THEODORE PARKER UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
Job Description
Title: Acting Director of Music Ministry
Status: 10 hours per week, including Sunday mornings (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
10 months per year, September 1 – June 30 (6 Sundays off; see “Guidelines”)
Salaried, with professional expenses. This acting position is a one year position, though the Acting Director of Music Ministry will be eligible to apply to the permanent position.
Position Start Date: September 1, 2024, though some orientation and planning meetings will need to happen prior to September 1.
Overview: Theodore Parker Church is a small and growing vibrant Unitarian Universalist congregation with about 130 adult members. Members and friends of our 310-year-old congregation are guided by a shared vision: reaching in, we nurture and strengthen each other with love; reaching out, we strive to promote justice with compassion. The Acting Director of Music Ministry supports the vision and mission of Theodore Parker Church by being a welcoming presence and harnessing our voices and our songs to nourish spirits and inspire us to live our faith in the world. The Acting Director of Music Ministry collaborates with the Minister, pianist and others as needed to:
plan, coordinate, and lead the music program for all worship services and other music events
creatively expand the role and scope of music used in the service
program a variety of instrumentation, cultural sources, and genres of music
collaborate in developing a vision for music ministry of the church
help the congregation to engage in a review of the music program and envisioning for the future as we move through a search for a permanent Director of Music Ministry
Supervision: The Acting Director of Music Ministry will be supervised by the Minister. Attendance is expected at monthly Music & Worship Committee meetings, regular worship and staff meetings, and one-on-one supervision meetings with the Minister as needed.
Qualifications: Our ideal candidate has:
Education/Experience:
A degree in music with experience in choral conducting
Keyboard or guitar proficiency, with ability to accompany congregational singing
Ability to locate, write and/or arrange appropriate music
Leadership and Working Style:
Practice a leadership style that is both inclusive and collaborative
An ability to work with volunteer musicians with varying skill levels
Technology: working knowledge of technology as it relates to streaming and multi-platform worship (e.g., Zoom, A/V proficiency, etc.)
A Vision for Music Ministry:
A passion for creating transcendent musical experience in the worship environment that reflects the fullness of the human experiences, including joy, laughter, heartache, the struggle for justice, and depth of soul.
Envisions music in worship as the ‘doors of the heart’ through which experiences of the sacred and the transcendent can be shared among everyone, from experienced musicians to the musically ‘shy’ person in the pews.
Draws from a wide variety of musical styles and instrumentation to build bridges both between different tastes and generations. Works to break down silos and labels of ‘classical,’ ‘contemporary,’ and ‘traditional’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘secular’, or ‘young’ and ‘old’, in service of an eclectic, inclusive, diverse, and vibrant musical repertoire that fits the themes and needs of our worship services and seeks to speak to members of our congregation in different ways and in different moments.
Uses music as a way to deepen our Unitarian Universalist identity and faith. Collaboratively builds a repertoire of songs from within and beyond our hymnals that offers innovative, moving, and inclusive imagery and language for humanity and the Holy, and can become the “spiritual soundtrack” for Theodore Parker Church.
Views their role as Acting Director of Music Ministry as just that – an expression of ministry – so that they can use their role to serve, connect, and care for the spiritual needs of the congregation as a whole. How can music minister to the congregation? What do we want our music to do? What are we longing to find through our music? are questions we want our successful candidate to ask as they do their work and share their gifts.
Essential Functions:
Plan and direct the musical elements for weekly worship services in consultation with the Minister and worship team
Vocal leadership of congregational singing
Recruit and direct our choir, the Theodore Parker Church Singers, a choir of 10-20 singers of varying skills and experience. The choir currently rehearses on Sunday mornings
Coordinate other in-house music groups
Actively collaborate with the pianist
Oversee the maintenance of the congregation’s instruments, including piano tunings, and music library, including ensuring that we have appropriate copyright permissions.
Supervise and maintain sanctuary sound system
Recruit and supervise additional instrumentalists for worship, as needed
Help envision and coordinate the annual Laura Dowd Memorial Concert
Plan the music budget with Minister and Music & Worship Committee
Actively engage with Unitarian Universalist musician networks and colleagues (including but not limited to the Association of UU Music Ministries - AUUMM) for ongoing learning, collaboration, ideas, and training.
Compensation and Working Hours:
Salary is commensurate with experience and based on UUA Fair Compensation Guidelines
The Acting Director of Music Ministry receives six (6) Sundays off during the September to June calendar, arranged with the Minister and Music & Worship Committee
Weekday hours are flexible, with occasional evening or weekend meetings
Eligible to participate in UUA retirement plan
To Apply:
To apply, please email a resume and short letter of introduction to our Congregational Administrator at office@tparkerchurch.org. Theodore Parker Church is a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association and is an equal opportunity employer. Frequently cited statistics show that women, transgender and nonbinary people, and people from other structurally marginalized groups apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to break that statistic and to apply. No one ever meets 100% of the qualifications.
