Ride and Stride 2026

The annual Ride & Stride event is a great opportunity to visit as many churches as possible in and around Oxford, and to raise funds while doing it, not only for St Mary Magdalen’s but also for Oxford Historic Churches Trust that supports our ancient churches in maintaining and enhancing our buildings. Here are some instructions for signing up.

  1. Visit https://ohct.org.uk/ride-and-stride/take-part/

  2. Register using the form provided (or login if you’ve done this before)

  3. Sign up for Ride & Stride 2026 (more forms—please do find and choose St Mary Magdalen, OXFORD in the ‘Church Finder’)

  4. There’s then some fundraising info, and you’ll be asked for a GoodHub page URL. For the Mary Mags Team page: oxfordshire-historic-churches-trust-245581

    • You may also set up an individual Sponsorship Page within the Team page.

  5. Then please let the parish administrator know when you’ve signed up!

Sample Text for Fundraising Page

I am raising funds for both Oxford Historic Churches Trust and my church St Mary Magdalen’s in central Oxford, where everyone will be very welcome on Open Saturday, September 12th.

The former has been very generous to the latter over the past decade, with several grants (totalling way over £10k altogether) for roof repairs, interior cleaning, memorial and railing repair. But Mary Mags is generous too! This church donates a larger fraction of its annual income to the Oxford Diocese than any other church, and we run two charities for those in need, so any donation to MMs is a gift to many others.

In 2024 we celebrated our 950th Anniversary, so we are much older than the University. Our various parts date back to 1074, 1320, the early 1500s and early Victorian times. Our French font is 700 years old and our 1320’s chest one of only six carved Medieval chests in the UK. Our stained glass is spectacular.

So we are well worth a visit - especially on Sunday for High Mass at 10.30 of course. This is always many-splendoured. Our Music Director has performed live at the Classical Grammys and our Organist is a world-famous accompanist. One of our Sopranos was a BBC Young Chorister of the Year.

So we are one of Oxford’s best kept secrets (and an oasis of peace amid one of GB’s very best traffic islands) now under vigorous leadership from a new Vicar. Do pay us a call - and a sub here so we can continue to give to others.