I want to be Catholic but I work in a protestant church

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Hello,

I am a musician. I was raised in a protestant church and have made my living by playing the piano and organ in services since adulthood. I have been a committed Christian since my teens. In my recent study I have come to the conclusion that the Catholic church is the true apostolic church instituted by Jesus at the last supper and I wish to enroll in RCIA. The problem is that my income is made in a protestant church and to join the catholic church would mean that I must resign my current position. I currently support a sick wife (who also wants to enroll in RCIA) so resigning my position would affect our financial situation negatively. What is your advice? I am currently looking at other employment options, but I am most eager to enter the Church. What are your suggestions? Any and all advice would be most appreciated!
 
Would it be possible for you to check out the Catholic churches near you to see if they are hiring, then make the move?
 
eyesopening said:
Hello,

I am a musician. I was raised in a protestant church and have made my living by playing the piano and organ in services since adulthood. I have been a committed Christian since my teens. In my recent study I have come to the conclusion that the Catholic church is the true apostolic church instituted by Jesus at the last supper and I wish to enroll in RCIA. The problem is that my income is made in a protestant church and to join the catholic church would mean that I must resign my current position. I currently support a sick wife (who also wants to enroll in RCIA) so resigning my position would affect our financial situation negatively. What is your advice? I am currently looking at other employment options, but I am most eager to enter the Church. What are your suggestions? Any and all advice would be most appreciated!
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You might try contacting the Coming Home Network…

chnetwork.org/

It is most directed to non Catholic clergy I think but you may find some info there to help you.
 
Speak with the priest at the parish you would like to enroll in RCIA.
 
I would speak with nearby parish priests and possibly see if you can join there

you are in my prayers!
 
Are you sure they would fire you at your church for becoming Catholic? That doesn’t sound right (or legal) to me. We have a musician here who teaches at the local Lutheran school, but “moonlights” at our church playing piano for Mass on the weekends. And my son worked as a maintenance man at a Protestant church for a few months, too. They knew he was Catholic - no big deal.

Of course, you eventually might not want to stop playing music at your old church, but that should not stop you from starting RCIA now.
 
christofirst said:
Are you sure they would fire you at your church for becoming Catholic? That doesn’t sound right (or legal) to me. We have a musician here who teaches at the local Lutheran school, but “moonlights” at our church playing piano for Mass on the weekends. And my son worked as a maintenance man at a Protestant church for a few months, too. They knew he was Catholic - no big deal.

Of course, you eventually might not want to stop playing music at your old church, but that should not stop you from starting RCIA now.
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In Hosanna v Tabor, teachers at parochial schools were declared by the Supreme Court to be considered “ministers” of religious organizations, and they can be fired for just about any reason. I imagine the same would be the case for church musicians.
 
YoungTradCath said:
In Hosanna v Tabor, teachers at parochial schools were declared by the Supreme Court to be considered “ministers” of religious organizations, and they can be fired for just about any reason. I imagine the same would be the case for church musicians.
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Too bad. Doing such a thing doesn’t seem very Christian to me.
 
Sign up for RCIA. There is no commitment to becoming Catholic by going to the classes. And you don’t have to tell people at your Protestant congregation. Hopefully by the time you are received into the Church, you will have found some other form of employment.

Also, praise God! Welcome home!

You are in my prayers.
 
eyesopening said:
Hello,

I am a musician. I was raised in a protestant church and have made my living by playing the piano and organ in services since adulthood. I have been a committed Christian since my teens. In my recent study I have come to the conclusion that the Catholic church is the true apostolic church instituted by Jesus at the last supper and I wish to enroll in RCIA. The problem is that my income is made in a protestant church and to join the catholic church would mean that I must resign my current position. I currently support a sick wife (who also wants to enroll in RCIA) so resigning my position would affect our financial situation negatively. What is your advice? I am currently looking at other employment options, but I am most eager to enter the Church. What are your suggestions? Any and all advice would be most appreciated!
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No, you don’t have to resign your postion in the Protestant Chruch. That is simply not true. Who told you that?

I know several devout Catholics who work in Protestant Churches including the music director of one very prominent, very large Church here in Atlanta. Everyone at the Church where he works knows he is Catholic and he is the go-to guy when they have a question about the Catholic Church, Catholic beliefs and even Church history. He carries a copy of the Nicene Creed with him and when someome asks him about his faith, he shows them the creed and asks what part they disagree with. He faithfully arranges the music for their worship every week bearing witness to his faith when the opportunity arrises, keeps quiet other times, and goes to Mass on Sunday and studies Bible with other Catholics at my house on Tuesdays.

Please send me a PM and I will get you in touch with him.

-Tim-
 
A couple questions: Is your work at the protestant church your full income or partial income? If part time, could you not go to Mass on the Saturday Vigil Mass as a Catholic and continue your job. (Our organist in our parish does this) The next question is what denomination is the church you are working? ( Are they anti-catholic?) Our organist plays for a Lutheran church so there is no problem.

