Holy Dusting

Canterbury Cathedral is a large complex that receives a million visitors a year. Hundreds of volunteers welcome visitors, show them around, and keep the grounds and the building tidy. Many of the volunteers are part of the congregation that worships there.

Participants in the "Benedictine Experience" were encouraged to volunteer, too. After all, "work and pray" is a well-known Benedictine motto!














We could help in the garden, the bookstore, the archives or the cathedral itself. I joined the ranks of the "Holy Dusters" - in the dusty task of dusting statues in the cathedral... in all their cracks and crevices (with paint brushes)...














One day we waxed and polished pews in the quire, supervised by Tricia, who has been a "holy duster" for 40 years! Some in the group vacuumed the red cushions on the seats.

Many tourists wondered what we were doing...

("Tickling the feet of the saints?")














Some asked us about the cathedral, assuming we worked there. Many took pictures of us at work!

Strange as it sounds, dusting was a valuable experience for me. I was surprised to discover how attached I felt to the building after my bit of volunteer labor. I can't imagine the attachment Tricia must feel after 40 years of "holy dusting"! (The mysterious power of work!)