Vicar's Report 2026

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    the builders labour in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the guards stand watch in vain.

Psalm 127:1

As my family and I prepare to say a very fond farewell to this beautiful parish, the last few months for me have been a season to really reflect, in prayer, on change. The change over the last 12 months and indeed over the last 5 years that I have been privileged to see in our church’s corporate life, in amazing individuals, groups and others as we have grown in faith and number together. Indeed, I have been reflecting how that change and growth has affected my own ministry and discipleship. As I have reflected, it has become obvious that we as a community continue to change and grow in our discipleship, our joy and our mission to the people of the parish and to each other. Once again this year, there is so much to celebrate, even amid the challenges that inevitably crop up from time to time in the life of a church. There is so very much going on in church, there is so much busyness, and so much to give thanks for.

Among the many good things to give thanks to the Lord for over the last 12 months has been our success as a parish in being awarded grants. How amazing that in 2025 through two grants and a very generous donation an amazing £43,000 was raised to help stabilise the windows, even before we get to the amazing fund-raising activities of so many individuals and organisations. This year so far, through a provisional grant and another very generous donation, we have £30,000 waiting to be used to help replace our boilers, for which I am happy to announce we have just received permission from the church to replace. It seemed like an impossible pipe dream that any work would happen on the windows or indeed boilers after many years of rejection, but we give great thanks that through the hard work of many, with David Thompson leading the churches effort, our building is in a far better shape then it was. There remain many challenges with the building, not least finishing the windows and repairing the tower, but with the Lord’s help, progress no doubt will be made. This has been made so much easier by the formation of the building group, with many helping maintain the grounds, the building and sharing their expertise. Finances remain tight, but it remains very true that our church family could not exist as well as it does without the amazing contribution of so many individuals and organisations. There are literally too many choirs, groups and individuals to properly thank and I would risk missing someone out if I were to name all of them but thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have all done for our community. In actual fact, a church relying on God and not safely ensconced behind financial walls is a very biblical and right way to be church. This I feel is a good sign even, dare I say, if our need to trust in the Lord’s provision does nothing for our blood pressure! Thank you to all who have given generously to keep our church financially stable.

Our community groups who use our church building for their groups remains a core blessing. We are open around 40-45 hours a week with an approximate footfall of around 500 people, which is far more than many other churches, to allow for our building to be used as much as possible. Not only is it important that as many people from our parish as possible use our church, for ultimately it is their building, but it also provides our church community with important links that allow us to love others effectively and to be known in Cleveleys. It is important to thank Lindy, who has tirelessly been the Hall Manager for a number of years, opening the building, working out bookings and even sometimes dealing with irritated or angry folk. Thank you Lindy, it isn’t an easy job, but you do it well.

Our uniformed organisations continue to work selflessly with many of the youth of our parish, working hard to provide formative experiences for the next generation. I know that many of them are struggling with volunteer numbers or with finances, and we as a church are happy for as long as we can, to continue to subsidise the amount of rent we charge these groups and being as generous as we can be if they need our facilities outside their usual time.

Taekwondo and the exercise groups continue to use our hall extensively. Taekwondo continues to offer both a regular class on Wednesdays and a class for older people on a Friday. We are praying that the group particularly on a Friday will grow. The exercises groups continue to make good use of our building although we hope they too will grow in number.

The line dancers group continues to be a very popular offering on a Thursday afternoon and it’s lovely to see so many people using the space and being far more coordinated than I have ever managed!

Of particular note are our number one supporters, the Capricorn Singers! It continues to be a joy to host such a community focused group in our church and their beautiful concerts, very often raising money for our building with their concerts full of beautiful music. We are only waiting for them to finally win best Lancashire choir, but we know it is only a matter of time.

On top of these regular events, we continue to host, often at no cost, a space for charities or groups to hold their events or fund raising activities. We continue to support the work of different charities and organisations, including the local Ukrainaian community raising funds for schools damaged in the war, nurseries holding their Christmas shows or fund-raising events and of course the Thornton-Cleveleys Gala committee. Being generous with our building is a serious way we can help many groups across our town, as so many community groups are struggling in a world that is less connected or supportive of one another.

Our church community events continue to be a major source of joy. Whether people are enjoying community on a Saturday morning, seeking help at Hope and Shelter Wyre or the Grief Café or just warmth and friendship at Warm Welcome, what they encounter, we hope, is the love of Christ made manifest in the work of His church. Being Christ to our community is so very important and an area of particular strength at St Andrews.  

Saturday Morning Coffee Break is as busy as ever, although I worry that it rests on too few shoulders. The palpable joy that is found in the building whether someone is a church goer, a member of the public or a stall holder is simply wonderful. A huge effort by the group that organise or run the kitchen is what keeps this beautiful mission to our community fresh. Thank you to all the people who are and help keep Saturday Morning Coffee Break a wonderful expression of our mission to the community.

