St. Martin’s Episcopal Church – Organist Search

Fairlee VT

Job Title

Organist

Name of Church

          St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, www.stmartinsvt.org

Location

5327 Lake Morey Road East
Fairlee, Vermont 05045
(802) 333 – 9725

stmartinsvt@gmail.com

St. Martin’s is looking for one person to fill this important ministry position. The organist position is a part-time position. Salary will be based on experience and talents. St. Martin’s has been a part of the Fairlee community since its inception in the early 1960’s. Our church building, built in 1963, is adjacent to the Lake Morey Resort. Music is an integral part of worship in the Episcopal worship tradition. Our sanctuary is graced with a well-maintained organ, built by Peter Walker of Brattleboro, Vermont and dedicated in October of 2010.

Fairlee, Vermont is a small town less than 20 miles from Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College, home of the Hopkins Center for the Arts, and regional focal point of music and arts activities. Dartmouth is also home to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, an advanced teaching hospital and hub of a major medical network. A small town in the winter, Fairlee’s population swells in the warmer months, with a significant number of “summer people” and “snowbirds” coming to enjoy the beauty of our countryside and two lakes.

Job Description and Responsibilities

St. Martin’s seeks a creative, talented, flexible, enthusiastic, open-hearted organist to join the team at St. Martin’s, Fairlee, VT. We value the music of our church deeply as a means of opening our hearts to the presence of God and drawing us together as the Body of Christ.

The organist will serve as the parish’s principal musician by providing organ music for each 10:00 am Sunday service. Our worship schedule alternates between Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist (Communion) on a set schedule. The organist shall accompany hymns and service music on the organ or other keyboard instrument and provide preludes, postludes, offertories, and other instrumental music needed for worship. Familiarity with the liturgy and musical traditions of the Episcopal Church is highly desirable.

In addition to these Sunday responsibilities, the organist will serve at occasional special services to be determined throughout the year, including Christmas Eve and the evening of The First Sunday of Advent.

The organist will:

• be responsible for selecting hymns and service music and will work collaboratively with our priest to develop liturgies that are coherent, beautiful, and inspiring.
• occasionally rehearse and provide choral and instrumental offerings with singers and musicians from the congregation.
• be given first right of refusal for all weddings and funerals held at St. Martin’s and will be compensated with an additional fee for each service undertaken.
• oversee, in collaboration with the vestry, tuning and maintenance of the organ and any other keyboard instruments used for worship. The organist will contract relevant professionals to perform such services within the constraints of the parish operating budget.
• screen and approve any guest organists, and
• schedule substitute organists for any Sundays when the organist takes vacation.  The substitute organist’s fee will be paid by the church.

There is a minimum of two weeks’ vacation. There are no other paid benefits. This search will continue until the position is filled. 

Salary Range – $12,000 to $18,000 per year, depending on experience

Application Process

To apply for the organist position, please send the following items by e-mail to: stmartinsvt@gmail.com with Organist Position in the subject line and include:

• a cover letter describing your interest in and suitability for the position
• an up-to-date CV or resume that includes a list of at least three references. Candidates are invited to include, in their cover letter, links to videos of their musical performances.

The committee will accept and interview candidates until the position is filled.

All applicants will receive an e-mail which acknowledges receipt of their materials and will be informed when the position is filled. Please send us an e-mail at stmartinsvt@gmail.com, if you have questions about this search and this position. 

To learn more about St. Martin’s, you are encouraged to explore our  website www.stmartinvt.org. 

St. Martin’s Episcopal Church 

P.O. Box 158
5327 Lake Morey Road East
Fairlee, Vermont 05045
(802) 333 – 9725
stmartinsvt@gmail.com

A member of Episcopal Diocese of Vermont