Quit immediately - the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing and you shouldn't be caught in the middle.

 I would say that you had a verbal agreement with the priest and they needed to adhere to what he told you. If not, (for me) I wouldn't do it for that little. That's not even a going rate for a plumber to come into your house.

 It is possible that the congregation cannot afford to pay an organist. If they can, don't play for less than your fee. If they can't afford it, then you must decide to donate or don't play. 

Did you have any written contract?  Even if not, you did the work with the verbal understanding of $75 per service.  It seems to me that the real question is whether or not you are willing to work for $35.  If not, resign immediately and ask to be paid $75 for each service completed as the priest agreed to.  If you still want the job, negotiate the best rate you can.

 

Ugly situation!  Good luck!!

 

I hope they enjoy Mass without music.  $35 is insulting.  Contact the priest and insist that his $75 agreement be honored.  Catholic parishes are not run by Finance Committees.  They are run by priests.  For future Masses, either get a written agreement for a reasonable fee and payment in advance or find another parish that will appreciate your services.  Good luck.  There's no politics quite like church politics! 

Hey, the music business is a tough business. 

 

Talk to everyone.  The Priest, however many members of the committee you can, the church secretary (to apoligize in case you raised her blood pressure inadvertently) and anyone else who has a direct interest.  I would limit conversation to anyone outside of the decision-making process.  If messages are not returned promptly you may have be more pesky.  But talking directly to the Priest and others involved in the decion is good policy.  

In a Catholic parish, the pastor (parish priest) has the authority to decide absolutely everything (subject to diocesan guidelines and Church law). In some parishes, the priest will exercise his authority to the full and decide most everything himself; in others, he will let parish committees decide matters within their purview. You have to find out which of these two situations prevails in this parish where you are playing. (There is no point in arguing with the secretary, since she just carries out other people's decisions.) Since you've asked the finance committee to get in touch with you, you've started the ball rolling, but you should also speak to the priest. You could also try to find out (for instance, from the secretary) what the parish pays the Sunday morning musicians.

 

In the end, there will be a decision: either the priest will impose his will on the finance committee or he will defer to them. If it's the latter, you will have to decide whether you want to continue at that fee and do the job mainly to help out the parish. Remember that, if the job is basically one of accompanying congregational singing and does not involve playing preludes and postludes or selecting music or attending a weekly choir rehearsal or attending liturgy committee meetings, a fee of $35 is probably not untypical for a small parish struggling to make ends meet. If you do decide to continue for $35, you could make the point that you're entitled to $75 for the first two weeks, since legally speaking you unquestionably had a verbal contract with the priest for $75, but that may not serve you in the long run if it just sours relations with important decision makers. You may have stumbled unwittingly into a situation where the pastor and finance committee regularly disagree, or things may be resolved amicably in the end. The important thing is to find out who calls the shots, and decide whether you want to continue under those conditions.

 

Michael Hartney      

Thank you all for your "professionsl insights".  I don't know what I would do without Choralnet some days.  Aptly named net not so much for the networking but for the " safety net"! (:

 

Blessings & Light

John Rondeau, Dir of Music

The First Congregational Church of Dudley

Dudley, Massachusetts

I love the posted comments. I suggest you tell the pastor you can play the right hand notes, for $35.00 but nothing else. If he wants the left hand and pedal, then come up with the other $40.00.  Just kidding of course!  And yes, you should quit immediately. Tell the finance committe the next time they call a plumber or electrician, to say that, "Mr. Plumber your bill was $600.00 but we feel $250.00 is good enough." You know that would never happen.  As a professional musician who has spent thousands of dollars with lessons, seminars, purchasing music, I am appalled at the insensitivity of many churches and their committees. You owe it to yourself to look for other gigs.

 

Mark Downey

Point:  In the Catholic Church, pastors are law.  Don't know, though, whether you were dealing with the pastor, or his associate.  If the former, that should be the end of the discussion, for THAT Mass (or two) for which you played.  If the latter, all bets are off.

 

Point:  Finance Committees, like Parish (Advisory) Councils, are not final authorities in Catholic churches unless the pastor so designates or it is a matter of diocesan policy.  If that's the case in this parish/diocese, that should have been made clear - and the priest in question, if he's new, needs to know this, so he understands he cannot make financial commitments of ANY kind.  As a courtesy, that should be a part of the discussion with the priest when you have it.  If it's the pastor you're talking with, and he seems not to want to deal with it, hit him with the plumber analogy:  "Tell me, Father, if you were to do this to a plumber, do you think he'd come out the next time and fix a plugged toilet?  And what do you think the smell would be?"  I'm sorry to say this, but far too many priests in civilian parishes (I work at a military base, and it's a whole different world) have absolutely NO idea what it takes to make things happen in the real world.  Sometimes, you have to be brutal.

 

Point:  It is overdue time, in my opinion, for musicians to make it clear that we, like other people who provide a service, are entitled to a reasonable payment for the service(s) rendered.  It is also a matter of policy - refer to the pamphlet Sing to the Lord:  Music in Sacred Worship (2007, USCCB), the most recent iteration of a discussion of music in the liturgy for the Catholic Church, issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, para. 52:  "Professional directors of music ministries and part-time pastoral music ministers should each receive appropriate wages and benefits that affirm the dignity of their work."  If this church is too poor to afford you at what is, frankly, a VERY reasonable rate, then they need to look for volunteers.  You do yourself and other fellow musicians absolutely no good by being a martyr over this kind of treatment.  Perhaps you'll feel better being a martyr, but the blood spilled will NOT make dollars sprout, I suspect.

 

Point:  There's more going on here than just the immediate situation.  It's obvious that internal communications is NOT this parish's forte.  It ought to be - or else how will their parishioners figure out what's going on, never mind the help.  This is another point that needs to be made to the pastor.

 

Realize that this approach tends to make you the "bad guy" - but sometimes, a kick in the shins is needed to get someone's attention.  You're not just doing this for yourself, but for anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation.

 

Ron Duquette

ANSWERED PRAYER!  The priest has opted to leave my fee for the Mass at $75.00

 

Ever so Grateful,

John Rondeau