[HANASHIR:16554] RE: financial compensation

[Hava Kohl-Riggs <hava...>]

Hava Kohl-Riggs. LCSW
Professional Life Coach
know your purpose, live your dreams

phone: 608 238-7400
fax:      608 442-3307
cell:      608 347-4920
4746 LaFayette Dr
Madison, WI 53705
mailto:hava (at) soscoach(dot)com
www.soscoach.com

Hello All,

I need your feedback re: a dicey issue in my congregation:

financial compensation for functioning as the hazzan in services and High
Holydays. First a little history:

I have been serving as a volunteer, leading and co-leading services in my
Reconstructionist congregation, primarily in the role of leading the singing
of the liturgy, ever since we were a lay led havurah about 15 years ago (in
addition to other volunteer efforts for the community, as a founding member,
board president, committee chair, etc). I started with very little knowledge
of the liturgy, having abandoned Jewish practice at 10th grade.

When we hired our first student rabbi to lead High Holyday services, she,
being tone-deaf, asked that I serve as hazzan, and asked me to learn
liturgical music and work with her. I've continued in this role ever since,
through a succession of visiting student rabbis (some with terrific voices)
and in the last 7 years with resident rabbis. Although I am by no means  an
ordained cantor, I have learned a significant amount of both traditional and
new settings of our liturgy, both on my own initiate and at the request of
the rabbis.

My attendance at Hava NaShira has been funded by a "continuing education"
stipend provided in appreciation of my leadership at High Holyday services
and at times I've also used it to fund my continuing voice coaching or other
Jewish studies. I originally suggested the stipend, and although we are not
a wealthy congregation, it was approved. There is more history to that,
which I will spare you. From the beginning, music has been an important part
of the joy of our community, and our first expenditures, other than
photocopying costs for our services and rent of worship space, was for a
songleader at services and then a cantor at our first lay-lead attempt at
High Holydays.

Now we have a congregation of about 100 "units" meaning families or singles
and couples, and have a paid staff consisting of rabbi, religious school
teachers and coordinator, and administrative assistant. I have been feeling,
for a number of years now, since we've added a bunch of paid staff,  that I
am ready to be compensated as a professional for the considerable work I do
as hazzan, even as I continue to volunteer in other capacities. This year I
submitted such a proposal.

The board is currently considering it, and, through my proposal is now
forced to face the issues of
1. whether they want to have a paid staffer as hazzan, and
2. whether they want to choose among applicants for this position

I don't know if they are explicitly considering these issues (though I serve
as Past President on the board, naturally I have been absent from these
meetings), but I know that these are the issues that have made me so
uncomfortable about submitting a proposal in the past. It still creates a
great deal of discomfort for me.

Anyway, the way the possible conflict of interests is being  addressed
explicitly is through the issue of money.

The feedback I need is twofold

1. regarding the conflict of interest
2. how others in similar size and stage of development congregations are
compensated.

Oh, and needless to say, I totally love functioning in my role as one of the
spiritual leaders of the community through music, and would feel a
tremendous loss if I no longer had this opportunity.

If you've read this far, thanks for your patience and understanding of my
need to go into context.  I appreciate all your feedback.

May your days be blessed with joy and meaningful service!

Hava






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------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------+
Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network, http://shamash.org  
a service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an
online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/

To unsubscribe email listproc (at) shamash(dot)org and have your message read:
unsubscribe hanashir
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