St Neots Parish Church

There’s always a very strange and in a sense slightly surreal aspect to the time between the announcement of the appointment of a new parish priest, and its fulfilment in the service of institution that takes place a few months later. How appropriate then, that the announcement of my appointment should take place in the Church’s season of Advent with its emphasis on watching and waiting for something momentous to happen! That of course is for the not-so-distant future. In the meantime I’m delighted to be able to have this opportunity to say a little bit about myself, and what has brought me to this point in life and ministry.

I was born, a little over 53 years ago, and brought up in Bedford. I and my younger brother Richard, went to school there, and my elderly father Doug still lives there in the house in which we grew up. Music was my passion from an early age, although I was always more interested in the compositional and historical aspects, rather than in putting in the necessary practice to become any good as a performer. I went on to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and took a degree in music and librarianship (I’ve always been a manic bibliophile). Later I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the music of the twentieth century English composer Herbert Howells, well known for his contribution to church music, but also a composer of much else besides. I sang in choirs at church, school and university, and this early saturation in the music and liturgy of the church was an important part of my formation. We were always a church going family; my grandfather was ordained in his retirement at the age of 70, and was active in ministry until he was nearly 90. My brother Richard discovered his vocation to the priesthood before he was 20, and has been ordained for nearly 25 years; he is currently team rector of Dunstable in St Albans diocese. My call came much later, after I had enjoyed a career in music library and information work for over 20 years. I ran the music service for Bedfordshire Libraries for many years before working briefly as Reference Librarian and Research Coordinator at the Royal College of Music and then I set up and managed the Cecilia Project for the British Library and the International Association of Music Libraries. Cecilia (named of course after the patron saint of musicians) is an internet database of music research collections in libraries, archives and museums. It is still very much an active resource so do have a look if you are interested Cecilia website.

Family has been a significant part of my life. I was married first in 1981 to Melanie, and our son Christopher was born early in 1986. Sadly, at the end of that year, Melanie died and I brought Christopher up over the next few years, with enormous help and support from my parents and parents-in-law, and all the family. During these years I was also a church organist (the Revd Derek Draper gave me my first job). My chief ability in practical music-making is in training and conducting choirs; I founded the chamber choir Cantamus in Bedford in1985, and remained its director until 1997, when I began training for ministry. It was when I became assistant director of music at St Paul’s Church in Bedford Town centre, that I began to experience a growing sense that God might be calling me to be a priest. It was also at this time that Judith and I, who share a love of music and the church, began to discover our love for one another. We were married in St Paul’s in 1996. Judith, a pianist and cellist, is as delighted and excited as I am to be coming to serve you in St Neots.

I was ordained deacon in 2000 and priest in 2001, in St Albans. At first, for family reasons, I worked as a non-stipendiary minister in Biddenham and Kempston, two semi-rural parishes on the outskirts of Bedford. In 2003 we moved to Leighton Buzzard in order as I saw it, to spend two more years in full-time curacy before moving on to a first vicar’s post. However, there was a change of incumbent, a mandate to create a team ministry, and I was asked to become the first team vicar in the new Ouzel Valley Team Ministry. For the past three years therefore, I have been vicar of Billington and Eggington, two small villages on the outskirts of Leighton Buzzard, while taking a share with the team rector in the ministry of the much larger parish of All Saints in the town itself, and running the adult education and spirituality programme for the team as a whole. The five years we have spent in Leighton Buzzard have been both challenging and fulfilling and in that time we have become close to people whom it will be hard to leave when the time comes. The most incredible privilege that all of us who undertake God’s ministry enjoy, is that we come to know people at an extraordinarily deep level, personally and spiritually, and we are permitted to share in deeply personal experiences both of sadness and of joy. That is true everywhere, and Judith and I both look forward to sharing whatever the next few years may bring for all of us in St Neots.

We are thrilled and delighted at the prospect of our move, and in anticipation of the ministry that you and I shall share in the years that lie ahead. We look forward to moving in, and to making the vicarage a real home, and a place of hospitality. Christopher will not be joining us permanently; he now lives and works in Bedford, but you may catch a glimpse from time to time!

We both want to assure you of our love, and our prayers – and to ask that you remember the parishes of the Ouzel Valley team in your prayers, as they now begin a time of discernment.

Paul & Judith Andrews