At St Mary Magdalene’s we believe in doing our best to give everyone what they want. As a result, we alternate the 1970 and 1982 Liturgies Sunday by Sunday at our 11 o’clock service and this works very well. A said Eucharist takes place on Wednesday mornings at 10am.
Extra services are held during Holy Week and at Christmas, including a midnight service – sung Eucharist – which begins at 11.15pm on Christmas Eve. We also have a service for Ascension Day and often for St Mary Magdalene’s Day.
Refreshments are served at the back of the church after the service which gives the congregation the opportunity to mingle and welcome any new faces.
We have a strong musical tradition at St Mary Magdalene’s of which we are extremely proud. Our choir is small but we sing Choral Eucharist every week, with five hymns, a psalm, an anthem, a setting and a choral Amen, enhancing greatly the beauty of our worship.
The Carol Service at Christmas and the choir’s performance on Good Friday evening are highlights of the year. We are also looking at introducing a choral Evensong perhaps once a month.
One of our real treasures is the organ. It was originally built by Peter Conacher of Huddersfield in 1869. In 1986, the organ was again rebuilt — this time by Nicholson of Worcester. They replaced the pneumatic under-actions and couplers with electric actions. Five new ranks of pipes were added, including a Four-rank Mixture on the Great, and a superb 16' Bombard on the Pedal Organ. The tonal finishing was provided by Dennis Thurlow, their renowned Director. The result has been that St Mary Magdalene's has one of the best organs in a city that boasts several first class instruments.
First and foremost we need a priest who will respect and appreciate our worship and most importantly our musical tradition.
Outside of worship, the congregation wants someone to lead us in outreach. We believe that our church needs to look beyond its doors to see how we can help our community and actively make a difference. We need someone with ideas, someone dedicated and dynamic who can organise and direct us to make it happen.
Our perfect priest is driven, caring, open, down to earth and always ready for some banter.
Is that you?
Our members’ roll currently sits at around 120 and weekly church attendance fluctuates between 25 and 45. We have a diverse mix of people including teachers, doctors and students, a Lady farmer, a paralympian, a drama adjudicator and a Highland dancer.
The one thing everyone has in common is a deep commitment to St Mary Magdalene’s and the wish to see it thrive and grow. There is a wealth of knowledge, talent and energy ready to be put to work to achieve it, too. We’re down to earth, we say what we think, we’re always up for fun and nonsense, and we can’t wait to welcome our new Rector.
Like most churches, we’re never without money worries, so in 2024 the Vestry put together a fundraising team, and it had a very successful year. We dragged the two “coffee mornings” kicking and screaming into the 21 st century, rebranding as Spring and Christmas fayres and including crafters, dancers, Santa’s grotto and, most importantly, a hugely popular chocolate fountain!
We organised a Quiz Night in a local pub, which was attended by five other churches in the Diocese, and even the Bishop fielded a team. (We beat him!) There was also a hilarious Race Night, a Burns Supper and a Prize Draw.
The proceeds might not quite have paid for our new heating system but we raised a few thousand pounds and had some fabulous occasions of fun and fellowship in the process.
St Mary Magdalene's opened for public worship on 23rd July 1854. It was the first new Episcopal Church built in Dundee since 1690, and the first of many churches built by Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop of Brechin (1847-1875).
We moved to our present site in 1952. The building was previously a Catholic Apostolic Church, and their Trustees were anxious to sell to another Christian organisation, so we acquired the property for just £5,000 – an incredible bargain even then.
In the mid 50s, the Corporation of Dundee began to decant thousands of people to the new housing schemes on the outskirts of the city. This led to a rapid fall in numbers, and in the 1970s, the church was in real danger of closing its doors for good.
In 1979, Bishop Edward Luscombe instituted the Rev. David Shepherd as Rector, and a rapid and large programme of renovation began. The church celebrated its 150th birthday in 2004 with a superb exhibition which combined a display of vestments and embroidery, a flower festival, a Songs of Praise and a comprehensive exhibition of our church's history, including a fascinating insight into the work of the Catholic Apostolic Church in Dundee.
Beautiful memorial windows to “Bishop Ted” and David Shepherd were installed and consecrated in 2024.