President of a Church Choir Job Description

The church choir enhances a worship service.

Worship would not be the same without the sounds of the church choir setting the tone and sharing the message through song. It takes more than an occasional choir practice to keep a church choir running smoothly. Some church choirs elect officers to work behind the scenes and ensure that the choir runs as well as it sounds.

Identification

The church choir president is a committed member of the choir who is elected to lead the choir. She works with other officers of the choir to provide leadership and direction.

Purpose

The role of church choir president is primarily one of communication. According to a ministry description posted by St. Stephen's Anglican Parish Council in Thunder Bay, Ontario, "The role of the Choir President is to keep the members of the choir informed about choir activities including ecumenical events, coordinate with the Organist on choir activities and liaise with the Incumbent concerning issues with the choir."

Tasks

The church choir president communicates with all members of the choir and contacts the members who have missed a recent practice or worship service. The president of the gospel choir at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge oversees "the administration of Gospel Choir affairs, including, but not limited to, spiritual issues, government, planning for appearances, meeting times and location, finances, ... relations, record keeping, publicity, web maintenance, document creation and/or reproduction, and the generation of special choir tasks." Some of these tasks may be delegated to others within the choir, especially other officers.

Qualifications

Most choirs set a minimum requirement for how long a person must be a member of the choir before she is eligible to serve as president. The average is six months to a year. In many congregations, the president must also be a member of the church.

Time Commitment

The church choir president must attend choir practice, which is often every week for one hour. She must also attend worship and be present any other time the choir sings, such as at outreach events or funerals. She is sometimes on the worship committee of the church, which may meet weekly or monthly as needed. The church choir president usually serves for one year.

Other Considerations

The church choir president must be a good musician. She must have excellent written and verbal communication skills. She should be trustworthy, hardworking and dependable. She should have good skills in negotiation and be able to resolve issues quickly.

References

• St. Stephen's Anglican Church: Ministry Description -- Choir President
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT Gospel Choir Constitution