Director of Music Ministries

Job Description

Assumption Catholic Parish, in Lauderdale- by- the- Sea, Florida, is hiring for a part-time Director of Music Ministries. This lay ecclesial minister will develop and sustain a prayerful, singing assembly at the weekend Masses, holy days and liturgies and in so doing, help to increase regular Mass attendance. This person shares the Catholic faith and understands and manifests the Second Vatican Council's affirmation that "the musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song closely bound to the text; it forms a necessary or integral part of the sol emn liturgy." (CSL, 112) The director will deepen liturgical understanding through music and sung prayer. The Director of Music Ministries performs all duties and responsibilities in alignment with the mission, vision and values of the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.

Functions include:
• Responsible for all music associated with liturgy including choir(s) direction as accompanist, cantor and/or choir director including developing and training choral and instrumental assembles, cantors and accompanies, to lead and support the liturgical music required for all music associated with worship, religious education, social ministry and evangelization.
• Develop prayerful, singing assembly through celebration, preparation and evaluation, education and personal ministry.
• Participate and collaborate in planning sacramental celebrations and other liturgies with the parish staff, parish leaders and volunteers, including religious education, RCIA and youth ministry.
• Coordinate and schedule musicians, cantors, accompanists, for all liturgies including Christmas services, Holy Week services, penance services, anointing masses and other liturgical services as needed, including weddings and funerals if requested. Such services may include parish secular feasts, holy days of obligation, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, All Souls Day, etc., as well as Confirmation, Baptism, Anointing of the Sick, Reconciliation and First Communion.
• Liturgical preparation through music selection using appropriate musical, pastoral and liturgical judgment.
• Responsible for preparing and submitting a music budget to the Pastor and the Parish Finance Council annually.
• Responsible for having rehearsals at least two times a week for about two hours each.
• Collaborate and communicate closely with pastoral staff and volunteers to develop and implement a unified approach to liturgical, catechetical and apostolic work in the parish.
• Consult, advise and support leaders of all English and Spanish Masses in the Parish.
• Responsible for all clerical activity related to the position including maintaining schedules of each choir; replacement of worship aids; bulletin notices; phone calls and all ministry-related correspondence.
• Build and maintain a choral library.
• Attend parish liturgy meetings which concern the music ministry and inform all the other music leaders.
• Coordinate maintenance tasks and care of music equipment and supplies as well as overseeing organ and piano tuning and repair and availability of mics, cables and music stands.
• Seek and take learning opportunities to increase skills and knowledge base in field of liturgical music.
• Prepare annual report on music programs for Pastoral and Parish Council evaluations, incorporate new goals into strategic plans.
• Supervise all employees, volunteer musicians, and volunteer members.
• Support parish life by attendance at parish functions.

Qualifications:
• Bachelor's Degree in Music or equivalent required.
• Previous employment as part-time or full-time Director of Music Ministries preferred; Experience as a part-time or volunteer musician may be considered.
• Ability to interact with all Priests-Celebrants, choir members, parishioners, parish staff and other musicians.
• Ability to empower people to sing; to rehearse continuously until they feel comfortable.
• Ability to engage the parish in the musical celebration of faith at worship.
• Ability to attend to the musical and spiritual growth of parish music volunteers.
• Able to provide training for cantors, organists and members of musical ensembles;
• Able to actively recruit and retain singers and musicians.
• Acquired considerable information about the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church and can integrate that information with musical skills so that the liturgical music component of worship can be celebrated.
• Understanding of the place of the assembly as the primary liturgical symbol.
• Capable of preparing for great feasts and seasons of the Church, Sundays of Ordinary Time, sacraments, and for celebrations with children.
• Skills and understanding in applied music, music theory, and the history of music.
• Performance proficiency in a keyboard instrument used in liturgical celebration and voice/choral performance experience.
• Knowledge of keyboard technique, liturgical service-playing techniques, group vocal techniques and choral conducting.
• some understanding of acoustics, especially pertaining to the parish worship space.
• Basic knowledge of theory and harmony.
• Ability to write simple musical scores, (auxiliary instrumental parts, descants, etc.).
• Understanding of score reading and transposition of instruments.
• Awareness of the vast repertoire of music available today, both contemporary and treasured, sacred pieces.
• Sensitivity to the ethnic composition of the parish and its musical needs.
• Ability to interact and maintain a positive working relationship with other musicians and volunteer choir members of all levels.
• The ability to handle difficult people and stressful situations in a calm, respectful manner.
• Computer experience and familiarity with word processing and music processing software.
• Organizational skills, including overall coordination of the various music ministries, music budget administration, long and short-range planning of music, and timely distribution of all schedules so that musicians have adequate rehearsal time.
• Fluency in Spanish a must.
• Proficiency in MS Outlook, including calendar function. Basic word processing skills in MS Word.
• Good computer literacy, including ability to navigate search engines effectively in order to locate information for singers.
• Must learn and familiarize self with Archdiocesan Office of Liturgy and Web site.
• Type at least 35 wpm with 90% accuracy.
• Good verbal and written skills in English and Spanish.
• Excellent customer service skills, including ability to maintain focus on and professionalism with people in challenging situations, both in person and by phone.
• Must be able to multi-task and retain accuracy in an environment of fielding simultaneous callers and visitors.
• Knowledge of basic tenets of Catholic Church, hierarchical structure and entities.
• Must be supportive of the mission and tenets of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Must have a professional demeanor.

To apply: submit cover letter and resume to Pastor, Reverend Lazarus Govin, at ljgovin@yahoo.com and careers@theadom.org

About the Employer

The Archdiocese of Miami is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastic territory includes Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of Florida. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, which covers Florida. The archbishop is Thomas Wenski. As archbishop, he also serves as pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Mary, the mother church of the archdiocese. Also serving are 428 priests, 160 permanent deacons, 50 religious brothers and 300 religious sisters who are members of various religious institutes. These priests, deacons and persons religious serve a Catholic population in South Florida of 1,300,000 in 118 parishes and missions.