I know that our Lord will provide for you. We will pray and you must pray also and trust Him.
Blessings to you and your wife as you journey into the Catholic Church:) (I’m a new convert myself- you will be so blessed!!)

mlz
 
johnnyc176 said:
You might try contacting the Coming Home Network…

chnetwork.org/

It is most directed to non Catholic clergy I think but you may find some info there to help you.
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Do this right away. I think they will be able to help you. I know that it is not just for the
protestant clergy, though that is the main reason that they were formed.

I don’t have any other suggestions, but I will keep you both in my prayers. God bless you
and your wife.
 
eyesopening said:
Hello,

I am a musician. I was raised in a protestant church and have made my living by playing the piano and organ in services since adulthood. I have been a committed Christian since my teens. In my recent study I have come to the conclusion that the Catholic church is the true apostolic church instituted by Jesus at the last supper and I wish to enroll in RCIA. The problem is that my income is made in a protestant church and to join the catholic church would mean that I must resign my current position. I currently support a sick wife (who also wants to enroll in RCIA) so resigning my position would affect our financial situation negatively. What is your advice? I am currently looking at other employment options, but I am most eager to enter the Church. What are your suggestions? Any and all advice would be most appreciated!
Click to expand...
Unless the church you are working for will not permit it, I don’t see why you would have to stop playing at Protestant services as long as you fulfill your obligations of being Catholic. There are Catholic parishes that have Protestant musicians because Catholic ones are not available, and Protestant churches that have Catholic organists. and pianists. Good musicians, esp. if they are good organists, are hard to come by.

We don’t seem to object to people playing in secular environments like nightclubs, why would we object to them playing music in a Christian Church? However, I can see it would be a problem if the church you play for has an anti-Catholic attitude and does not wish you to become Catholic.
 
Thank you all for the responses. To clarify, no one has told me that I must resign my position as a protestant musician in order to join the Catholic faith, however my Sunday duties at the protestant church would rule out any time to attend Mass on Sundays. Isn’t this a sin?

Also, to answer an earlier question, I make around half my income by playing in the church, but I make the other half by teaching piano lessons. I teach these lessons in the church worship center when it is not in use. The church is not extremely anti-catholic and I am quite popular with the congregation. It may come as a shock to them but I do not believe that they would fire me or otherwise ostracize me for becoming Catholic. So, if it is possible to make it work, then it be great if I could keep this position and still be Catholic.

I will definitely check out the coming home organization. I am committed to making this change, but the logistics just seem to be in the way. I am setting up an appointment next week with the parish priest, so hopefully he will be able to give me some suggestion, or even help me procure a new post.

Thank you all!!!
 
eyesopening said:
Thank you all for the responses. To clarify, no one has told me that I must resign my position as a protestant musician in order to join the Catholic faith, however my Sunday duties at the protestant church would rule out any time to attend Mass on Sundays. Isn’t this a sin?
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There are vigil Masses on Saturday evenings which count as your day of obligation. They usually take place 4:30pm or later (my parish has one at 5pm on Saturday).

Don’t let the logistics get in the way of coming home. And have faith; if God is calling you home, He will make it happen.
 
Our parish has a 5:30 Mass on Sunday. Would that or a similar time work for you?
 
Actually no time on Sunday would work for me. My current duties keep me occupied between the hours of 7 AM to around 8 PM. I could definitely make the Saturday Vigil work for me.
 
You may be able to find a job in a Catholic church. There is certainly a shortage of organists available. However, many churches (sadly) use that as an excuse to get rid of organs or severely cut back music budget, thus making it hard to have a good job as an organist. My old organ teacher used to give piano lessons in a room in the Catholic church, so that option may be available to you as well. Who knows. It’s worthwhile looking into it.

Also, perhaps you could find out if a church needs a substitute on occasion, or they need someone to be available for funerals at churches that don’t have a regular organist. It’s not going to be a lot of pay, but a little income is still good.

As for playing (I’m an organist, too) at a non-Catholic church and being a Catholic (and I realize you aren’t Catholic yet), I personally could not in good conscience do that. As a Catholic, I believe that we have the fullness of the truth and that services in non-Catholic churches are false worship. I couldn’t assist in that. I understand that your situation is difficult, however, with having to support a family, already being entrenched in the one church, and not having another source of income readily available. I’m afraid I don’t have the magic solution for that, aside from prayer!
 
I can’t see why a Catholic shouldn’t word at a Protestant Church. They too a Christians of best will. It’s not their fault, that their parents and ancestors brought them up in a limited Christian belief. On the contrary it’s great to work at other denominations. To give them good sample could be one of the reasons.
We got a lot of Catholic Hospitals (at least here in Germany) who certainly employ Protestants. Why shouldn’t they.
My stepfather was an ever so pious Protestant - his brother a Protestant priest…

Yours
Bruno
 
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