Even at a young age music was very important in our house. As my father was once a live and radio DJ, I spent many nights in my father’s game room, (gently) dropping the needle onto an album with him, discussing the historical and cultural importance of music from the 1960s and 1970s in particular. One of the most impactful albums in my memory was the Moody Blues’s “A Question of Balance”. Now, the Moody Blues were a mainstay in our musical repertoire. “Days of Future Passed” were on regular rotation. But there was something about “A Question of Balance” that has always stuck with me. The album discusses finding the balance within societal unrest, technological advances, and humanity in the late 1960s into 1970, but the phrase, “a question of balance,” is deeply etched in my guiding principles. I’m not necessarily good at it, but it’s something I try to improve on every day.
I’ll confess to you, listeners, that I think music ministry sometimes becomes a question of balance. The demands of music ministry and balance are sometimes, in my opinion, mutually incompatible. With parish mergers increasing nationally, we sometimes find ourselves doing more Masses across more church sites, sometimes with no discussion of pay increase despite the additional workload. (I know a pastoral minister who had 9 Masses across 4 locations each weekend, not mentioning funerals and weddings!) It is, of course, part of our ministry to be fully present on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, often with 3 hours of sleep in between. If a parish requests music for any additional occasion- a Mission Mass for Lent, Stations of the Cross, a Lenten penance service, you name it- music is very often requested, adding to the commitments, spiritual, and musical demands of a season. And yet in the midst of these challenging commitments, there are beautiful moments of God’s presence that we find in our music ministers, our parishioners, and the community at large. It’s a divine calling to be sure.
In the midst of this calling are the practical realities we face every day. We must make ends meet, which can at times be challenging on a parish musician’s salary. Furthermore, the National Office has seen a trend of job listings that ask for 4-6 Masses/weekend covered, 2 choirs to direct, covering all weddings and funerals, as a part-time position. These are the realities many ministers face. And while some work to re-establish a music ministry’s value with their clergy and church leadership, others seek another career path, leaving church ministry less and less covered than it used to be. This is not a new story to many of you listening, I’m sure.
But if we were open to this conversation, how would it go? If we cannot maintain a full-time status for our Directors of Music, how can we invite more music ministers to serve, knowing that they have jobs somewhere else? That, dear listeners, is a question of balance.
Today we chat with Sean Holland, a part-time music minister in Kansas City, Missouri, who also works full-time as a manager of the largest garden store in the city. Sean discusses the things he does in both his part-time and full-time jobs to balance the two, both prayerfully and practically.
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Bio: Sean Holland
Sean Holland grew up in Kansas City with a love of gardening and a passion for music. While attending the University of Missouri for a degree in horticulture and minor in music, he began helping out with liturgies at the St. Thomas More Newman Center on campus. There, he developed a love of liturgy, and found work as the music director at Holy Cross in Kansas City after graduating. In 2014, Sean began working at Suburban Lawn & Garden, a 40-acre garden center complete with a 45,000-square foot greenhouse, where he is now the perennials manager. In addition to his management responsibilities, he enjoys giving talks to garden clubs, schools, and retirement communities, writing articles for the local gardening magazine, and being a regular guest on the local gardening radio show. Musically, Sean also serves as a staff organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in KC, organist at St. Anthony Parish, and recently became the Chapter Director for NPM in KCMO. Even with a busy schedule, Sean finds balance in work and ministry, and loves every minute of it.
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