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At St. Mary’s, we believe that faith is an extraordinary adventure and that being a follower of Jesus can be a whole lot of fun. We seek an Assistant Minister who has a contagious love for God, an orientation toward exploration and innovation, a great sense of humor and flexibility, and a desire to do church in fresh and unexpected ways.
We have a growing group of committed, loving, flexible families who are open to a variety of ways of engaging their children in the life of a Christian community. We seek someone with a progressive theological orientation from any Christian background or denomination to creatively help our children and families grow in faith, hope, joy, and love.
About You —
While college and graduate degrees in theology and/or education would be helpful for this work, we are open to candidates from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of life experiences.
The minimum requirement is a college degree and some professional experience working with children
Candidates need not be Episcopalians and need not be ordained, but we expect all candidates will have an affinity for and familiarity with Episcopal theology and practice (or a willingness to learn).
Most importantly, we seek an Assistant Minister who loves children and who has a passion for helping children to love God, love their neighbor, and love being part of a church community.
St. Mary’s is LGBTQ affirming and is striving toward becoming more fully anti-racist. We expect our Assistant Minister to actively embody our passion for inclusion and diversity.
About Your Role —
The Assistant Minister’s responsibilities on weekdays will include:
Development of all formation programming for elementary and middle school children (including visioning; curriculum/project/activity design; and volunteer recruitment/training/support)
Development of family/intergenerational events, activities, and service projects
The Assistant Minister’s Sunday schedule will regularly include:
Co-leadership (with the Rector) of a brief worship and learning experience designed for our youngest children and their parents at 9:30 AM.
Serving as primary teacher/leader of all elementary and middle school formation, with volunteer support. Formation for this age group takes place during our main worship service at 10:30 AM.
Active participation in Coffee Hour after worship to connect with families and children.
Design and leadership of monthly post-worship all-ages family events, including occasional service projects. These would often begin around Noon on Sundays but would sometimes be offered at different times (or on different days) to take advantage of particular service opportunities.
We also have a small youth group, and the Assistant Minister will mentor and supervise our youth group leaders. The Youth Group meets after the main worship service, usually beginning around 11:45 AM.
The Assistant Minister’s Sunday schedule will occasionally include:
Preaching at our main service several times per year so that he or she is known to the entire congregation.
Co-planning and co-leading (with the Rector) an All-Ages Liturgy during the 10:30 worship service at least once per quarter, which features a child-friendly message in place of a sermon.
The Assistant Minister’s summer schedule will include:
Planning and hosting an end-of-program-year party for families (in early June).
Planning for the upcoming program year (curriculum, activities, projects, etc.).
Offering a children’s activity during worship each Sunday (more informal than during the program year).
Planning and hosting several recreational family events during the summer months.
Planning and hosting a welcome-back party for families (in early September).
Things we haven’t dreamed of yet!
The Nitty Gritty
Hours —
This is a part-time position, at 20 hours per week. Hours will be distributed as follows.
Sundays: 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM (with some longer Sundays, as needed)
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday: at least one full-day or two half-days in the office (to be negotiated)
Remaining (+/- 7) hours can be worked in the office or from home; occasional evening hours may necessary for meetings (most of which take place on Zoom).
Compensation —
The salary range for this position is $25,000-33,000 per year, depending upon education and experience, for 20 hours of work per week. Performance will be reviewed annually and any raises will be contingent upon job performance.
If the Assistant Minister is an ordained Episcopal clergyperson, St. Mary’s will pay into the Church Pension Group’s defined benefit plan for clergy.
If the Assistant Minister is ordained in another tradition or is a layperson, we offer a 5% employer contribution to a 403B retirement plan and up to an additional 4% match for employee contributions.
No health benefits are available for this position.
Vacation and Sick Leave —
The Assistant Minister is entitled to 50 hours of paid vacation per year (including no more than 4 Sundays) and is allowed up to 10 sick days, as needed.
Background Checks —
Finalist will be required to submit a Pennsylvania Criminal History Background Check and a Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance.
Please be in touch!
If you have questions and/or would like to apply for this position, please be in touch with the Rev. Sean Lanigan, the Rector of St. Mary’s, at fr.sean.lanigan@gmail.com. If applying for the position, please submit a letter of interest and a resume. If you are an ordained Episcopal clergy person, your OTM portfolio would also be welcome documentation.