Posted on: 28th October 2025

St George’s Crypt is deeply blessed that our Patron, the Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Stephen Cottrell, will visit to commission our staff and volunteers at this year’s Crypt Sunday service. This cherished annual tradition celebrates both the Crypt’s ministry and its historic partnership with St George’s Church, Leeds.

“St George’s Crypt shines with the light of Christ’s love — a place where hope is shared and lives are rebuilt. It’s a joy and a privilege to commission those who serve here, continuing this work of welcome and compassion in the heart of Leeds.” - Archbishop of York

Crypt Sunday 2025 will take place on Sunday, 2nd November 2025, at St Georges Church, Leeds.

The service marks a highlight in the Crypt’s calendar, bringing together staff, volunteers, supporters, and the wider church community to give thanks for the work of St George’s Crypt and to dedicate the year ahead to God’s service. One of the most poignant moments of the year, the service includes the commissioning of staff and volunteers, as they pray together:

“That God will take our hands and work through them, take our lips and speak through them, and take our minds and think through them.”

Crypt Sunday traditionally takes place on the Sunday closest to the Crypt’s founding date of 14th October. However, as we reach the close of our 95th anniversary year, this year’s service will take place slightly later than usual to allow for the Archbishop’s visit — a truly special way to conclude our year of celebration and to look forward in faith to the future.

The Crypt Chaplain, the Revd Andy Muckle, writes:

“As we look back over these last 95 years, and look forward to all the future brings, it will be a wonderful occasion to welcome Archbishop Stephen to bless us and our work here at the Crypt, and commission us into the future. Our founder, Don Robins, saw those on the streets who were desperate and lost and opened the doors to welcome them in. Within these walls, they found warmth, food, friendship and a home. That still stands true today, and it is our privilege to bear Don’s legacy into the future. Don Robins, as well as a renowned preacher, was also a skilled poet, and as we are commissioned for the year ahead, some of his own words beautifully sum up God’s calling on us as Crypt staff and volunteers…”

Open my eyes, O God, that I may see;

Take Thou my life, and let me learn of Thee

To make this world the home it is to be,

An earthly paradise.

— The Revd Don Robins

Lizzy Woolf, Team Rector St George’s Leeds adds

'We very much value the longstanding close relationship between St George’s Church and St George’s Crypt. Crypt Sunday is an opportunity for our diverse multigenerational congregation to celebrate 95 years of the Crypt working to end homelessness, restore lives, and share God’s love.’ As St George’s Crypt prepares to embark on its  96th year of serving the homeless and vulnerable across Leeds, this special service stands as a powerful reminder of the organisation’s enduring faith, compassion, and commitment to transforming lives — inspired by the same spirit  of welcome that first opened its doors in 1930.