Wenatchee First UMC seeks to hire a musician to perform with and lead our praise team for Sunday morning worship teams. This position is part time with 5 hours allotted each week for planning, rehearsal and Sunday morning responsibilities. This position works with the lead pastor, choir director, and accompanist. FUMC seeks a candidate who can help us expand worship and music ministries with children and youth. Good planning and communication skills are essential in addition to musical abilities and team building.
Starting rate is $25/hour.
Click here to view a job description. | Click here to access the application.
Your Application, cover letter, and resume can be sent electronically to office@firstumchurch.org or mailed to the church at 941 Washington St, Wenatchee, WA 98801.
Marysville United Methodist Church in Marysville, Washington, is seeking applicants for a part-time position of AV/Tech Production Engineer to support its in-person worship services and live streaming. Interested parties can email questions and their resume and experience to office@marysvilleumc.org.
AV/Tech Production Engineer
Systems Specifications
Compensation
Primary responsibilities would require an estimated 6-8 hours per week, at a range from $30 – $45 per hour. For extra services and hours requested during Easter and Christmas, contractor will be paid at agreed upon hourly rate.
Should the church be on social media? This question has been rumbling around in my communicator brain for some time now. At what point is our presence on a platform complicity with the harm that occurs there?
Whether and how we engage in digital space may be one of those wicked problems where the solution is elusive and imperfect, generating new problems along the way. It’s a complex problem; let me focus on one aspect of social media valued by United Methodists – connection.
Ironically, while social media platforms provide a form of connection, their use often increases feelings of isolation. One way to understand this is by considering the nature of these connections.
People usually invest their resources (like time) disproportionately in things that matter to them. In the real world, these investments often lead to deep relationships nurtured over years, providing blessing and challenge, support and opportunities to grow. It can be painful when these relationships fail or end, yet we know the benefits most often outweigh the risks.
Social media platforms provide a way to cultivate relationships seemingly without a significant investment. Without leaving the comfort of our homes, we can connect with people like old friends or acquaintances from high school and new people who share a common interest. However, the time we invest in social media is often spread over many interactions, leaving these relationships thin or shallow.
If social media platforms were neutral in managing their users’ relationships, both forms of connection would be acceptable and good. The problem lies in how platforms use algorithms to manipulate our engagement, keeping us entertained and outraged for as long as possible to profit from the ads they constantly bombard us with.
In the political environment we find ourselves in, we can see the problem. At a time when we need spaces to engage in healthy conversation across divides, we find ourselves firing salvos at each other with only the thinnest of social connections holding us together. The situation is ripe for harm as we share our hot takes and opinions in ways most would rarely do in person.
In addition, these platforms have such a hold on us that we have less time to be present in spaces where deep and meaningful conversations across differences are more likely to occur and be sustained. According to one source, the average adult spends over four hours daily on social media platforms. This number varies by age, individual preferences, and even by study. Still, people are often surprised by how much time they spend when they track their usage.
Healthy communities of faith can provide spaces for impactful and necessary conversations today. Yet, we are competing with easy-to-use and addictive platforms for the precious commodity of time. While social media is far from the only thing competing with faith communities, it is one of the fastest growing and problematic.
As I said at the start, our engagement with social media is a wicked problem. I’m not confident the solution is complete disengagement, but we should be wrestling with how we engage as communities and people of faith.
For individuals, the first step may be doing a personal audit. While apps are available to monitor your device usage, similar utilities are often built into modern mobile operating systems. Beyond time spent, consider and evaluate your connections with people online and in person. Do your interactions reflect how you wish to relate, and are they providing the connections you need to thrive?
For communities, are you on platforms that align with your values? And when that alignment isn’t perfect (life rarely is), is your presence still strategic toward reaching new people and supporting those who call your faith community home?
Well, that’s it for today. I promise to return to this topic again in the future. I would love to hear your thoughts to enrich my perspective for when I do.
Patrick Scriven serves as director of communications for the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Federal Way UMC seeks a part-time church administrator to be the primary contact person for church business matters and Sunday Service coordination. Duties include assisting pastor, managing website data, managing the church calendar, maintaining records, placing orders, managing newsletters, and more.
This position will work 20 hours per week: Sunday-Thursday, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. The compensation rate is $20-24 based on experience and skill. During the initial 90-day probation period compensation is set at $20 and will be reevaluated at the end of the period.
Click the button below to read the full position description. For questions or to apply, email FederalWayUMCStaffParish@gmail.com.
MVFUMC seeks a pianist and music accompanist to work with Pastor and worship committee to provide music for weekly Sunday morning worship services. The job involves coordinating with the Pastor and the worship team to select music for each service. The pianist provides piano accompaniment for hymns for worship service, prelude, offertory, short postlude and music during communion service on first Sunday of the month as well as accompanies the choir or other musicians providing special music.
The church hopes to recruit a cadre of pianists willing to work one or two Sunday services per month. It is not necessary for an interested applicant to commit to providing services every Sunday.
Primary duties include:
Weekly schedule anticipates a phone call or visit with Pastor or worship committee member during the week to discuss songs for the upcoming Sunday; as well as preparing and playing for church service from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on scheduled Sunday. Pay is $150 per service.
Respond with resume including references to office@mvfumc.org; Mount Vernon First United Methodist Church, 1607 E Division Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98274.
As our Children and Families Ministry Coordinator, you would be responsible for putting together programing for the youth, children, and young families of our church family. Most of this programming is currently done on Sunday mornings from 9-noon. This job would include managing the nursery, doing the major teaching points for our children’s church, and managing two nursery workers. Other responsibilities would be: working with the parents of our children to build a vibrant and growing ministry; communicating with our families effectively; building up a vital volunteer program for our children and family ministry; working with the pastor and other staff to work effectively together; plan and implement effective outreach events such as VBS, Trunk or Treat, and our Easter Egg Hunt; and encourage the spiritual development of our children. As our coordinator, we would ask that you do all you can to embody our mission statement: We at Bear Creek are a thriving, inviting, inclusive community, striving to reach out to the world with the compassion, and unconditional love of Jesus.
This job will work 5-10 hours per week to build a strong Children and Family program that encompasses Sunday school (Kids Connection) and weeknight programming.
Responsibilities
Qualifications
Please send resume and cover letter to Pastor Brook McBride at pastor@bcumc.org.
Sumner United Methodist Church in Sumner, Washington, is searching for a friendly and reliable Youth Ministry Coordinator to join the Sumner UMC MinistryTeam in providing a safe, warm and welcoming community where young people experience community, intergenerational belonging, nurtured in their spiritual exploration, and encouraged to identify and live out their values.
Click here to view the full job desciption.
Sumner United Methodist Church is a faith community that believes everyone is welcome to God’s love and grace, supports people doing good in the world, and nurtures spiritual journeys with God and in community.
MVFUMC seeks a choir director to work with the Pastor to provide music for weekly Sunday morning worship services. The job involves coordinating with the Pastor and the worship team to select music for each service. The choir director provides piano accompaniment for hymns for worship service, as well as directs and accompanies the choir. The director meets with the choir for one rehearsal prior to church service.
View the Position Description here.
Weekly schedule anticipated 10 hours minimum. Pay is $300 per week. Additional hours for Christmas or Easter services to be pro-rated according to base pay.
Respond with resume including references to office@mvfumc.org; Mount Vernon First United Methodist Church, 1607 E Division Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98274, mvfumc.org