York Minster has the fourth heaviest set of change ringing bells in the world and they are rung by our band of volunteer bell-ringers. Change ringing is a traditional English art form, with the aim to ring the bells in an even rhythm. Ringers can learn ever-more complex patterns in order to ring the bells in a different, pre-prescribed number of changes. So as well as being physical exercise, it is a good mental challenge too. Practice nights are on Tuesday evenings, with ringing starting on Sunday at 9am ahead of the main service.

Our Children and Young Persons Ministry offers a warm, welcoming, and nurturing environment where faith can grow from an early age. Through the dedicated support of our volunteers, pre-school children and their families are invited to Minster Mice sessions on Wednesday mornings and Sunday School on the first Sunday of the month during term time. Our Children’s Church Helpers fill sessions with joyful singing, meaningful Bible stories, simple prayers, and creative crafts, all shared in a friendly community setting.

Learn more about our children and families here.

From our Session Guides who spend half a day in the Minster, to our Scheduled Guides who lead tours each volunteer brings the Minster to life with enthusiasm and expertise. All Guides at the Minster must complete a Guides Training Course, please contact volunteering@yorkminster.org to find out when the next course is running.

The Undercroft volunteers engage the public with the collection in our accredited museum and our Information Desk Stewards answer visitors’ questions at the Information Point in the Minster. Each role has a rota with two-hour time slots throughout the week.

Our established team of volunteer flower Arranger contribute with the creation and display of floral arrangements across the Minster at the direction of the Head Flower Arranger. The volunteer team learn and share their skills to create pieces that enhance the welcome and worship to all visitors and worshippers.

The Old Palace Library and Archives has several volunteer roles. These include collections care volunteers, library shelving volunteers, and archive projects. Tasks can range from cataloguing to light collections care, object handling and more.

Stewarding at services and concerts usually takes place in the evening or at a weekend and involves looking after the welcome, comfort, and safety of the congregation or audience at services or events. This can be done regularly or on an ad-hoc basis.

Across the Minster precinct we have many green spaces and our Minster Gardens Volunteers help in them all. They help with gardening tasks such as care of the sensory garden, rewilding projects, and more. The team currently meet on Thursday mornings (weather dependent).

No; everyone is welcome to volunteer. Our volunteers are from all faiths and none and we ask that you respect York Minster values and the ethos of the Church of England.

You can find more about our values here.

Anyone can submit an application to be a volunteer with us and we welcome applications from anyone interested in contributing their time and skill to the Minster.

All applications are considered on an individual basis, with due regard to Church of England safeguarding procedures including the Safer Recruitment and People Management Code of Practice.

The hours we hope you volunteer vary depending on volunteer role. Typically, we recommend coming in once a week or fortnight to keep up to date with changes and news. You can find the recommended hours on the role description under “commitment involved”.

We welcome volunteers of all ages including under 18s and we have an under 18 application process.

Some roles may not be able to support under 18 volunteers and you can find out more by contacting the People team on volunteering@yorkminster.org

Personal accident insurance cover is provided to all volunteers between 16-80. Volunteers over 80 are advised to consult an insurance provider to extend their own personal insurance. If you continue to volunteer without personal insurance arrangements in place for personal accidents, you do so at your own risk.

Due to staffing, placements are typically over 4 days and we offer two types of work experience placements. One opportunity is a multi-department placement where you complete your placement across several departments in the organisation. This
allows you to get a broad perspective of different teams in the Minster. Alternately, you can request a placement in one department which allows an in depth look with one team.

These opportunities are only available depending on staff capacity. You can contact the People team to enquire about current availability on volunteering@yorkminster.org .

High demand means work experiences are typically agreed over 6 months in advance.

Yes, but you will need to tell your Job Centre about the volunteering.

We strive to support each of our volunteers to contribute to their role to the best of their capabilities for as long as they would like to volunteer with us.

Each role has different tasks and activities and we will make reasonable adjustments to support you. We work with each applicant and volunteer on an individual basis.

If you have specific concerns, please contact us.

We have a specific policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders.

Please contact us at volunteering@yorkminster.org for more information.

Yes, volunteers from outside the UK (including refugees and asylum seekers) do need to have an appropriate visa or confirmation that they are legally able to volunteer in the UK.

Volunteer opportunities are advertised on our Better Impact page. If there are none listed that means we are not currently taking on new volunteers. It is not our policy to keep applications on file because of the large numbers we receive, so please regular check the website for new opportunities.