Cathedral - Wichita, Kansas - Choir Director
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    Position appears to be open from local source.
  • David AndrewDavid Andrew
    Posts: 1,204
    It would appear that being bilingual will be a great help. The entire parish bulletin is in both English and Spanish.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    Parece ser que esa práctica sería de valor en cualquier parroquia con Inglés oradores no en número. En nuestra parroquia la segunda lengua se coreano. At this point I am limited to saying, 참 잘 오셨소, 어서 오십시오! but I say it whenever I have the opportunity.
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    It hasn't come up in this forum, but did anyone else feel an inordinate disproportionality of Spanish to English bilingual usage during the Liturgy of the Word at Abp. Lucas' installation in OMAHA NEBRASKA? (!)
  • David AndrewDavid Andrew
    Posts: 1,204
    What was that, Frogman?

    By the way, I've started a different post discussing bilingual fluency.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    That was....GOOGLE Translate can be your friend. It will translate what you want and you can insert the translation in your bulletin for choir recruitment letters.

    Be sure to include a phrase that you are using this means....it will help if the translation does not use the expected honorific (level of respect) that might be expected as happens with the Korean translations but also stops the embarrassment of having people coming up to you and attempting to involve you in a conversation in the language.
  • G
    Posts: 1,397
    Charles, my VCR only caught it from the Epistle (which was in Spanish, IIRC,) on, but no, it didn't seem so.
    There was a real dearth of Latin...
    What is the make-up of the diocese as to Spanish-as-a-first-language members?

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Blow by blow at m'blog. Just bullet points, no in depth.
  • rogue63
    Posts: 410
    The Wichita cathedral gig is part-time pay for nearly full-time work. Previous choir director had some nice things happening, though; Latin, chant, 2,3 and 4-voice organum, Renaissance and modern polyphony, good English hymnody. He also got his main paycheck as an IT guy for a university. 2 cents from a former local.
  • G
    Posts: 1,397
    The Wichita cathedral gig is part-time pay for nearly full-time work

    A part time gig.
    At a CATHEDRAL....
    Ours is the same.
    It's as if the liturgical life of the local Church is an afterthought, a nice extra after the important things like the blood drive and lay ministry certification and newspaper; as if they don't see the Eucharist celebrated there as the Source and Summit.

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • David AndrewDavid Andrew
    Posts: 1,204
    Part time pay for full time work? Hmmm. Let's talk about social justice, shall we?

    My hunch is this sort of attitude toward amount paid versus work done is a function of the history of the Church, wherein nuns and brothers (mostly nuns, from what I've heard) served in many capacities now taken by laity, and as such were never paid much, if at all.

    Only just a few years ago I had applied for a position at a seminary as DM for the chapel as well as adjunct professor teaching liturgy and music. Despite my background, etc., the job was offered to a nun, who had no discernable experience in teaching about liturgy and music (from the philosophical/theoretical standpoint as conveyed in things like the documents). When I called and expressed my dismay, I was told that one of the major considerations was that she was a religious, and therefore the seminary didn't have to pay her much, and her order already had her covered for medical benefits. No lie, this is what the faculty member in charge of hiring told me.

    I count myself lucky to be currently in the employ of a priest who understands that there must be some balance between the work done and the compensation, and that it would be unjust to deny a person an income in keeping with their skills and abilities to the extent that the parish budget can handle it.
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    But there are financial difficulties. Catholics aren't known for their generosity, nor their individual wealth. 1) if you have some strange masochistic desire to work in a Catholic church, you need to accept that you will get a lower salary than elsewhere. 2) We (as musicians) need to work for a fair wage for church musicians. THIS is why I don't get on the conservative bandwagon of bashing the "social justice" types: WE ARE victims of social injustice! I understand the relevant issues, and particularly small parishes do have trouble affording a musician. However, I agree completely with Todd Flowerday, who I believe once said that Catholic musicians should be afforded a salary equal to the mean of the parish according to lifestyle, location, and hours. This isn't impossible to implement in a parish of over 300 families, I should think.
  • PaixGioiaAmorPaixGioiaAmor
    Posts: 1,473
    I believe it should be a standard, perhaps mandated by the USCCB and/or Canon Law that every Cathedral should have a competant, full time director of music.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,934
    I think another way to say it, is that Catholics are cheapskates when it comes to supporting their parishes. Although this is true, Catholic churches are selectively cheap. There always seems to be money available to pay nearly everything else but musician salaries. Music and musicians are not priorities in most parishes and the cathedrals are often no better.
  • gregpgregp
    Posts: 632
    My wife worked at a Diocese in which, when the new Bishop arrived, he was astounded to discover that the people in the Chancery were actually paid. He assumed that the honor of working there would be sufficient. (He had never been a pastor.)
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    Every Catholic parish has millionaires in it...it's a statiscally proven fact.

    However, millionaires usually have money because they keep their money. So a parish that want support has to earn it. I know of a parish that ordered three bells from a company, the bells were renovated, tuned (not possilble 100 years ago in the US foundry they were cast in) and were to be installed, framework and all for $81,000.

    People from the church, engineers, decided they knew more than the bell company, and took over the fabrication of the hanging assembly themselves to save money. [those experienced with engineers trying to save money are already laughing, I know - engineers are interested in the process more than the final product] So by the time it was over, the bells were delayed about 3 months, the final coast was $81,000 plus $1,860 charge for the week the bell company men spent in town waiting for to finish the job. They were told the church was ready and it wasn't.

    So, things are fine. Except we are not allowed to ring all three bells as the local engineers have decided, I was told, that acoustic synchronicity when the bells are all rung may cause failure of the structure because their structure they designed moves.

    Now, millionaires in this parish are bound to think twice about giving money.

    And wealthy people love to give money, aside from the fact that it helps with their taxes.

    Don't believe me? Read this book:

    http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Affluent-Thomas-Stanley/dp/0070610495

    Was required reading by Steinway dealers, one I worked for was too cheap to buy it so I got it by interlibrary loan. I think the Steinway rep liked me more than he did the dealer.
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