Warm Welcome continues to go from strength to strength with a core of dedicated volunteers providing a lovely space around which a true sense of community has grown. More important than the food and the warmth is I feel the fellowship and within a community that struggles with loneliness, this is such a blessing to many within our community. With the addition of the monthly Grief Café run by the staff at Helen Ashmore Funeral home and our ALM Janet Grime, a new vital ministry is quickly developing and gaining traction. Hope and Shelter Wyre is starting to gain ground too, and with Rachel from the NHS Social Prescribers helping to organise other charities and organisations to be available monthly on a Tuesday for face-to-face meetings for those struggling with benefits or homelessness or other forms of difficulty and poverty, which is being well received. It would not surprise me in the least if, as this provision at Warm Welcomes grows, it may become important to evaluate how to grow or change well, so that volunteers are not overburdened by the number of people coming. This, my friends, is precisely the kind of problem that is good to have. Thank you to so many of you, and for Don who coordinates it all.

Our children and youth work is also developing at pace. SAS continues to be a joy, although over the last 6 months or so numbers have been down as children have moved away or moved on. This is not unusual with children and youth work as young people grow and develop so quickly and in actual fact gives the leadership more flexibility to evolve SAS onto its next stage, as myself, Claire and the boys move on. What has grown is the adult participation. More of the parents are getting involved and key people like our ALM in training Julie are stepping up to take more leadership responsibility. This year we have tried to give the older children a bit more room away from the primary age children by having a two different start times. In hindsight, this probably contributed to some children going as their parents couldn’t get them to the group at the new earlier time although it has benefited the older children. In the next year, it is expected that the group will return to a time together to help elevate this although this is yet to be finalised. Regardless, the group is well cared for led by Jo and Julie to continue to develop well into the future. Julie’s art group, whose work will be displayed this week coming, has really helped the teenagers enjoy coming to church to express themselves artistically and I have no doubt that this will continue into the future.

Coracle continues to work well, although is in need of more leaders, providing for the families that have recently joined us in the last 12 months. Our toddler group is also continuing to grow after an autumn with only a few families and is very much back on an even keel. Both these activities are so good at support our young people and making them comfortable in church. Thank you to all who help these activities run so well.

One of my highlights recently, has been seeing the play area being created by our ALM team – not stuck out of the way at the back, but right in the middle of our worship space. The children have loved it, the parents have loved it, and it has been so good to see children enjoying church as they explore and access the resources available to them. For our young families, it is a clear demonstration of our love for them.

Jo continues to organise and run our heritage weeks for local school children 3 times a year and we have been so grateful for the wonderful work that she does in sharing the parish church to our children. The local schools really value these trips and the relationships that we have built up with them. Jo is a bit of a local celebrity among the primary age children of our town as most of them know her through these trips.

Youth and children’s work have remained a key part of my ministry on behalf of St Andrews. I have thoroughly enjoyed forging close links with our local schools, particularly Northfold School whom I visit regularly to teach lessons or deliver assemblies and of course being a governor at St Aidan’s High School Preesall, where a number of our older children are current pupils. Outside of school I continue to support the army cadets, both adults and children, pastorally. This has included spending an evening a month going to visit local detachments in Lancashire and accompanying the children at their annual camp to provide that support while they are away from home.   

All of this youth and children’s work has been supported by a number of anonymous sponsors who consistently donate towards the work. This generosity of heart has really allowed us to provision well, everything we provide for children in our church, thank you to those people.

Events throughout the year have been another source of success and celebration. The Christmas fayre was again a huge success which Janet so ably coordinated alongside others raising over £5000. Who could have predicted that figure a few years ago? The concerts by the Capricorn singers, the Sea Shanty Crew and others were good events for our community, alongside things like Byrnes night and the Spring Fayre – all blessing participants and raising much needed money for the work of the church. Thank you to all who helped these amazing events happen.   

Congregationally, we continue to see our beautiful church family grow. We have seen more people joining, getting baptised, confirmed, reaffirming their baptism and much more. To give you an idea, when you look at the data of weekly attendance, on average we have grown about 8% each year since covid. People are finding joy, acceptance and peace here; in a word they are finding Christ here through all of you and your faithfulness. It is now usual for new people to be coming in, each Sunday. When you see someone new, please say hello, please offer to sit with them to show them the ropes, as we will be quite intimidating to join as there as so many people in our church now. One of the dangers of a bigger church is that it is easy to be with friends and not notice strangers. So, it will be an important priority going forward to make sure that people are welcomed well. This increase in people is even more true when we look at the festivals where most service numbers are up, and in the case of our carol service we now need to have two sittings to accommodate everyone. That is a serious cause for celebration for our church and all thanks to God who has blessed us. People continue to grow in confidence, and it has been great to see folk, who said to me 5 years ago ‘I’ll never lead or pray out loud!’ now have the faith to do so – I won’t embarrass the people who have done this and there is a number but one of them has a name that sounds like ‘Kath Hankey’! We have a committed group who pray on Mondays and Fridays for morning prayer and a smaller group meeting on a Wednesday. This confidence has continued in our bible study group where now, encouraged by Don, the group is led by many different members who have had the confidence to organise, deliver and enjoy good quality, inclusive bible studies. All this makes a daft vicar very happy!

