Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Job Description: Priest for (or) Lay Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries
Mission & Vision of the Program:
Church of the Redeemer is a healthy, program-sized church in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Sunday School Program is at the center point of life at the Redeemer. The Redeemer helps children and teens find God’s true purpose for their lives: the unfolding of Christ’s life into the world through their unique and developing personalities. The Redeemer creates and facilitates age-appropriate Christian programming, providing opportunities for children’s and teens’ hearts, heads, and hands to be formed into Christ’s own.
Position Summary:
The Church of the Redeemer seeks a passionate, creative, theologically trained individual. This person will ideally be engaged with the Anglican tradition (particularly the BCP 1979) and will be an experienced Christian educator who can develop, shepherd, and evaluate the formation and fellowship programming for our children, youth, and their families. The position requires a Christ-centered, pastorally minded, highly organized, and engaging person to work collegially with clergy, lay staff, and committed lay leaders to move our ministries from strength to strength.
The Redeemer is a vibrant church community in suburban Boston, Massachusetts. Our children and youth are valued members of our parish community in mission, service, and formation. The Priest for/Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries will work closely with the Rector, the Youth Pastor, and the Associate for Christian Education and Christian Spirituality to maintain and grow an engaging program that serves about 70 children every week. This is a 40 hour/week full-time, in-office position. It requires that the candidate be on site every Sunday morning to interface with children and their families as well as most Sunday evenings for youth programming. Although innovation can be proposed, the candidate should be willing to support and follow our rich and deep curriculum for all children, preschool through high school age. In addition, program offerings, committee meetings, as well as regular office hours throughout the week are expected. This position reports to the Rector. The Rector, the Youth Pastor, and the Associate for CE and CS along with this position will meet monthly to evaluate program life.
The Church of the Redeemer is an endowed Episcopal parish with an average Sunday attendance of approximately 225 during the program season. The Church of the Redeemer maintains a budget of $1.8 million annually. Our children and teens attend both public and private schools, requiring nimble planning and the creation of targeted opportunities despite complicated calendar needs.
Major Areas of Responsibility:
Nursery, Infant and Toddler Care (Newborn - Toddler)
- Review all child safety procedures and protocols to ensure safety of infants and personnel.
- Hire and supervise two to three hourly Nursery Caregivers for infant care.
- Gather parents of infants and toddlers for meaningful fellowship and formation opportunities in coordination with other Ministry Team members.
- Recruit and train lay volunteers for nursery volunteer opportunities.
Children’s Catechesis (Pre-K - 4th Grade)
- In consultation with the Rector, the Youth Pastor, and the Associate for CE and CS, set a yearly Children, Youth and Family calendar.
- Continue implementation of Godly Play curriculum and procure or repurpose materials for these age groups.
- Recruit, train, and schedule volunteer teachers and substitutes.
- Organize periodic refresher training and fellowship gatherings for teachers and potential teachers.
- Periodically evaluate the Godly Play curriculum to ensure engagement and quality of experience.
- Order and manage all Sunday School supplies and materials including teacher resources.
- Coordinate any special activities or Sunday School related events (e.g., pageants, picnics, field trips, etc.).
- Work collegially with all program staff and lay committees that intersect with Children, Teens, and Family Ministries.
Youth Formation and Fellowship (5th - 12th Grade)
- Review and evaluate formation and fellowship for these ages in consultation with the Rector, the Youth Pastor, and the Associate for CE and CS.
- Create a strategic plan in consultation with the Youth Pastor and Associate for CE and CS for curriculum changes and programmatic offerings for middle school and upper school youth programs.
- Aid the Youth Pastor in implementation of the aforementioned strategic plan for youth ministries by determining curricular needs and procuring materials and training volunteers.
- Create networks of fellowship and formation for the families of our children irrespective of family composition.
- Develop and nurture volunteer opportunities for parishioners that help move newcomers to deeper parish integration.
