People
Vicar
The Revd Canon Dr Peter GrovesBio
Fr Peter Groves has been parish priest of St Mary Magdalen’s since 2005. A Londoner by birth and upbringing, he came to Oxford as an undergraduate student, where he completed a BA and then a DPhil in Theology at New College. After training for the ministry at Westcott House in Cambridge, he served his curacy in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, before returning to Oxford in 1999. Before being appointed to the parish as Priest-in-charge, he was Chaplain and Fellow of Brasenose College, and he continues to be a member of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oxford. He is married to Beatrice, who teaches English Literature at Trinity College, and they have two sons, Michael and Edward. Peter remains a passionate advocate for the study of Theology, especially in relation to the arts, and has particular interests in Shakespeare, Wagner and Gerard Manley Hopkins. He indulges a vice called quizzing from time to time, but his greatest obsession remains Queens Park Rangers FC, where he is a season ticket holder.
peter.groves@theology.ox.ac.uk01865 247836
Associate Priest
The Revd Professor Judith M. BrownBio
Judith is an Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College (and helps in the college chapel). She was from 1990 to 2011 Beit Professor of Commonwealth History at Oxford, having taught previously in Manchester University and Cambridge. She did her own undergraduate and post-graduate work in Cambridge and became a Fellow of Girton, her own college. Her academic speciality is modern India. She was born in India and has spent considerable time there for research. She has travelled widely for leisure and also for academic work, including giving summer courses in the University of Natal, South Africa, and serving on the Scholars' Council for the Library of Congress, Washington DC. She knew she was called to the priesthood as a young woman, well before the Anglican church ordained women. Eventually she was able to respond to that calling and after training at Cuddesdon was ordained in 2009. Before coming to Mary Mags in 2014 she ministered in the Botley benefice, with a particular care for St. Frideswide's church. She acted as interim chaplain at Brasenose college in 2017, and is a spiritual director. She was married to her late husband, Peter, for 31 years: their son, James, works in political consultancy in London and is married to Julia Sitkovetsky, an opera singer. Judith is a passionate gardener, and also enjoys walking and classical music.
judith.brown@history.ox.ac.uk
Associate Priest
The Revd Dr Melanie MarshallBio
Mthr Mel is currently Acting Chaplain at Balliol College. She spent her twenties studying and teaching classics in Oxford before before being sent from Mary Mags to Westcott House and Emmanuel College Cambridge. After serving as a curate at St Michael and All Angels Bedford Park in the Diocese of London, Mthr Mel returned to Oxford to spend five extremely happy years as Chaplain of Lincoln College. She loves opera and knitting and writing sermons and helping her friends with their renaissance Latin, but above all things she likes just hanging out with people. It was Fr Peter who introduced her to her husband Mark, a fellow classicist and theologian. They live in Headington with their small son Clement and Bruno the ginger cat.
mthrmelanie@gmail.com
Churchwarden
Deborah VorhiesBio
Deborah was born in Cape Town and has spent most of her life working in international policy in Geneva and saving the environment in various unlikely locations. Now settled in Oxford, she works with FairWild Foundation and AWEI -the African Wildlife Economy Institute. In her leisure hours she can be found attending concerts, dabbling in her tiny garden and indulging in the sport of philosophy, specifically ethics.
dvorhies@outlook.com
Churchwarden
Charl EngelaBio
Charl was born half-Scots and half-Afrikaans in Chelsea, grew up on a farm in South Africa, and moved to Oxford in September 1996. He has degrees in art history and music, and spent most of his working life as an IT consultant. He now works for Oxfordshire County Council but has no responsibility for potholes. Having passed through Catholic school, Ulster Presbyterian, and strict Calvinist churches, he has found his spiritual home at St. Mary Mags. His pastimes include playing bass in various Oxfordshire jazz bands, making and drinking cocktails, and supporting the Springboks, Oxford United, and Aston Villa. He is married to Suzie with whom he shares five adult children and stepchildren, and three grandsons.
charl@engela.com07807265516
Director of Music
Will DawesBio
Will Dawes is Director of Music at the church of St Mary Magdalen's; Director of Chapel Music of Somerville College, Oxford; and Director of Frideswide Voices (Oxford’s first liturgical choir for 7-14 year-old girls). He studied Choral Conducting and Singing at RAM, and has since directed numerous excellent choral societies and chamber choirs across the UK. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2018.
Will is active as a consort singer and is a member of the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble Stile Antico. The group performs all over the globe, including concerts in the Wigmore Hall, at the BBC Proms, and in 2018 performed at the Grammy's in Madison Square Garden. He is a former Lay Clerk of Christ Church, Oxford, and has sung with Collegium Vocale Gent, The Cardinall's Musick, Magnificat, and Polyphony.
As a soloist, Will has sung works such as Carmina Burana (Orff), Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Mahler), and The Wound Dresser (Adams) as well as more canonic works by Bach and Handel. His one and only operatic role to date is that of Mr Gedge in Albert Herring.
For further information, including forthcoming performances, please visit http://www.willdawes.co.uk
Safeguarding Officer
Susan WeaversBio
Susan was born in Oxford and trained to be a librarian at Loughborough University, then worked in in south London in public libraries for a few years. On her return to Oxford, Susan worked for Blackwells as a Customer Services Manager and was fortunate to travel to America, Asia and Europe in this role. Susan then chose to transfer to working in mental health and trained to be an Independent Mental Health Advocate; she now has extensive experience of working in statutory and voluntary mental health services.
Susan is married to Ken; they were married at St Mary Magdalen in Father Hugh’s time, and have an affectionate cat called Phoebe!
Parish Administrator
Nigel SpeightBio
After graduation from St. John's College, Nigel has worked as a teacher, journalist and writer for a very long time and was previously a Churchwarden here.
nigespeight@gmail.com01865 246143