Come experience the warmth of our community
Come worship with us
All ages are welcome
Come and join us
Welcome to the Benefice of Woodstock and Bladon!
Our benefice has two centres of worship, St Mary Magdalene in the old market town of Woodstock, and St Martin’s set in the nearby picturesque village of Bladon. Both are open daily to visitors and provide places of beauty and space for a time of quiet reflection. On Sundays, both churches have well-attended services. Our ministry team work across both parishes and are always happy to be contacted.
We are proud of our three well-rated Church schools and both clergy and church members participate regularly in the life there. We have an active Pastoral Visiting Group and also support Spencer Court, a local Care Home.
We regularly host arts and community events in our churches and we invite everyone to enjoy the wide range of cultural activity. Our aim is to develop artistic creativity and our shared vision of welcome.
Church members have a lively appreciation of their faith and try to bring this to bear on a diversity of local issues and community activities.
We look forward to meeting you at a service soon or as you visit our churches.
Regular Sunday Services
St. Mary Magdalene, Woodstock
8:00 am Holy Communion
Said service using the Book of Common Prayer
11:00am Parish Eucharist
Sung service using Common Worship
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St Martin, Bladon
9:30am Eucharist (1st, 2nd and 4th Sundays)
Sung service using Common Worship
9:30am Morning Worship (3rd Sunday)
On some 5th Sundays there is a Benefice Eucharist at 10am.
Alternating between the two churches (see news sheet for further details of services)
Children and young people are welcome at all our services. We don’t currently have Sunday Schools but at St Mary Magdalene there is a children’s corner with toys and colouring materials and at St Martin’s there are toy bags to help keep children amused.
There is a weekly Toddler Service at Bladon during term time and it is hoped to start something similar in Woodstock soon.
We value the work of the Chaplain in our schools and support this work through the Woodstock Youth Work Trust
Benefice Morning Prayer via Zoom
Morning Prayer will be said each morning at 9.00am and led by a different member of the prayer group. You can join in live through Zoom using the button to the right. Once into the site, you will need the meeting credentials:
Meeting ID: 932 8733 8546
Password: 11721172
If you would rather pray alone, download to the right the Shortened Version of prayer ideal for this period.
Our churches are heavily dependent on both regular giving by church members and generous donations from visitors. If you can help support the running costs of our parishes, the maintenance of our historic churches and our work in the community please follow the links below.
Both out churches use FairTrade products where ever possible.
At St Mary Magdalene, the regular café on the first Saturday of each month occasionally has an Eco theme encouraging sustainability
Safeguarding
Urgent concerns
If a child or adult is in immediate danger or requires immediate medical attention, call the emergency services on 999 - don’t delay. For welfare concerns, contact Children and Adult’s Social Care on 0345 050 7666 (MASH), or the Out of Hours Emergency Duty Team: 0800 833408. Please also inform the area Safeguarding Adviser on 01865 208 295 or email safeguardingreferrals@oxford.anglican.org.uk
Non-urgent or emerging concerns
If you are unsure or are worried about how serious a situation is, contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team on 01865 208295 or safeguardingreferrals@oxford.anglican.org. For enquiries outside of operational hours, contact Thirtyone:eight on 0303 003 1111
Alternatively contact one of the Parish Safeguarding Officers:
Sarah at St Mary Magdalene Woodstock on 07585 603425 or safeguarding.woodstock or
Elizabeth at St Martin’s Bladon on 07967 551483 or safeguarding.bladon
Contact us
Benefice Office:
St Mary Magdalene
Park Street
Woodstock OX20 1SJ
01993 812915
Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 2pm – 4.30pm
Office email is monitored every afternoon Monday to Friday