At St. Mark’s United Church, music is a vital means of expressing our faith and participating with each other in experiencing and celebrating the presence of God.
St. Mark’s United Church is an Affirming Ministry and is called to be a progressive, inclusive life-affirming Christian community of faith within The United Church of Canada. Our membership includes a range of ages. Our worship is designed to respond, support and reflect our growing cross-cultural diversity. It is important that our music programme include secular and sacred components with the use of an organ, keyboard and the inclusion of other instrumental and technological accompaniments. The congregation sings well and has been described as ‘musically progressive.” We encourage the sharing of diverse musical gifts.
The Music Director will encourage and nurture the congregation’s participation in the music of worship and the expression of faith, through singing, choir leadership and instrumental accompaniment.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Consulting and cooperating with the Minister and Staff / Worship Teams, for music at the weekly Sunday service, and other worship responsibilities as needed
- Participating as an integral part of a collegial ministry staff team, including team meetings and potential fundraising activities
- Leading, nurturing and growing the choir with weekly choir practices
- Encouraging progressive, inclusive and adventuresome music using a variety of musical expressions and styles
- Sharing a diversity of musical gifts in worship with people from the congregation and guests
- Providing updates and feedback to the Worship Ministry Team about the upcoming requirements for services and related music issues at a minimum of monthly meetings
- Wedding and funeral services are also arranged and paid by the families involved
SKILLS AND CHARACTERISTICS SOUGHT
The Music Director shall bring:
- A spirit of celebration and praise to worship
- An understanding of Christian liturgy and an openness to contemporary liturgical forms
- Creativity and imagination, flexibility and vitality. The ability to improvise as our services are informal and spiritually uplifting, but not perfect
- Sensitivity and ability to be aware of the capabilities of the choir, guest musicians and the congregation.
- A commitment to the use of inclusive language and progressive theology
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Connections suitable for lining up guest performers and coverage for times away.
- Professional accreditation, good technical ability and demonstrated skills as a choral director, and pianist.
- Demonstrated skills as an organist would be an asset.
- Familiarity with the United Church of Canada hymn books Voices United and More Voices would be an asset.
RESOURCES PROVIDED
- A 2-manual Classic organ, keyboard and iPad. The congregation uses the United Church hymn books Voices United and More Voices
- There is a subscription to One License, an international collective representing a broad range of mainstream Christian worship music
- There is a small music library and an annual budget allocation for music, guest musicians and educational pursuits
We are looking for a commitment of up to 11 hours per week, including service on Sunday and choir practices. Remuneration is consistent with the RCCO guidelines.
If you are interested in talking to us about how your skills and goals fit with our vision and needs, please send your resume by Dec.1, 2019 to : jobs@st-marks.ca
For more information regarding St. Mark’s U.C. please see our website at www.st-marks.ca