A HUGE thank you to all our Cathedral Volunteers

English Cathedrals say thank you to the unsung army of Cathedral volunteers in #VolunteersWeek.

Flower-arrangers, tomb-dusters, tea-mashers, servers, tour guides, bellringers, welcomers, cake-bakers…the list is endless and this week English Cathedrals is saying thank you to this unsung army of volunteers without whom our cathedrals would be so much less.

Thousands of volunteers serve our cathedrals in some way, every day of the week – and we will be marking this by saying thank you every day  to mark national Volunteers Week from June 1-7.

Many cathedrals are hosting their own events – from special services to tea parties to say thank you.

Canterbury Cathedral has made some short films to celebrate their volunteers. In Peterborough Cathedral, the cathedral will launch a recruitment drive for volunteers to help with Tim Peake’s Spacecraft exhibition when it lands in August. In Birmingham Cathedral and Hereford Cathedral, a volunteer will feature on their social media every day from childrens’ church helpers, to cleaning, flower-arranging, embroidery, and visitors’ chaplain.

St Albans Cathedral is hosting a special Evensong and using social media and short films to say thank you to their volunteers, and Wakefield Cathedral will hold a Choral Evensong this Sunday when one of their 300-plus volunteers will be awarded Volunteer of the Year.

In 2016, volunteers working at Salisbury Cathedral were honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities, and is the equivalent of an individual MBE.

In July, the staff at Southwell Minster will serve their volunteers at a special volunteers’ tea party held in the Archbishop’s Palace Gardens to say thank you.

A spokesperson for the Association of English Cathedrals said:

“It is wonderful for our volunteers to be recognised in this way. Each and every one plays a significant role in the life of our cathedrals. They are an extraordinary group of individuals, who give of their time and talents generously, and are an example to us all.”

Keep an eye on our social media, Twitter @engcathedrals and Facebook /EnglishCathedrals to share in saying thank you to our volunteers.