When people ask me what I do, they usually seem surprised by my answer.  They’re not suprised that I’m a choir director, but that I’m a church choir director.  I can usually predict the follow-up questions: “What kind of church?”  “But is it your church or just your job?”  “Are you a music teacher, too?”  It’s as if they need to find an explanation for why someone as young as I am would choose to work for the Catholic church. 

I partly understand their surprise.  We can all describe the stereotypical “church lady” who plays the organ for the stereotypical church choir.  What they don’t know is that St. Anne’s music ministry is not like that.  We have young people, old people, and people of every age in between.  We have great talent, and I’m willing to bet that our music is not putting anybody to sleep. 

After I answer their questions (It’s a Catholic church, yes it is my church, and no, I don’t work at a school), I love to be able to continue surprising them by telling them that both of the choirs I direct have about 30 people in them, and that the average age of our parishioners is 31!

The truth is, St. Anne was my job before it was my church.  I wanted to direct a choir, and there aren’t too many places besides churches that will hire someone without teaching certification to direct a choir.  That’s not to say that I didn’t care about what I was doing for the church; I did.   I’ve grown up actively participating in music ministry, and I believe that it is criticially important.  It is one of relatively few places in our society where people can regularly and actively participate in music, and music is one of the most direct and effective ways for people to understand and carry the Gospel message with them in their daily lives. 

However, as I have gotten to know the people and philosophies of St. Anne, I am able to answer with confidence that St. Anne provides me with both my church and my job.  I am proud of St. Anne!  It’s a church that is alive and full of great people doing great work.  St. Anne has challenged me to constantly question why I do what I do, and has challenged me to keep improving myself and my ministry.  I hope that little by little churches like ours can change the stereotypes of modern Catholicism.