Volunteer Opportunities at Bristol Goddess Temple

By Zoe Coggon

Hello! My name is Zoe and I am the current Melissa Mother, looking after our team of volunteers including training and managing the rota.  I also help to manage the social media accounts, website and emails, so you might see my name pop up elsewhere. 

​I started attending the Women's Drumming circle and Moonlodge nearly a decade ago, when Bristol Goddess Temple was a dream in the imaginations of its future founders. 

---

​ It has been wonderful to see the space grow and evolve over the years and believe passionately that everyone should have the opportunity to visit and experience the beautiful energy and atmosphere of the Goddess Temple.

​Do you love to visit us?  Can you spare a couple of hours a month?  Our volunteers are called Melissas, named after the Greek for worker bee, as we look after the Goddess "queen bee".  Although the name is traditionally thought of as female the volunteer role here is not - all genders are equally welcome. 

---

A brief overview of the role:

We hold the space in the Goddess Temple whenever it is open - I like to think of it as being a caretaker spiritually as well as practically.  Without them we could not open.  

The main times help is needed are during the drop in times on Wednesdays (11-1pm) and Saturdays (12-2pm and 2-4pm).  Some of the busier events are also on the rota to help the organiser with setting up and running the session e.g chanting and children's storytelling.

You would unlock and open up, call in and welcome the energies of the Goddess and God, light the candles etc, then welcome visitors, offer refreshments, deal with shop purchases, maybe carry out smudging/smoke cleansing if requested, then close down and lock up at the end.

You don't need any previous experience or any specific spiritual path to be a Melissa, just a desire and commitment to care for the space and the people who use it.  Ideally you would be able to cover at least one of the drop-in slots a month (Weds 11-1pm and Sat 12-2pm and 2-4pm), although you are welcome to do more!  There is a Facebook group and a WhatsApp group specifically for the Melissa team where I post the rota each month and people bagsy the slots they want to cover.  

​
​If you decide being specifically a melissa isn't for you but have skills or time to help out in a different way we are always open to offers and suggestions and have a Facebook group - Bristol Goddess Temple Community Group plus occasional community meetings.

If this is something that interests you please have a chat with the melissa on duty or email [email protected]  New volunteer enquiries are always welcome.

---