My last job hunt update blog was posted on August 24th. At that time, I had already discovered some interesting things about matching my skills and abilities to specific church ministry jobs. Since then, here's a couple of things that have been confirmed. 1) While churches are hiring Worship Leaders/Ministers of Music, they generally want that person to have at least 3 years of experience and their age to be somewhere in the middle of the age range of the church. That means, in most cases, someone in their 30s or 40s. While I have been a Minister of Music for 31 years, with very wide and diverse experience, my age puts me outside the preferred range. 2) My other skill set is in Church Business Administration. I have found that I am competing with many former financial institution employees who are CPAs or MBAs and will work for reduced church wages until the financial situation in the USA improves. For instance, I made the short list at an Episcopal church in Austin, TX for the position of Church Business Manager. The position was filled by an out-of-work CPA in Austin for a substantial reduction in pay. This worked great for the church, they paid their budgeted salary and got a very qualified employee, and did not have to pay for relocation expenses. This is a fairly typical scenario.
Today marks the 18th week of my job search. The severance package from my former church ends this week. Since most churches exempt themselves from paying into their state unemployment fund, church employees who are laid off or terminated cannot get unemployment benefits. In other words, our income completely stops after today, with no unemployment benefits eligibility. I am taking advantage of our state COBRA insurance program to continue our health insurance, but after October, we will pay the entire family premium. With 3 teenagers at home and Kathy and I both having some medical needs, health insurance is a necessity. A recent statistic I saw was that people in my age group take an average of 33 weeks to find a new job. With churches, once the holidays arrive, rarely are new employees hired until after the New Year. That means unless I can find a job before the third week of November, the holiday weeks will probably be lost to effective job hunting.
So, where are we? First, extremely grateful for the tremendous support of our family and friends. Thank you for all the meals and encouraging conversation, phone calls, cards, emails, etc. Just yesterday, some dear friends took us to breakfast and then to Sam's to "stock up". This is just one example of God truly blessing us through our friends. Second, in my wildest imaginations, I would have never thought that I would be in this situation at this stage in my life. To be let go from a church where I had served for almost 9 years, and in the words of the pastor "done a great job for our church", and in the worst economic period since the Great Depression, is almost unthinkable. However, God was not surprised. Now that our safety net is gone, this is where the real trust in God will come into play. I have always taught and believed that God is our Source. He uses our jobs to provide income, but He is the Source. The Salazars will find that out in the next weeks, and possibly months. Our relatives and friends tell us constantly that they are praying for us, and many of them have sent scriptures and words of encouragement. Please keep those prayers going heavenward and the encouragement coming to us. While we may go through some deep water, I know we'll have a victorious story to tell when we reach the shore. If you read this long post and have reached the end, thanks for your interest, support and prayers. Blessings...
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