Friends of St Mary's

The Friends of St. Mary Magdalene is an organisation which is separate from the church itself, whose aim is to raise money to help protect the fabric of our beautiful ancient Parish Church. It sets out to achieve this through a variety of fund-raising events throughout the year as well as through the generous donations of members. Membership of 'The Friends' is open to anyone who supports its aims. Becoming a member of 'The Friends' is an excellent way of being in touch with, and supporting, our Parish Church if you do not live locally but have an interest in maintaining Gillingham's 'Church on the Green'. 

The Friends of St. Mary Magdalene was founded in 1985 at the suggestion of the Vicar at the time, the late Revd. Russell Thomson, in response to a need to raise a considerable amount of money for essential work to be carried out on the stonework of the church tower. Valuable assistance was given by 'The Friends' towards that need and since then 'The Friends' have continued to raise money towards the upkeep of the fabric of the church building and made a substantial contribution towards the cost of a new heating system for the church. More recently 'The Friends' have very generously supported our successful Roof Fund Appeal. A building of the age of St. Mary's is always going to be a considerable drain on the resources of our congregation, so the generally good condition of the church building is to a large extent thanks to the support given by 'The Friends' over the years. In 2010 the Friends celebrated their Silver Jubilee. During the 30 years since the Friends of St. Mary Magdalene was founded, they have raised a grand total of over £50,000 towards the upkeep of our beautiful ancient parish church.

The annual membership fee is a minimum of £4 per person (£8 per family) or £2 for students. Corporate membership (for Clubs, Societies or Schools, etc.) is available on request.

For full details of membership, or to apply to be a member, please contact: The Secretary, Mrs. Rita McIntosh, 50 Second Avenue, Gillingham, ME7 2HS, tel: 01634 851965.

Details of all events organised by 'The Friends' may be found on the Forthcoming Events page.

The Friends of St. Mary Magdalene is a registered charity.