Church and Professionalism

Quite some time ago Msgr Pope from the Archdiocese of Washington DC wrote a blog entry about the wages of Catholic employees, noting that a recent study at that time suggested that their pay now finally comes close to matching that of their non-Catholic counterparts. Great news!

However, unfortunately in my personal experience I have found this not to be the case. Many of my friends are employed by the Church in some capacity or other and the question very often isn’t whether their wage is competitive, but as to whether it is even a living wage.

Paying the piper

I understand that the cashflow in parishes is tight, but in the past I’ve found the issue of money extremely frustrating when dealing with those who hold the parish purse-strings. Now, I’ve never seen an official parish budget, and I’m sure that there are lots of hidden costs involved in running a parish of which I’m unaware…but I’m consistently left with the impression that there are virtually no funds ever set aside for music, catechesis, evangelization, youth or young adult ministry.

The result of no money for these ministries? It means that music ministers, youth workers, catechists etc. are not hired…and then people wonder why which the music sucks, the congregation is poorly formed in the faith and people start to leave, especially the young.

If you think the situation is bad here in the States, let me assure you that it is even worse elsewhere. Back home in England I was never been part of a parish with a paid youth or young adult minister. I remember the time when there was a big fuss and fanfare because the Diocese had hired a Young Adult Coordinator…for a whole six months (gasp!).

Beggars can’t be choosers

With no budget set aside, these ministries (if they exist at all!) are typically staffed by volunteers. I see several potential problems with this.

Firstly, the unfortunate thing about using volunteers is that, although enthusiasm might be there in abundance, the necessary skills might be absent. It’s a perfect example of getting what you “pay” for. Those volunteering will be giving of their time and energy, but typically they will have no formal ministry training and will have limited time they can devote due to the commitments of family and a full-time job.

Secondly, I would suggest that it is fairly common that some of these volunteers will remain in a ministry even when they should not. Volunteers don’t have yearly performance reviews. I think we’ve all been to parishes with appalling cantors or thoroughly uninspiring youth ministries. Yet, since those doing the work are doing it free of charge, the pastor will be loath to ask them to step down since beggars can’t be choosers.

Finally, as I mentioned in another post, once on the pastor’s radar, those parishioners who volunteer in one ministry are likely to be “tapped” again and again for all the other jobs which need to be done in the parish. Obviously, it’s hard to blame the pastor for this. If someone has proved himself or herself willing and able before, the pastor is much more likely to ask again when new needs arise. Unless these parishioners are restrained and are willing to say “no” when necessary, resentment can set in and burnout will soon follow.

The Servant Kings

Let me be clear, in case I am misunderstood. I am not belittling parish volunteers. Not at all! In my adult life I have served as a volunteer in a number of different ministries and I know how demanding it is, especially without training and particularly while trying to hold down a full-time job.

As Christians, we are all called to be servants and to offer our gifts and talents to the Lord. If you’re a volunteer at your parish, thank you! Thank you so much for all you do for all of us! Volunteers are the lifeblood of every parish and I wish there were more! However, what I am suggesting in this post is that our volunteers should be led by adequately-funded leaders who have been properly trained in that particular ministry.

Excellence in the Protestant and Secular Worlds

There is a wonderful mindset in many non-Catholic congregations that one must always give God the very best. This is reflected in the time and money invested in different ministries and those who lead them. Quite frankly it makes a lot of Catholic parishes look rather amateurish and halfhearted in comparison.

I think we can also take an example from the secular world. I work in the secular world as a software engineer. I studied for many years and worked hard to attain the necessary qualifications for my job. There are high expectations concerning the quality of my work, but for maintaining this standard, I receive a good wage from my employer. I think we can learn from this in the Church.

Getting down to brass tacks

I know I’ve spent a lot of time in this post complaining, but I’d now like to point to what I think to be the solution to this problem. As Msgr Pope pointed out in his article, money is the key issue here:

“Money is a sign of what we value. Catholics who regularly toss down $50-100 to take the family to the movies, or even more to go to sports events, and then toss $10 in the collection basket are saying something about what they value”

Where a parish chooses to dedicate funds indicates what it considers to be important:

“Further, parishes that pay significant wages for administrative leadership, music and catechetical ministry are also saying something about the value associated with these works in God’s house. Money does have something to say about what we value”

Quite some time ago I did wrote about tithing and I mentioned that I rarely hear the subject of personal finances being addressed from the Catholic pulpit. In my opinion, this is the first thing which should change. I think that if our priests challenged us to greater generosity on a more regular basis, we’d see collections rise considerably.

Additionally, it can sometimes feel as though the money we put in the collection basket just disappears into some great Diocesan void. If, however, it is evident where the money is going, I would suggest that parishoners are much more likely to give generously to their parish. Here’s what the Msgr had to say:

“[My parish is] well formed in their understanding of what it takes to run a parish where we pay just wages, and strive for excellence in the service of the Lord… Biblical tithing has been embraced by most of the parishioners here who though small in number, yearly generate an offertory income of almost one million dollars“

I’ll leave the final word to the Msgr:

“But there must be a proper balance or proportion at work. Music and liturgy, parish administration and catechesis are essential and important posts that ought to be staffed by well trained and well paid individuals. It will surely be the job of such individuals to engage volunteers, and train good leaders to assist them. But in the end, we have to be willing to have well trained people in essential posts and be willing to pay them wages commensurate with both “the market” and also with the value we attribute to their work. And that value is significant”

What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree?