A SUPPER CLUB in St German’s Cathedral, on the Isle of Man, and a seamstress at Sheffield Cathedral, have been recognised within the Newgate Cathedral Volunteer of the Year Awards, announced on Sunday.
Volunteers on the Big Table Café in St German’s prepare and serve a freshly cooked three-course meal every Monday, for which customers pay what they will afford in a sealed envelope.
Volunteers and guests on the Big Table Café 2023 Christmas lunch in St German’s Cathedral
The Dean, the Very Revd Nigel Godfrey, said that the Big Table’s motto — “Eat what you want and pay what you possibly can” — was “indicative of the spirit wherein the volunteers commit to this project. All are welcome, with donations received by sealed envelope. Sometimes empty, sometimes a £20 note.”
The project has been going for several years. “Its delivery service was a lifeline in Covid,” he said. “The volunteers give the impression that nothing is just too much trouble, and it’s the highlight of some customers’ week.”
Their efforts have won them the accolade of Volunteer Team of the Year at the primary national cathedral volunteer awards organised by the Association of English Cathedrals in partnership with Newgate Motoring Solutions Ltd, which specialises in reasonably priced motoring schemes for clergy and people who work or volunteer in cathedrals.
The single Volunteer of the Year award was won by Christine Barker, who’s a welcomer, guide, and seamstress at Sheffield Cathedral. “She represents our values of compassion and openness with grace and heat,” Ben Rossi, the event manager on the cathedral, said.
Her “wealthy” knowledge and fervour for the cathedral’s history was “infectious”, he said, and her skills in needlework “meticulous” — she has restored vestments, altar cloths, liturgical garments, and military treasures, and is that this yr creating an entire set of kids’s vestments, pilgrims’ capes, and nativity clothes.
Runners-up for Team of the Year were the Restoration Team at Coventry Cathedral, whose work to revive the unique chairs from 1962 has saved £333,000 in substitute costs
Ms Barker, who has been volunteering on the cathedral for six years, can be working to revive the altar frontal from the Shrewsbury Chapel, which features 95-year-old emblems.
Runners-up for Team of the Year were the Restoration Team at Coventry Cathedral, whose work to revive the unique chairs from 1962 has saved £333,000 in substitute costs (recent like-for-like chairs are £555 each). More than 600 chairs — one third of the cathedral’s entire collection — have been restored through the past 18 months, led by the cathedral’s property services manager, Andy Shelley.
Sue Hall, the cathedral archivist at Blackburn Cathedral, gives an education talk. She was named runner-up for Volunteer of the Year
The volunteer manager on the cathedral, Jackie Skipp, said that she was happy with the dedicated team, who were “super-skilled and fastidious of their attention to detail”.
Runner-up for Volunteer of the Year was Sue Hall, the cathedral archivist at Blackburn Cathedral, who can be a welcomer, education volunteer, and event steward, who conducts tours and group visits. She has been volunteering there for 3 years.
The Dean of Blackburn, the Very Revd Peter Howell-Jones, said: “We have some amazing volunteers at Blackburn Cathedral, and I do know Sue can be the primary to say that this award is for all of them. Sue has done some phenomenal work here within the archive and in education, and she or he exemplifies the true value of volunteering in one in all our 42 cathedrals.”
The awards received about 50 nominations from almost 30 cathedrals.
The Dean of St Albans, the Very Revd Jo Kelly-Moore, who chairs the Association of English Cathedrals, said: “Every day of the yr, 1000’s of volunteers are a part of the heartbeat of the ministry and repair of each English cathedral. . . In this National Volunteers’ Week we are saying an enormous thanks to all of them. What you do makes an actual difference, and we’re very, very grateful.”
