St. James’ Episcopal Church 214 Washington St. Hackettstown, NJ 07840 is looking to hire a new organist/choir director starting in January 2015. This position would initially be considered Interim and be a weekly pay position with no pay when the employee is absent. Once the parish has a permanent minister the interim may, upon agreement with the minster, chose to stay on or chose to leave. At that time, the position may be revisited in terms of pay, etc.

Responsibilities include:

• Planning choir anthems related to the liturgical theme of the day or season
• Conducting weekly choir rehearsals (currently adult choir only) on Sunday mornings at 8:30am
• Playing for the 10am Sunday service weekly including preludes and postludes, congregational hymns and service music, and occasional offertory pieces in lieu of a choir anthem
• Directing the choir in their anthem each Sunday
• Working with the minister to plan the worship music, or be able to plan the worship music alone should the minister not want to do that. This involves understanding the Episcopal liturgy and utilizing appropriate planning tools to select music that works for each Sunday’s, or each season’s, theme
• Attending Parish Life planning meetings about once a quarter to coordinate with other groups on the worship for the upcoming season(s)
• Availability for special services in place of or in addition to the weekly 10am service: Christmas Eve (3 services), Easter (2 services), Advent Lessons & Carols (regular Sunday but at 9am; no 10am service that day), additional services during Holy Week that can include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday evening service, Easter Vigil ( Holy Saturday)
• Accompany Summer Services (one service at 9am) July – August
• Provide substitute when on vacation or absent
• Provide accompaniment for weddings, funerals, if available (with additional remuneration provided)
• Recruit additional choir members, maintain & train current choir

Job Requirements:

• Familiarity with 1982 Episcopal Hymnal and supplemental hymnals such as Wonder, Love and Praise, and Lift Every Voice and Sing.
• Familiarity with Episcopal liturgy: regular Eucharist as well as liturgies for special feast days in Lent, Advent, Holy Week. St. James’ celebrates the Holy Eucharist at all regular Sunday services and most special services.
• Ability to inspire and sustain the choir. Some experience in improving each singer’s vocal performance is desirable.

Pay: $200/week (approx. 3-7 hr/wk)

To apply, please email your resume with references to Pamela Laura at plaura@verizon.net. Church website: http://stjameshackettstown.org