement their vision.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,968
    So true. Preists and rectors are not usually interested in the veiws if the musician(s) but rather how they music people can implement their vision.


    Isn't it interesting how their visions have led, in so many instance, to loss of faith and empty churches?
    Thanked by 1ClergetKubisz
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,189
    Thank you all. I appreciate your words of sympathy and encouragement.

    Those of us who have done this any length of time know that a) we are one priest away from having no job and b) that it is incumbent to find like minded clergy. These two factors make or break us. We are given what we are given.

    I have been at this for 30+ years. Strangely enough, I am more excited than ever about the possibilities of sacred music. The ground really has shifted...perhaps more slowly than some would wish and there will be bumps along the road. But in my conversations with clergy and people the indication is that this group and other like minded groups are making an impact. Is it finished? No...and I believe that there is still much work to be done. I really am hopeful, even in my dark moment of this time.

    So while my situation has taken an unfortunate turn (this is not my first), I will move on and this group will continue to influence. I have done good work where I am, and now its on to another place.

    Thank you for your help in assisting me to find that place. I am truly grateful.

    Bon courage mes amis,
    Kevin
  • JulieCollJulieColl
    Posts: 2,465
    Words for you, Kevin, from yesterday's Communio:

    Amen, dico vobis: Quiquid orantes petitis, CREDITE QUIA ACCIPIETIS, et fiet vobis.
    Thanked by 1ClergetKubisz
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,189
    Thanks Julie. We sang it yesterday and I was very comforted. Once again the words of the Church give us what we need.
  • Scott_WScott_W
    Posts: 468
    I really am hopeful, even in my dark moment of this time.


    In those times, I recall the brownies from Willow:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCxEqH7u_iM
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,698
    Sorry to hear this, Kevin. Prayers for you to find a fruitful new venture.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,774
    St. Cecilia, pray for us, those who assist in the divine worship of God here on earth. St. Michael, defend us in battle.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • For some reason, for many years, priests have not been taught to ignore the people in the congregation.

    The hold that people in the congregation, especially those with money, have over pastors is the cause of most parish problems, as they work to have their own church, not a Catholic church.

    When a music director arrives, people immediately begin working to destroy everything that is done, to go back to the way it was before. This is often a long and slow process, but they eventually get their way.

    It's time to go to a protestant church to regain your identity and make more money with one service a week instead of 4 or 5.
  • Wrong. Totally wrong. Sorry. The further you get from a liturgical church the less chance that your job will get snuffed out, leaving you unaware of what has just happened.

    Read WHEN SHEEP ATTACK by Dennis Maynard and you will be....amazed.

    ADDED LINK:

    http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Clergy-Hunting-Season-Is-Here.html?soid=1011233438263&aid=Y8YVy2c98AM
  • donr
    Posts: 971
    Praying for you!
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,968
    It's the age-old interpretation of the Golden Rule that he who has the gold, rules. It's the same everywhere. Pastors are often in the situation where dropping revenues get unfavorable attention from chanceries - a good way to get transferred to the boonies and a career ender for any future advancement.
  • Noel,

    To do as you suggest is to work within a false religion. As a work of evangelization, this can be justified.
  • You've forgotten how to post in purple. If you are serious, taking a job with this as a goal, would not that be an occasion of sin?
  • Kevin, you are in my prayers. If you take that MN job, we could hang out (as I took the MN job I was looking for). I am sorry that your work is being dismantled (to whatever degree). Now you have the chance to spread that work to more places.

    ~Conor
  • Noel,

    Francis Xavier went to Asia.
    Nixon went to China.
    Paul VI promulgated the Ordo ......


    Seems it's possible not to commit a sin by trying to convert one's host.....


    No, I didn't mean any purple. Not even a tinge of it.
  • Forgot that Nixon was a Catholic and successfully converted China! I stand corrected.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,968
    Forgot that Nixon was a Catholic and successfully converted China! I stand corrected.


    If my memory serves, I think Nixon was a Quaker and China is not converted. Maybe that part of the secret wasn't done right. LOL.
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,189
    While I respect Noel's points regarding working in the Catholic Church, my experience says otherwise, even as I face the prospect of finding a new place.

    Yes, there is a risk to work in the Roman rite. One priest can upset the whole apple cart, so to speak. But I know for myself, the risks are outweighed by the rewards. I am reminded that the Roman rite is only 50 years out from VII. We have a lot to work out but there is also excitement. I have worked in a Protestant church and by all accounts, that particular denomination is dying. While the RC s are not breaking down the doors, there is still life there. And there is life there because we are still doing the THEOLOGY that is who we are. We struggle to live it out, our tradition offers so much and there is so much to be done.

    Of course, I am not happy because of my situation, but I still love the Church and I want to be part of her life. My spiritual director says it best," I love the Church like a mother and a whore...."

    Do not despair, go and work in the Church. It is never easy, but it is worth every moment of it.

    Back to the job ads....
  • The thing I have come to realize, though, is that pastors don’t hire us to be that, per se. They hire us to implement their vision, which may or may not be what we consider fitting/proper


    THIS. Many times, the vision is quite the same from one NO priest to another: make people happy, give them songs they like, make them sing, and above all do NOT upset anyone. Quantity over quality.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,466
    They hire us to implement their vision


    I think this is giving the average priest/pastor way too much credit.

    They hire us to play 4.5 songs on Sunday and to deal with weddings and funerals. And they hire us because they can't (at that particular moment) find anyone in the parish to do these things for free.
  • Adam, in my situation (which I briefly described in the same thread that Kevin mentions at the beginning of this one), my pastor has a very clear vision of the music he wants, to the point that he plans the music for one of the Sunday Masses and has indicated that at least some of this repertoire will soon be transferred to the others. This "new" repertoire ("contemporary" is the catch-word used, but most of it is 25-40 years old) consists primarily of the music I have made a conscious effort to try to avoid on account of its general theological and musical weaknesses. My experience would seem to confirm what Felipe and ClergetKubitz have agreed upon. Incidentally, it was not my current pastor but his predecessor who hired me.