York Minster is a living church with a thriving community made up of people of all ages. For many, York Minster is their regular place of worship, as part of one or more of our Sunday and weekday congregations.

There are lots of ways to get involved with the Minster Community.

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York Deanery Synod Election 2023

The count concluding the Minster Worshipping Community’s Deanery Synod Election was completed on Tuesday 20 June and the following three lay members of our Worshipping Community have been elected to serve from 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2026 (the dates of the new Synod’s term):

Alistair Donaghue

 Conal Gregory

 Ehren Mierau

Many thanks to everyone who took part in this election, in particular to the five people who kindly agreed to stand as Candidates, and to all those who took part in the voting process – especially for your cooperation and patience as we tried to make the best use of a ‘mixed economy’ of post and emails to provide our Community with as inclusive an election process as possible.

Thank you to Margaret Clegg, Conal Gregory and Ehren Mierau who have served as the Minster’s elected representatives on the current Synod that completes its term of office on 30 June 2023, and especially to Margaret who has served as one of our elected representatives on the Deanery Synod continuously for four consecutive terms of office since she was first elected in 2011.

York Minster Worshipping Community Roll

To comply with the new governance regime introduced by the 2021 Cathedrals Measure, we closed our former Community Roll in January 2023 and replaced it with a new Worshipping Community Roll.  Everyone who is (1) baptised and aged 16 or over, and (2) has attended Minster services regularly for 6 months is eligible to join the new Roll (and ‘attend’ in this context can include joining the Minster’s services via our live-stream facility).

Names are not automatically transferred onto the new Worshipping Community Roll from our former Roll – a new application form must be completed.  Printed application forms are available from the Vestry and can also be downloaded via the link below.

The Worshipping Community Roll is primarily an electoral register – we hold elections of lay people to represent us on the York Deanery Synod every three years – the next Deanery Synod election will be held in 2026.

The governance reforms introduced by the 2021 Cathedrals Measure also require Chapter to review the role and membership of the representative groups through which we consult members of our Community and involve them in our engagement work and wider ministry.  New arrangements are under discussion and details will be confirmed in due course.

For more information about our Worshipping Community Roll please contact Andy Oates, Chapter Clerk, at 8-9 Minster Yard, York, YO1 7HH (email chapterclerk@yorkminster.org or direct line 01904 557210).

Meeting and Learning

One of the easiest ways to get to know people is to chat with us after any of our services. We would be delighted to talk to you about what is going on in the Minster and what might interest you.

The Minster Community Walking Group is an active group of all ages who walk every first Saturday of the month and welcomes new members. For more information and details of the next walk, visit the York Minster Walkers’ website

Children, young people and families

We are delighted to welcome children to worship with us throughout the week. We want to provide ways for children and families to worship together at York Minster.

Children’s and young families

In term time, two groups meet monthly during the 11am service:

*The Minster Community Committee

The Committee of the Minster Community is currently elected by members of the Community Roll and seeks to encourage the life and mission of the Minster.

There are a number of sub-groups where members of the Community Committee are joined by other members of the community to contribute to various areas of church life.

Sub-groups

The Social Action Group was set up to develop and organise events and activities that promote, encourage and challenge the whole of the Minster’s Community and congregations to engage in effective social action in whatever way they can.

We are currently actively supporting HOPE Africa, a charity which was initiated by our companion link dioceses in SA; Mustard Seed, a York Diocese based organisation which works in the poorest parts of our diocese; and a variety of Refugee charities based in the City of York.  Thank you for your generosity.

The Social Group exists to organise and run a programme of affordable events to foster a sense of community within the congregation, staff and volunteers. Events include talks, visits, musical evenings and a Harvest Supper and Barn Dance. Tickets are sold after the 11am Sunday Eucharist service, usually in the North Transept over coffee, or by emailing communitysocial@yorkminster.org.