“All good things must come to an end” is no doubt a phrase we’ve all heard or used at some point. Perhaps we think or say it at the end of a holiday or a great evening together with friends. But is it true? Well yes, and no. Holidays, meal out, long careers, all come to an end. But there is something which doesn’t. The next line of the Nicene Creed we are looking at tomorrow says “And his kingdom will have no end.”

The kingdom of Jesus has no expiry date. Jesus, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords will always be so and his kingdom will have no end. Imagine if it did end! There would be no eternal life, no heaven, no everlasting peace with God. Praise be to God that his kingdom will have no end. 

Revd Chris Fallone will be helping us understand more of this tomorrow. As it’s the first Sunday of the month tomorrow, it’s even busier than usual with services of worship at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 5:00 PM, followed by Sanctuary at 6:00 PM for our young people.

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Sunday Services

The services and activities on Sunday 1st June 2025 are:

• 9:00 AM Traditional (The Book of Common Prayer) Service of Holy Communion (with refreshments afterwards)
• 10:15 AM Meadows Books open (until 10:45 AM)
• 11:00 AM Contemporary Communion Service (livestreamed with refreshments afterwards)
• 12:30 PM Meadows Books’ open (until 12:45 PM)
• 3:00 PM Traditional Service of Evening Prayer
• 5:00 PM Treehouse Family Communion (with refreshments)
• 6:00 PM Sanctuary Youth Gathering
• 6:00 PM Meadows Books open (until 6:15 PM)

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Watching Online, Bible Reading and Order of Service

Our livestream can be viewed on our YouTube channel here and our Facebook channel here. In our services we will be looking at the following Bible readings: Psalm 145.1-13  and Revelation 11.15-19. The 11:00 AM order of service is available here.

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Volunteer positions vacant

Calligrapher
Our Book of Remembrance at the back of Church is a way to pay tribute and remember loved ones in the church community and parish. We need someone with either calligraphy skills or someone with very neat writing who is comfortable using a fountain pen. It isn’t a task which requires a lot of time, with entries of names being made usually no more than a dozen or so times a year.

South Africa Parish Link Rep
The Diocese of The Free State in South Africa has a link to the Diocese of Blackburn going back more than 50 years – which is believed to be one of the oldest links in the Anglican Communion.

At Christ Church Thornton, we are linked to the parish of St Augustine’s Church, Selosesha, Thaba Nchu (Free State Province). The minister of St. Augustine’s is the Ven Dr Isaac Moshoadiba. Currently our links between the two parishes are underdeveloped. Can you help? A volunteer is needed to make regular email contact with Rev Isaac, to share news between churches, to share prayer points, and to find creative ways to develop stronger links between the two churches.

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We’re hosting – can you help?

We’re hosting the Archdeacon’s Visitation on Tuesday 10th June at 7:30 PM. Churchwardens from across the Fylde Coast will be sworn in by the Archdeacon into their roles. Can we once again provide superb hospitality to the guests who attend that night? 

We’re hosting Christ Church Blackburn for their whole-Church awayday on Saturday 14th June and All Saints Anchorsholme for their whole-Church awayday on Saturday 18th October. Can you help make these special days for our fellow Christian brothers and sisters from Blackburn? We will be serving them drinks through the day, providing hot meals, and ensuring the smooth running of their use of the Church, Hall and Chapel throughout the day.

Please get in touch if you can help with any of the above.

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Annual Parochial Church Meeting and Meeting of Parishioners

The annual meetings took place on Thursday evening. Thank you to all who came to reflect on 2024, receive annual reports, and to look forward to the Lord’s work going forward. The financial statements can be viewed using this link here. A link to the full report will be available in due course.

Thank you to those who have served in the Parochial Church Council in the last year, especially our Churchwardens Judith Murphy and John Hearnshaw. Thank you to them both for being willing to serve in this way once again in the next year having been re-elected to do so. Re-elected to the PCC for a three-year term are David Taylor, Maria Winter, Phil Butterworth, and Malcolm Beard. Thank you to all those who have served on the PCC. Below is the full list of those who serve on the Parochial Church Council…

Ex-officio

• Damian Platt (Vicar / Chair)
• Judith Murphy (Churchwarden / Vice-Chair)
• John Hearnshaw (Churchwarden)

Deanery Synod (3 places due to Electoral Roll being between 101 and 200)

• Sally Johnson (term ending APCM 2026)
• Ann Hearnshaw (term ending APCM 2026)
• Roger Lloyd Jones (term ending APCM 2026)

Elected Parochial Representatives of the Laity (12 places due to Electoral Roll being between 100 and 199)

• Paul Casson (term ending APCM 2026)
• Sandra Barrow (term ending APCM 2026)
• Dorothy Fiefield (term ending APCM 2026)
• Mick Golden (term ending APCM 2026)
• Angie Walsh (term ending APCM 2027)
• Pauline Elvidge (term ending APCM 2027)
• Abigail Mackie (term ending APCM 2027)
• Donna Urmson (term ending APCM 2027)
• Malcolm Beard (term ending APCM 2028)
• Philip Butterworth (term ending APCM 2028)
• Maria Winter (term ending APCM 2028)
• David Taylor (term ending APCM 2028)

What do the PCC do? 

The first function of the Parochial Church Council (often known as the ‘PCC’) is co-operation with the minister in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. The PCC at Christ Church focus on the ‘big picture’ of the life and direction of the Church, prayerfully seeking God’s strategic direction in all matters. A summary of the duties, functions and responsibilities of PCCs can be accessed here.

Advance notice of next year’s annual meetings. They will take place once again on Ascension Day, on Thursday 14th May 2026 at 5:30 PM, wth hot food, worship, followed by the annual reports.

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Men United

The next Men United gathering for men is on Friday 13th June at the Gardener’s Arms at 7:30 PM. Each meal needs pre-ordering through John Hearnshaw by Tuesday 10th June at the latest. John has hard copies of the menu to look at or you can look online at the menu using this link here. Once you’ve chosen please let John know.

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Cooking, chopping, peeling, grating, boiling…

We’ve been gifted a brand new gadget for the Community Centre kitchen. It’s a Thermomix TM6 machine. It does everything! It often retails for over £1,600 but we have been given a brand new one free of charge! This is thanks to Donna Urmson for putting on a demonstration evening recently and for commending us to the manufacturer for all the great work taking place through Christ Church to benefit the community. In the near future those who prepare food in the kitchen will be given a demo of what it can do and how to use it.

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Update on Andrew’s ministry in Fleetwood

It’s nine months since Andrew began his ministry in Fleetwood as curate-in-charge of St. Peter’s and St. David’s. You have an opportunity to hear all about how it’s been going and plans for the future at a special evening service at 7:00 PM on Sunday 29th June where Andrew will be joining us at Christ Church to give an update. He’ll also introduce some ways you might like to prayerfully consider helping.

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2025 Treehouse Weekend Away – “Hallowed”

Once again we’re driving up the M6 to Grange-over-Sands for the fourth Treehouse Weekend Away. It’s only an hour from door-to-door. We’ll be staying at the Thornleigh Christian Hotel. The weekend will take place from Friday 31st October to Sunday 2nd November. The weekend will be full board, including all meals in the hotel from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, with plenty of coffee breaks and biscuits inbetween. On the Saturday afternoon there might be a special trip to Holker Hall & Gardens in the nearby Holker Estate in Cartmel. 

The Treehouse Weekend Away is always a great opportunity to spend time together whilst growing deeper in our Christian faith. The theme will be “hallowed.”

How much? As a church we always try to subsidise the cost of the weekend for all who go, to ensure cost isn’t a barrier and to make things a little easier for families to budget, especially so close to Christmas. The price for the weekend is £155 per adult (17+). £35 for ages
3–5, £55 for ages 6–11, and £75 for ages 12–16. Children aged 0–2 are free of charge.

BOOK NOW! Places are available on a first come first served basis.

You can book and pay for places for the weekend here. If you’d prefer to pay in instalments by bank transfer, you can find the bank details here.

If the affordability of the weekend is a struggle, please get in touch. We don’t want cost to be a barrier to anyone attending.

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New stock in the bookshop

There is some new stock in our very own Meadows Bookshop. Books such as Drive Through the Bible for £8.99 – offering a comprehensive overview of the Bible. Also Seeing the Supernatural, looking at the provocative questions people ask about healings, angels, demons, near death experiences, heaven, hell, and more. Explore these issues from a biblical perspective. The bookshop is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and after most services on a Sunday. Why not visit the lovely volunteers and take a look! 

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Giving to God

There are numerous ways to give to God and contribute to the mission and ministry of Christ Church:

• Bank transfer – details available here
• By dated giving envelopes (on request)
• By contactless machine at the back of Church (or sometimes positioned in the Pilgrim’s Rest or the Community Centre)
• Online giving – you can give online here
• You can give by text with a smartphone.  Send a text to 07380 307 800 containing our keyword “CCTFY5”, followed by the word “give”, followed by the amount you wish to give.  For example “CCTFY5 give £10” to give £10. Step by step instuctions here
• Cash in the collection plate (positioned on the font)

Bank transfer or standing order is the preferred method of giving as they do not have any processing fees attached. Tax payers can add Gift Aid to their gift. More information about this can be found on the website here.

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Diary of Activities and Services

Monday 2nd June

• 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM – Morning Prayer in Church
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Pilgrim’s Rest in the Chapel
• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM – Playhouse (parent, baby and toddlers) in the Community Centre
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – The Meadows Bookshop and Giftshop
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Food Pantry available (emergency food support)
• 12:00 Noon to 1:45 PM – Lyrics & Lunch unch in the Community Centre
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Quiet Hour in Church
• 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM – Bowl & Chat in the Community Centre
• 7:45 PM to 9:15 PM – Growth Group in the Community Centre

Tuesday 3rd June

• 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM – Morning Prayer in Church
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Pilgrim’s Rest in the Chapel
• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM – Playhouse (parent, baby and toddlers) in the Community Centre
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – The Meadows Bookshop and Giftshop
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Food Pantry available (emergency food support)
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Craft & Chat in Church
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Lunch in the Community Centre
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Quiet Hour in Church
• 7:45 PM to 8:30 PM – Prayer for Growth in the Community Centre

Wednesday 4th June

• 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM – ‘Walking Wednesday’ Breakfast Club in the Community Centre
• 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM – Fridaymen volunteers in the Churchyard and Church
• 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM – Morning Prayer in Church
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Pilgrim’s Rest in the Chapel
• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM – Playhouse (parent, baby and toddlers) in the Community Centre
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – The Meadows Bookshop and Giftshop
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Food Pantry available (emergency food support)
• 10:00 AM to 10:45 AM – Wednesday Morning Growth Group in Church
• 11:15 AM to 12:00 Noon – Traditional (BCP) service of Holy Communion in Church
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Lunches for Seniors in the Community Centre
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Quiet Hour in Church
• 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM – Worship Team Rehearsal in Church

Thursday 5th June

• 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM – Morning Prayer in the Bookshop
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Pilgrim’s Rest in the Chapel
• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM – Playhouse (parent, baby and toddlers) in the Community Centre
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – The Meadows Bookshop and Giftshop
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Food Pantry available (emergency food support)
• 12:00 Noon to 1:45 PM – Lyrics and Lunch in the Community Centre
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Quiet Hour in Church
• 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM – Bat & Chat in the Community Centre

Friday 6th June

• 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM – Fridaymen volunteers in the Churchyard and Church
• 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM – Morning Prayer in Church
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Pilgrim’s Rest in the Chapel
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – The Meadows Bookshop and Giftshop
• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Food Pantry available (emergency food support)
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon – Craft & Chat in Church
• 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Quiet Hour in Church
• 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM – Move & Chat in the Community Centre

Saturday 7th June

• 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM – The Meadows Bookshop and Giftshop

Sunday 8th June

• 9:00 AM – Traditional (The Book of Common Prayer) Service of Holy Communion (with refreshments afterwards)
• 10:00 AM – Meadows Books open (until 10:45 AM)
• 11:00 AM – Contemporary Communion Service (livestreamed and with refreshments afterwards)
• 12:15 PM – Meadows Books’ open (until 12:45 PM)
• 5:00 PM – Treehouse Family Worship (with refreshments)
• 6:00 PM – Meadows Books open (until 6:15 PM)

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God bless,

Damian