The Parish of St Peter and St David Fleetwood offers a priest a rich and varied ministry including high quality Eucharistic worship, committed lay leadership and a highly significant and transformative community ministry to some of the most vulnerable people in the region. The Society for the Maintenance of the Faith, as Patron, is working with the Diocese of Blackburn to make the key strategic appointment of a new Vicar.

Fleetwood is a striking and characterful former fishing town and seaside resort on Morecambe Bay. With stunning views across the bay to the Lake District, the town has many amenities and a great deal to offer. The parish has an outstanding record of community service and outreach through the group and is strongly committed to declaring the Kingdom through good worship, generous service and confident proclamation.

The two churches of St Peter and St David are looking for a prayerful and hardworking priest who enjoys building teams and working with others. They will seek to grow the Parish in line with Vision 2026. They will be keen to minister closely with the Revd Carolyn Leitch, the other incumbent in Fleetwood, and work towards a united Anglican presence in the town.

• The Parish has two Church buildings. St Peter’s is a well maintained Victorian town centre church with an important civic ministry. St David’s is a recently renovated and extremely successful building which is an attractive space both for worship and for community use.
• The new Vicar will play a part in working towards a united Parish of Fleetwood to bring coherence and new resources to ministry across the town.
• The Parish has outstanding community ministry and is a key provider of loving service and warm community to those in need. There are strong partnerships with the local council, other churches and voluntary sector organisations.
• There is able lay leadership across parishes as well as a parish worker
• The parish has a long record of good pastoral ministry and works closely with schools, businesses and voluntary sector organisations.
• The vacancy has been a challenging one and the successful priest will bring the skills necessary to build a vision of the future and unite people behind it,
• The parishes meet their parish share in full

For more information about the parish watch this short video

The priest we are looking for will:

• Enjoy working with lay leaders to build vision and plan for growth
• Be strongly committed to a Gospel lived out in loving service and support and develop the Parish’s critical community ministry
• Be confident and at home with the Catholic, sacramental and choral traditions of the parishes
• Nurture and encourage people to grow in the Christian life so that they become more confident in living out their faith
• Strengthen links with local schools and enjoy ministry to the young
• Be a loving and committed pastor who is warm and approachable and values a ministry of presence within the community
• Draw support from and play a full part in the Deanery and the Diocese

The priest we are praying for will:

• Attend to their own wellbeing, set sustainable patterns of ministry and be committed to growing in their own life as a disciple of Jesus Christ
• Be committed both to their own life of prayer and to teaching the people of the parishes to pray
• Articulate the Gospel clearly and attractively and help people grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
• Love the people of Fleetwood and enjoy building relationships and getting known across the town
• Bring collaborative skills to ministry by developing lay leadership, growing teams and working closely with neighbouring clergy
• Be a good listener who can address the issues the Parish has faced during the vacancy and draw people together in love

All potential applicants should contact Archdeacon of Lancaster, Ven. David Picken
(Email: David.Picken@Blackburn.Anglican.Org) for an informal conversation before submitting an application.

Closing date for applications: Thursday 4th January 2024

Interview date: Thursday 1st February 2024

For information about Blackburn diocese please follow this link
https://jobs.churchofengland.org/blackburn/vision-2026/

For information on making an application through Pathways please follow this link
https://jobs.churchofengland.org/HELP/candidate-faq/