The shared ministry continues to grow. We have strong teams who look after so many aspects of our worship and our welcome. We have groups who organise prayers, welcome, chalice, coffee and tea, crucifers and a host of other important roles that make our church thrive. On top of this we have a highly organised and excellent pastoral provision led by Janet with Peter and Claire supporting so many of the folk in our community or who come to our church seeking refuge. Our ALMs and ALM in training have really taken a key leadership role in the ministry of our church, please do support them as much as possible in their calling and thank you to them all.

Our worship over the last year has been blessed by Revd Linda and Revd Ian moving to Cleveleys and leading worship regularly. Alongside Revd Nick their invaluable contribution adds variety and richness to our services - it has been such a joy to having generous retired colleagues to work alongside, thank you to them all.

Behind the scenes Irene and Peter continue to provide excellent support as sacristans making sure that each service is set up and cleared away well. Their dedication and care is deeply appreciated.

Another important part is the role that the PCC take in leading our community prayerfully. We have had a full PCC for a number of years now; we are having to hold elections again this year for spaces on the PCC and all this is healthy and speaks volumes about our community. Please pray for our PCC – it is an important role with many responsibilities and decisions to be made for the future of our church, not least this year we pray, to help appoint a new vicar. Please do be in contact with a PCC member if there is anything you want raised about the future direction of our church. A special thank you to our two wardens. Both Jo and David are so dedicated to this community, and work so hard I thank you so much, on behalf of our church for your dedication and zeal in seeing this place thrive in Jesus name.

Where we will be focused on growing in this next year shall be mission. Jen is leading our prayer group well for the Diocesan centenary mission in September. Please can I encourage you, do come and pray with the group and if not pray at home. In July planning will begin for September to do several special events to invite people to come and experience Christ in our beautiful community. I know mission and being bold about our faith can sound scary but take it from me, nothing brings more joy – done faithfully, you’ll have a great time, plus nothing is more attractive to a vicar looking for a new lovely parish than one dedicated to reaching out to the community. So, pray and get involved. A mission weekend shouldn’t be huge amounts of work – build on what we already do – but it should be full of invitation to people who are not yet part of the Family of God.

Linked to this, an area that I would encourage you to explore would be increasing learning and knowledge of God. We have an increased confidence in being church and loving one another. The next step as these things continue to grow, is to grow in knowledge of scripture and love of God and in prayer, which is to mature in our faith. My prayer for this community as it builds on the amazing sense of love and fellowship that is so central to being a good church is you would thirst for a closer knowledge of God, as this opens the way to more joy and more love.

How to finish my last vicars report for this parish, which has, very seriously, been the greatest privilege of my life to be part of? As I said in the beginning, although I have been thinking about change, I would encourage you to remain faithful that which is changeless. What is changeless, boundless and forever is what our Lord calls us to. A deep call to love, a deep call to love our neighbours as ourselves, a deep call to serve not ourselves but one another. A deep call to trust in the Eternal One who calms the wave and stops the wind. A deep call to remain faithful to Him and to each other. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life, so follow Him whatever storm comes your way either corporates or individually.

My prayer for this wonderful place so full of the love of God, as I step down as vicar is twofold. First, always remember what our verse at the beginning of this report from Psalm 127:1 tells us. Whatever effort we put into our ministry, into our projects and groups, it will all be for nothing if the Lord isn’t right at the centre of the effort. We can organise the best fayre, go out in brave mission, baptise a million babies, fill every seat and serve everyone we meet, yet without the Lord we have laboured in vain. At every turn, in prayer, invite the Lord to lead. Invite the Lord to build. Invite the Lord in. Trust that the God who created the universe has given you everything you need to do His will here in Cleveleys. My second prayer for our church is this. Do not allow anyone to carry too much. Inevitably, with a change in leadership, there will be issues and pressures that cannot but fall upon only a few shoulders. It is absolutely the responsibility of all church people to look after those who do so much for our church, who spend hours doing the unglamourous jobs that no one else wants to do. So, offer as much practical support as you can, especially to our two wardens. To the people who do too much, never be afraid to step away if things are too tough or too much – have enough faith to trust that it is the Lord who does the building, we are just given the opportunity and joy to take part. If you need to let something go for your own welfare, you must. Everyone has a responsibility for themselves and for their sisters and brothers in Christ. Our collective call is to joyful service not to joyless servitude. So, pray for God to build and make sure that you and everyone around you grows in faith, not in burden or pressure.

May the Lord, who has so generously blessed us this last year and my family and I over the last 5 years with the joy of loving all of you, increase that blessing in our church here in the years to come, so that the light of Christ will shine ever brighter through the transformed lives of the people of St Andrews Cleveleys.