Director of Musical Worship

All Saints Anglican Cathedral (ACNA) in Long Beach, CA in the Diocese of Western Anglicans seeks a skilled Director of Musical Worship to lead and enrich our music ministry as an integral part of our Anglican, liturgical tradition. The Director of Musical Worship will serve as the principal musician, working closely with our Choir Director, Choir Accompanist, and volunteer musicians fostering vibrant congregational singing, nurturing our rich heritage of hymnody, plainsong, psalmody, chant, as well as contemporary ‘worship songs.’

The Director of Musical Worship would collaborate closely with the Rector, and administrative staff to plan and execute weekly service music, supporting the spiritual life of the parish through music. This role is central to enhancing worship, drawing worshippers deeper into the mystery of the liturgy, and glorifying God through sacred song.  

The successful candidate will be a skilled pianist or organist with a deep appreciation for historic Anglican musical practice, has a heart for leading worship, agrees with and signs our statement of faith.

Key Responsibilities would include:

  • Plan, select, and prepare music for all regular Sunday liturgies, major feast days, Holy Week, Easter, Christmas, and other special services, ensuring alignment with the liturgical calendar and Anglican tradition.

  • Serve as principal pianist or organist, providing skillful accompaniment for congregational hymns, service music, and chant.

  • Leading the congregation in song as cantor, having the ability to play and sing simultaneously.

  • Direct and rehearse musicians for the aforementioned services, including recruitment, training, and development of new members fostering excellence across a team of musicians.

  • Collaborate with the Rector, the Choir Director, the Choir Accompanist, and other worship team members to integrate music seamlessly into the overall flow of worship, balancing tradition with pastoral sensitivity to the needs of the congregation.

  • Provide choir members and other musicians sheet music for all congregational songs from hymnal or lead sheets.

  • Oversee maintenance and care of musical instruments (including the organ) and related sound equipment.

  • Develop and manage the annual music budget, digital worship/musical resources, music library, and any additional ensembles or special musical offerings (e.g., occasional concerts or evensong services).

  • Participate in staff meetings, liturgy planning sessions, and occasional pastoral activities to support the broader mission of the parish.

Qualifications and Skills

  • Demonstrated proficiency as a pianist/keyboard player or organist, able to fluently play music from hymnals or lead sheets, with strong service-playing abilities.

  • Knowledge of Anglican hymnody, psalm settings, and chant traditions (plainsong/Gregorian, Anglican chant).

  • Deep appreciation for and commitment to the Anglican liturgical tradition, with understanding of the role of music in enhancing worship and spiritual formation.

  • Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills; ability to work harmoniously with clergy, staff, volunteers, and parishioners of all ages.

  • Bachelor's degree in music (or equivalent) preferred, ideally with training or experience in sacred/church music.

  • Active Christian faith, with a heart for worship and a pastoral approach to music ministry.

  • Organizational skills for planning, administration, and communication.

To Apply

Please submit to Dawn Pedersen, contact below, a cover letter, résumé, references, and any links to audio/video recordings demonstrating playing and singing (e.g., hymn accompaniment, contemporary ‘worship song’, prelude/postlude).  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Contact

Dawn Pedersen: dawn@allsaintslb.com, 562-438-3650, ext. 1

Statement of Faith

We, the people of All Saints Anglican Church, Long Beach, California, rejoice that Jesus will come again in glory to renew all things, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Holy Spirit by miraculously changing lives in order that we join him in this mission to make all things new. This statement of faith reflects the beliefs that shape us as we seek to announce, embody, and demonstrate the good news of the Kingdom of God.

1. We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope, and thanksgiving to God in all things.

2. We joyfully proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Savior from sin, judgment, and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.

3. We gladly embrace and obey the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptize, teach, and bring new believers to maturity who, therefore, obey this Great Commission.

4. We desire to be a church that through love and hospitality welcomes all people and invites them to follow Jesus. We recognize that discipleship involves growth, and while we long for all new believers to come to maturity in Christ, we know that this is a process. We oppose the vilification or demeaning of those who do not follow God’s ways. Our pastoral approach is to offer sensitive and compassionate ministry and demonstrate the loving, compassionate, and tender heart of God for all people. We, therefore, intend to love as God loves. Our role is to care pastorally and restore all to God’s divine patterns by encouraging each other to receive and walk in the transforming love of Christ that gives us the power to repent and walk in newness of life.

5. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught, and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the Church’s historic and consensual reading.

6. We affirm the dignity and value of every human being, as each bears the image of our gracious God. We recognize that humankind’s rebellion against God has tainted that image, but not eradicated it. Yet every person is precious to God. God’s message of hope is, therefore, addressed to every man, woman, and child, that they might be redeemed and restored as image bearers of God through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and inherit eternal life. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are, therefore, called to defend, protect, and value all human life.

7. We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as a male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the only place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. It is a holy institution, created by God for a man and a woman to live in a covenantal relationship of exclusive and mutual love for each other until they are parted by death. God designed marriage for the well-being of society, for sexual intimacy between a husband and a wife, and for procreation and the nurturing of children. We also acknowledge that for some, remaining single and celibate is a calling and allows for the fullest development of potential. Therefore, we embrace single people as full and contributing gifts to the body of Christ.

8. We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate Kingdom justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.

9. We are an Anglican church that is rooted in the ancient faith and practice of the first century church and developed in the 16th century English Reformation.

A. Doctrine: We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils [1] and the three historic Creeds [2] as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as understood in its historical context, containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today. We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative theological standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.

B. Authority: We recognize that God has called and gifted bishops, priests, and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the Anglican Church in North America’s Ordinalas an authoritative standard of clerical orders. We are under the episcopal authority of the Bishop of the Diocese of Western Anglicansand in the province of the Anglican Church in North America. We have laid out our Statement of Faith, but where anything is unclear, we are subject to the moral teachings of our Diocese and Province.

C. Fellowship: We recognize the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice. We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.

[1] Council of Nicaea, Council of Constantinople, Council of Ephesus, and Council of Chalcedon
[2] The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed