The Methodist Church was founded unwittingly by John & Charles Wesley in the 18th Century. Both felt Gods call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the length and breath England.

Discontented with the Church of England and feeling at a low point in his Ministry John travelled to America in 1735. When the ship ran into a an Atlantic storm he had the feeling his life was coming to its close. A group of Moravian Christians travelling on the ship showed no fear and John malised thit they had something in their lives that be lacked. He fell into discussion with their leaders and over a few days lie realised that they had a real faith in God and Jesus Christ.

Later in 1735 at a Christian fellowship meeting in Aldersgate London he heard about how God can change the lives and hearts through faith in Him. His journal records "About a quarter to nine…… I felt my heart strangely warmed I fell as though I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given to me that he had taken away My sins, even MINE, and had saved me from the law of sin and death." Charles had had a similar experience three days earlier and had written about this in the form of a hymn 'Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin'

Primitive Methodists Came to Cleethorpes in 1824 and the first meetings were held in a house in Cambridge Street. The mall chapel was opened in June 1848 near the Council Office in Cambridge Street at a cost of £200. Within 10 years the building was too small and in 1857 land was purchased for a church on to corner of Mill Road at a cost of £900 with seating for 450. Within 20 years larger accommodation was need. Extra land was purchased and a new church and school rooms were added.

Across the road in St Pete's Avenne stood Trinity Wesleyan Church built in 1848 and extended in 1872 when the Church stood on the edge of the road.

In the late sixties it was obvious that the need for two Churches within a 100 yards was no longer viable and the two amalgamated on the Mill Road site under the name of St Andrew's..

Within 10 years the fabric of the church was showing its age and with the high cost of maintenance it was necessary to consider the long term future. After careful deliberation, complete rebuilding was accepted as being preferable to extensive renovation of the old property, with the exception of the Memorial Hall at the south end of the car park, which was maintained.

The Memorial Hall was built in 1922 as a memorial to those who fell in the Great War 1914-1915 and was first used by the men of the church as a recreation hall with billiards/snooker tables. Later the hall was used by the young people particularly the Boys' Brigade.

Discussions were taking place involving the replacement of the old church building when in 1976 a storm ripped off the roof over the organ and rain water flowed in. Thus the plans were brought forward and the new church building were on their way.
The new structure would be much smaller and rooms would be multi purpose and maintenamce free - sorry not possible. After much discussion the plans were agreesd and work commenced.

Many will recall quite vividly the difficulties of operating a church during the building period. Church services were held in the Memorial Hall in cramped conditions. After the first demolition of the church and main hall only two rooms and the kitchen remained. At that time there was a large Sunday School, BB & GB together with a number of other large organisations operating.

These activities continued alongside the "Ship Scheme" activities. To ensure that events ran smoothly a "Ships Log" was created whereby events were booked and spread evenly throughout the years.

Sadly the log disappeared when on show at an exhibition as it would be interesting to recall those days when the fellowship amongst the shipmates was at its height.

Raising the money for the new premises as ever was a challenge. Grants were obtained, donations received, some of the furniture, fitting and land from the old church were sold and members joined the "Ship Scheme" whereby six groups were created out of the membership who commenced to hold money raising efforts. An Admiral, vice admiral, captains and vice captains were appointed. The ships crews each agreed to hold one major event and a number of smaller money raising efforts. A garden party, auction, a three course meal, hymn singing and concerts were but a few items. In 12 months £12,000 was raised which in 1978 was a large sum of money.

Overall almost £500,000 was raised to meet the costs of the new church buildings

1st November
10.00 am Men's Monthly Coffee Morning

2nd November
9.30 am Morning Worship – Rev. Michael Townsend

9th November
9.30 am Morning Worship – Mr. Howard Field

15th November
10.00 am Bowls Group Coffee Morning

16th November
9.30 am Morning Worship – Rev. Michael Townsend HC
6.00 pm Group Service St. Andrew's – Mr Mike Hurst

19th November
10.30 am Midweek Worship – Rev. Margaret Kennedy

23rd November
9.30 am Morning Worship – Mr. Brian Smith

30th November
9.30 am Morning Worship – Rev. Michael Townsend
Church Anniversary Service
10.30 am Rev. Michael Townsend
6.00 pm Rev. Paul Hunter

1. Introduce gradually new styles of worship.
2. Have an open invitation to Methodist "experts" to lead worship using new technologies in presentation.
3. Approach schools (teachers, parents and children) to visit our church as a process of Christian learning.
4. Look around our area and make a positive response as members to those within our circle, especially the un-churched, when they are distressed or in difficulty.
5. Encourage mid week services whereby we talk about our faith and its effects in our lives.
6. Be friendly to visitors and encourage them to join in Sunday morning coffee and extend our publicity and out reach through our mid week activities.

SERVICE

1. The Church Council to make representations to local bodies on issues affecting the area immediately around the Church expressing our views which reflect Christian theology and belief. Express the Church's views on Local, National and International issues.
2. Be prepared to involve the media on issues - Newspapers and Local Radio.
3. Make sure that all events are known to those using our premises for Non Christian activities e.g.
   Marching bands, Bowlers, Sure Start etc.
4. Monitor donations to all organisations - Local, National and International.
5. Consider periodic collection for charities operating in our area.

LEARNING AND CARING

1. Extended training in the Christian way of life and beliefs.
2. Encourage proliferation of small groups and out reach.
3. Membership courses.

WORSHIP

1. Sharing our faith.
2. Encourage more congregational participation.
3. Look for more acceptable/understandable language/music in service.
4. Continue to participate in ecumenical shared worship within our group of churches, with St. Peters Church and Churches Together.

'Taakhie means 'brotherhood' and this camp was about friendship, relationships and working together in community. Alongside local leaders and volunteers, the Highway Projects team helped to encourage young people of different cultures and faiths to enter into conversation with one another, engaging with cultural issues and having fun together.



Hopefully this camp will lead to more relationships being built on a grater understanding of respect and trust, great stepping stones to hopefully another camp next year.

Based at the Episcopal Church in Raineh, a village of approximately 15,000 people located on the edge of Nazareth, the team helped to resource a town wide community peace-making initiative: Building Bridges'. Bringing together all churches in Raineh, the local municipality and the Arab Association for Human Rights, the initiative focused on a summer camp involving 50 Christians and Muslim teenagers, and community activities across all ages, including sport, craft, drama and English language.

The "Taahie" - "Building Bridges" camp had five goals. These were to increase knowledge of the local culture, promoting the importance of volunteerism, to increase the awareness of other faith traditions, to strengthen English skills and to encourage better community relationships.

The camp began at 8.30 am and finished around 4.00 pm. For the Highway project team there were additional activities in the evening involving times of getting to know people, making new friends and having fun.


The Grimsby and Clethorpes Methodist Church Coffee morning in September 2006 raised £730.00 for Highway Projects.

OUR THANKS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCHES OF
ST. ANDREW'S, ST. CHRISTOPHERS, BEACONTHORPE, HUMBERSTON, NORTH THORESBY, WELLINGSTON STREET FOR MANNING THE STALLS AND PROVIDING TEA & COFFEE, TO THOSE MEMBERS OF OUR CIRCUIT FOR SUPPORTING THE EVENT AND REV. MARGARET KENNEDY FOR THE LOAN OF HER MANSE FOR THE MORNING