Volunteers gathered at the lych-gate at St Luke’s for a working morning, with a sandwich-board on the wall reading ‘LADY CLEMENTINA I TOTTENHAM’S BEQUEST · WORKING MORNING · 09.30’ in hand-cut serif lettering.
Volunteer with us

A morning, a pair of stout shoes, and a kind welcome. That is most of it.

We don’t ask for a CV. We don’t expect previous experience. We provide the tools, the tea, and the rota. You bring yourself, and if you have them, gloves.

Who we are looking for

Almost anyone, honestly.

Our oldest volunteer is 91 and our youngest is 12 (with a grown-up). We have a retired clergyman, a primary-school teacher, an exhausted GP, two students from Bournemouth, three widows, four widowers, a botanist, a vet, a quiet sixth-former from Highcliffe, and a small terrier called Maud who attends every working morning but does not, technically, contribute.

You do not need to be a churchgoer. You do not need to live in Burton. You do not need to be fit; many of our jobs are best done sitting down with a clipboard. Email [email protected] or fill out the short form below, and Adrian Turner will write back inside a week.

Six roles

Each role has a team lead, a small commitment, and a way in.

A trestle table with a tea urn and tin mugs on a working morning in the church porch.
Role 01 · seasonal

Mowing Rota

Strimming, raking and clearing on the second Saturday of the month, April → October. Team lead: Adrian Turner.

  • · Commitment · one morning per month
  • · Where · Burton, BH23 7JD
Volunteers laying the boundary hedge in November.
Role 02 · quarterly

Hedgerow Sundays

Six community working mornings a year, laying and trimming the boundary hedge. Team lead: Judith Ward.

  • · Commitment · two-three hours, six times a year
  • · Where · Burton, BH23 7JD
A clipboard, camera, and pencil on a stone bench at the churchyard, ready for the August plot recording.
Role 03 · annual

Plot & Lichen Recorder

One morning a year in August walking the churchyard with a clipboard and a camera. Team lead: Philippa Rew.

  • · Commitment · one morning per year
  • · Where · Burton, BH23 7JD
A visitor reading the brass plaque inside the church porch on an open day.
Role 04 · open days

Open-Day Welcomer

One short shift at the church porch on each of our two open days, pouring tea and pointing people to the loo. Team lead: Rev’d Kathryn Hicken.

  • · Commitment · two afternoons per year
  • · Where · Church porch, St Luke’s
Boxes of old parish records and the bequest minute book on a vestry table.
Role 05 · home-based

Archive Helper

Scanning, typing-up and indexing entries from the trustees’ minute book. Mostly home-based. Team lead: Christopher Anderson Cook.

  • · Commitment · two hours per month
  • · Where · at home, anywhere in the UK
A small black accounts book and a chequebook on the vestry table.
Role 06 · skilled

Independent Examiner

A qualified accountant or experienced bookkeeper to examine our annual accounts. Pro bono, one afternoon a year. Team lead: Judith Ward.

  • · Commitment · one afternoon, March
  • · Where · Christchurch
Sign up

Tell us a little about yourself.

We’ll write back from the office at 6 Holly Gardens within five working days. We never share your details with anyone. Read our privacy policy.

Or just turn up

If a form feels like too much, just come to the next working morning.

09.30 at the lych-gate. Wear what you don’t mind getting muddy. We will not refuse you.

See the next date