Membership of the Cathedral Voluntary Choir includes a commitment to:
(a) give scheduled cathedral duties priority in your diaries and
(b) attend the majority of these.

Members should only absent themselves for good and unavoidable reasons, i.e. matters which are beyond your control or in which you have no choice.

For example, it *is* OK to miss choir (always provided that you give us reasonable notice) if:

• You have a position of responsibility (e.g. as a Priest, Lay Reader, Churchwarden, Pastoral Assistant, etc) at the Cathedral or another Church, and you have to be on duty there.
• You are a professional musician or sports(wo)man and you have engagements elsewhere which you must fulfil and for which the dates are fixed.
• Your employer requires your attendance at a time and/or place which makes it impossible to fulfil your choir commitment.
• You have to work shift patterns which you can’t change, and your holiday dates may also be governed by this.
• You are away at university/college during term-time (but of course you are welcome to come and sing if you can get back for mid-term weekends).
• You are involved in a school event (e.g. musical/theatrical production, team match, etc) which you are required to attend and cannot get out of.
• You are a parent of small children and cannot arrange alternative childcare.
• You normally live outside the UK.
• You suddenly become ill, or a member of your immediate family does and you have to care for him/her.

It is *NOT* OK to miss choir if:

• You don’t like a particular kind of service.
• You don’t like services at a particular time of day (e.g. Easter Day 5:00am).
• Grandma comes to tea unexpectedly.

Three times a year (around half-term) members will be asked to signify their attendance or absence for the following term’s dates (i.e. in May for the autumn term, October for the spring term and February for the summer term) using the new on-line attendance reporting system.

It is recognised that there will often be changes or additions to the schedule for various reasons. We will try to keep these to a minimum, will give as much notice as possible, and will be understanding if this causes problems.

Extra-curricular events, e.g. concerts and services outside the cathedral, choir tours, etc, are voluntary and negotiable, though of course we hope that the majority of members will sign up for these whenever possible.

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