Photos: The Accidental Pastor

THE ACCIDENTAL PASTOR: Care Giving for Musicians

By Ron Jessee

Growing in our professional lives has become crucial in the survival and advocacy of the organ. To continue addressing the topic of professional development, AGO-SD started the 2024-2025 season with an amazing workshop presented by Russ Peck who focused on composition and improvisation for silent film playing.

On February 1st, 2025 AGO-SD continued the “learning” momentum with an outstanding workshop titled, “The Accidental Pastor: Care Giving for Musicians.”

The 90-minute workshop took place at Pacific Beach United Methodist Church and was excellently facilitated by Dr. Christopher Cook. The focus of the discussion was to address the following concepts.

 First and foremost, the church musician/organist is often the longest serving staff

member in a church. Clergy may come and go, but the musicians provide the continuity

that enables stability from one era to the next.

 How do we help facilitate the spiritual and emotional needs of our constituents?

 What are strategies for caring for ourselves?

A panel of 4 professionals and clergy were there to share expertise and to recommend strategies. Following their short presentations, a question and answer time led us into some powerful learning. At the end of the presentation, we took 10 minutes to share “take-aways” from the gathering.

These are the take-aways. We learned that, with the best of intentions, we cannot solve people’s problems. However, we can be intentional and active listeners. Strategies for “self- care” were paramount as well as appreciating the power of what we do as listeners and facilitators. Finally, a big takeaway was that we need to set boundaries. As opposed to trying to fix problems, genuinely share and listen with a caring heart. We learned to lean into listening and nurturing. Finally, we discovered that we should make space for people to be caregivers with,

and for, one another.

More wonderful professional development opportunities lie ahead in the 2025-2026 season. Please feel free to share your ideas for future professional development with me. E-mail me at jesseeron@gmail.com.