- Work with the Youth Pastor and Associate for CE and CS to provide timely formational experiences for parents and caregivers while creating networks of compassionate and empathetic pastoral care amongst families, especially in times of need.
- Work with the SMC partners to create monthly outreach and relationship building opportunities for children and teens.
General Administrative Responsibilities:
- Organize annual Sunday School registration.
- Prepare and update Children’s Ministries publications.
- Provide weekly updates for all parish communications.
- Maintain attendance data for all classes and provide data to report regularly.
- Lead the Sunday School Committee in monthly discussions and deliberations.
- Report to the Vestry as determined by the Rector.
- Meet with the Rector, the Youth Pastor, and the Associate for CE and CS regularly.
- Attend weekly staff meetings with the full program staff.
- Work is in-person in the office for 4 days a week in addition to programming on Sundays.
Expectations, Qualifications and Requirements:
- A love of children, seeing them as equal participants in the love of God.
- A deeply pastoral sensitivity to children and their families.
- Experience of and deep sensitivity for pastoral care with families as needed, navigating the needs of children, teens, and their families.
- Team oriented and able to work with a large group of volunteers.
- Motivated self-starter committed to the vision, values and beliefs of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican tradition, and the Creedal formulations common among the Roman, Orthodox, and many Protestant Christian traditions.
- An understanding of the seasonal pressures of the Redeemer in the leadup to Christmas and Easter.
- Familiarity with and passion for Godly Play highly preferred.
- Highly organized with excellent communication skills.
- Graduate level theological education preferred.
- Knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Word, Canva, Excel, Powerpoint, and Google Apps highly desired.
- This position is a 40 hour/week full-time position.
- Four weeks of paid vacation will be provided along with federal holidays. At the Rector’s annual discretion, the week after Christmas and the week after Easter are provided as paid time off for all employees.
- As the parish calendar is at its busiest in the weeks leading up to Christmas and Easter, no vacation will be approved during the three weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday or two weeks before the Easter holiday.
- Candidates must successfully complete CORI, SORI, and Safe Church Training prior to official hire.
- A clergy candidate will be asked to preach and preside at up to one service per month. Participation in regular public worship will be organized with the Rector.
Compensation:
- Salary range for lay candidates will be between $70,000 and $80,000. Clergy compensation will be within the guidelines of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.
- Full medical, dental, clergy pension or lay pension benefits are available.
- Continuing education and professional fees budgets will be made available.
- No housing is provided at this time.
- Moving expenses will be provided.
To Apply:
- Please provide a Letter of Interest– include what you are seeking in your next position.
- Current Resume
- Updated OTM form (if applicable)
- Two references (1 clergy, 1 lay) who can describe how your background and character would be a good fit for this position.
- A LINK to a project, video, sermon, writing, or other item that you’ve created that informs us more about you.
Answer ONE of the following prompts in your Letter of Interest that connect to the five attributes (e.g., passionate, creative, theologically trained, deeply devoted to the Anglican tradition, or experienced educator) we are seeking:
- Tell us about your love of children.
- Children’s ministry is at the heart of the Redeemer; however, children infrequently attend the full worship services of the parish as Sunday School and worship are held contemporaneously. How would you address this reality as the Layperson or Clergyperson responsible for Children, Teens and Family Ministries?
- Please reflect theologically on the place of the BCP 1979 in the formation of children, teens, and their families.
- The Redeemer is often described as a “Christmas and Easter parish”. This means that there are clear seasons of high engagement (Christmas and Easter) and clear seasons of low engagement (summers and ski season). Tell us about your flexibility regarding a diversity of parental expectations with these seasons in mind.
- Our program rests solidly on the development of the theological imagination of children, teens, and their families. Please tell us how you have fostered the theological imaginations in your ministries.
All materials may be sent to:
Leslie Williams
Children, Teens, and Families Search
379 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467
For Inquiries, please contact Ms. Leslie Williams at
familiessearch@redeemerchestnuthill.org
