Our community of volunteers

Why is this a section on its own?

Because the Minster is open every day of the year except Boxing Day. Cathedrals — even small ones — manage that with paid staff. We manage it because of an extraordinary number of volunteers, who hold the door open, welcome the visitor, take the service round, sing the choir part, ring the bell, prune the rose, hold the prayer, brew the coffee, count the collection, mend the cushion, plant the seed, listen to the worry, and then come back next week and do it again. This is the place where we say so plainly.

We are a parish church, but a very large one. The cathedral chapter that would, in another building, employ the staff to do all of this simply does not exist here. Our paid team — the clergy, the Director of Operations, the Administration Manager, the Director of Music, the Youth and Children’s Minister, the Shop Manager, the Safeguarding Officer and the Virgers — is a small one for a building of this scale and this much daily life. The rest is volunteers.

What do they actually do?

Across an ordinary month, Minster volunteers will between them welcome thousands of visitors, lead three or four hundred service moments, ring the bells in the tower, sing or play in upwards of a dozen services, prepare and serve breakfast for the 8.00 congregation, run Minster Tots, the Junior Choir, the Youth Group, Alpha, Be Still, Press Pause, Exploring Spirituality, the Walking Group, several house groups, the Eco Church group and the Gardening team, take prayer ministry at the 11.00, help at funerals and weddings and baptisms, look after the Minster Shop, count the collection, manage the rotas, send out the newsletter, run the social media, write the weekly notice sheet, prune the Secret Garden, look after the candles, the linens and the silver, clean and mend, fix and pray.

Welcomers and tour guides?

The Welcomers are the team on the door whenever the Minster is open. They greet, help with directions, answer the question that did not quite know how to ask itself, and — when wanted — walk visitors round the building. Many are quietly extraordinary in their knowledge of the building and its history; on a quiet weekday, you can ask for a guided wander and almost always get one.

Sides team and serving teams?

The Sides Team welcomes worshippers, hands out orders of service, helps with seating and takes the offering. The serving and chalice teams help with the practical work of the Eucharist. The Virgers are the senior lay members of the staff team who care for the building, the services and the visitors; they are paid, but a great deal of what they do depends on the volunteers around them.

Music and bells?

The choirs at the Minster — Boys’, Girls’, the back row, and the Junior Choir — are largely volunteer. Choristers receive bursaries; adult singers come for the love of it. The Director of Music is paid; almost everyone he conducts is not. The bell ringers up in the tower (see The bell tower) ring the Minster’s ten bells for Sunday services and special occasions — a tradition unto themselves.

Pastoral, prayer, garden, eco?

The Wellbeing Team and the Prayer Ministry team are both volunteer-led; their work is some of the quietest and most sustaining in the life of the Minster. The Gardening Team looks after the Secret Garden and the wildflower areas. The Eco Church group works through the A Rocha awards. Flower arrangers and a cleaning team complete the picture.

Children, young people, office, shop?

Minster Tots, Junior Choir, Youth Group, the children’s tables — all are run by teams of volunteers under Ben Merrell’s leadership. The volunteer receptionists keep the Parish Office open Tuesday to Friday from 10.00 to 15.00, alongside Lauren Simpson, the Administration Manager, and the operations team led by Kate Howell. The Minster Shop is staffed by volunteers under Jane Myers; all profits from the shop are donated to the Parochial Church Council.

Want to volunteer? The simplest first step is the volunteer application form on the Minster website’s Volunteering page. If you would rather talk it through first, write to the Parish Office at minster@beverleyminster.org.uk, speak to Lauren Simpson at the Parish Centre, or mention it to one of the clergy after a service.

Tell us a little about what you would enjoy doing and how much time you can give, and we will pair you with the corner that fits. Nothing is a heavy commitment to begin with.

“Cathedrals have staff. Parish churches have neighbours.” — overheard at coffee. We are quite proud of being a parish church.

Section 18 of 26 in the Companion