Hello St. Paul’s,
As we head into the summer months, we want to update you on the cathedral’s music ministry. As you know, our choirs are sounding magnificent this season, perhaps the best in a long time. This is due in large part to the presence of our staff singers. We do our best to offer compensation to these professional singers that is worthy of their skills, and this adds up to a considerable expense. Without these staff singers, it is not possible to offer choral leadership of worship. California Labor Law prohibits employees from volunteering in the same capacity as their paid work, which means that, as much as they might want to, our staff singers cannot offer their services as volunteer leaders (although they may still choose to worship in the congregation).
Chapter works hard to keep our operating budget lean, but despite all our efforts, year after year we have to make special draws from our invested funds to cover the gap between what is available and what it costs to offer ministry. To help keep costs down, we made the difficult decision to have the Sunday morning choir take a summer break, starting after June 22 and ending after Labor Day. With our volunteer singers in the congregation, we will still make a joyful noise to the Lord! Choral Evensong will continue without interruption throughout the summer.
Meanwhile, construction of the Music Center is under way, and we look forward to sharing updates on the progress of this exciting development of the cathedral’s campus and facilities. We have recently welcomed Angel Mannion to the staff as music assistant, and plans are afoot to build up the Friends of Cathedral Music organization. The chorister program continues its re-birth and we are hard at work on plans to aid in recruiting and increasing the number of chorister families involved in the musical life of the cathedral. There are all kinds of good things in store for our music ministry, and we are grateful for all your support.
Yours in Christ,
Penny Bridges and Martin Green
