St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, located in Yorktown, Virginia is seeking a part-time Director of Music. Musical and liturgical responsibilities include but are not limited to: 3 weekend Masses, weekly Choir rehersals, weddings and funerals. Duties also include updating musical text, purchasing music, piano/organ maintenance, preparation of all worship aids and liturgical programs, attending staff and liturgy meetings, and other liturgical tasks as assigned ty the Pastor. Master's Degree in Music performance, composition or equivalent education and experience (three -five years). Strong knowledge and appreciation of Catholic liturgy. Proficient in organ and piano; posess skills for directing worship choirs of children and adults. Twenty to twenty-five hours per week including; 3 Masses, 1 children's choir rehersal, 1 adult choir rehersal and required administrative hours. To apply: Please send cover letter and resume to St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Attn: Music Minstry/LiturgySearch Committee, 315 Harris Grove Lane, Yorktown, VA 23692 or e-mail Jo House @jhouse@stjoanofarcva.org.
This will most certainly be deleted soon, but just at face value, 3 weekend Masses, 2 weekly rehearsals, preparation of worship aides and programs, attending staff meetings and liturgy meetings and required admin hours seems to be a whole lot for 25 hours a week...perhaps there are circumstances that we aren't seeing?
On the other hand, we need to consider the possibility that the market is willing to bear what might look like exploitation on the surface. Maybe a very experienced musician looking to cut back or a stay-at-home parent looking to re-enter the work force without going full-time would be very interested in this job.
I'm not disagreeing with anything that's been said (because I do agree), but it doesn't seem fair to judge a job that might not be right for you as not being right for anyone.
(On edit: one big issue is that many parish administrators treat three Sunday masses as "three hours," which is a fundamental misunderstanding about the actual time suck that goes into that work.)
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