I estimate needing to be away about six weekends per year, or roughly once every other month
the same is true here, and we don’t want to do things by committee exactly, but it’s untenable in the long long term. We’ve been made do for several years, but newborns have made our leader’s schedule a challenge, and now there are more kids doing more outside-of-the-house activities, which eats up his evenings. There will be a time when he just can’t be absent from the driving duties.I'm part time with responsibilities on Sundays and major feasts, and take 2-3 Sundays off per year. But I don't have paid section leaders or a large choir, so it's palpable when I'm not there.
In my experience, the number of paid vacation days is typically regulated at the diocesan level, but the pastor can expand it unofficially/informally. Two weeks is pretty typical in the first two years of employment, but see what your diocesan personnel handbook says about holidays, holy days of obligation, and whether you're entitled to an additional day off when scheduled to work on a holiday/holy day.I’ve been in the role for about a year . . . I’m paid hourly and have PTO available, but I’d even be willing to take unpaid time off if needed . . . In your experience, what’s a reasonable number of Sundays off per year for someone in a position like mine?
The first statement is true. I would say the second really depends on how close you are to the couple. Some college friendships endure long-term, others don't. If they're getting married out of state, how often will you see them in person from now on anyway? If you were the one getting married, would you realistically expect them to travel across the country to attend your wedding? If not, you shouldn't feel obligated to travel for theirs. Consider asking a parent, family member, or friend of the opposite sex who knows the couple in question, who may have a more objective perspective on whether the friendship is close enough to justify traveling for the wedding.And the frequency of weddings will taper off as you get older. You need to go to those weddings, and a good pastor will understand.
Indeed it is. I worked many years without two consecutive days off most weeks, and three-day weekends were nonexistent without using PTO. I saw a recent job posting that included something like five weeks vacation and more (including Sundays) for professional development and out-of-town recitals (clearly they were wanting to hire a concert organist), but that is extraordinary for the first year of employment. I know a music director who's now able to take up to eleven paid Sundays off, not including sick leave, but that's also extraordinary.This is a job with some specific sacrifices attached, namely of free weekends.
weddings….are all weekend events. Beyond that, I also hope to travel a bit and take occasional breaks throughout the year for rest and perspective.
Another thought - can you arrange for some of the wedding weekends to be back for Sunday morning, even if you need to make less than ideal travel plans and sacrifice some sleep?
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