About Us

Introductions

Rev John C Duncan MBE

Interim Moderator

I am a Dundonian! I trained for the Church of Scotland ministry at the University of Aberdeen – Christ’s College where I graduated Bachelor of Divinity and the University of Dublin – Trinity College and the Irish School of Ecumenics where I graduated Master in Philosophy (Ecumenics). I was the Assistant Minister at Knightswood: St Margaret’s Parish Church, Glasgow. I was Ordained and Inducted as the Minister at Burntisland Parish Church, Fife, in 1987. I joined the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department in January 2001. In my time in the Army, I served with five infantry battalions and two corps. I served on operations in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and with the United Nations in Cyprus. My last posting in the Army was as Chaplain to The Black Watch 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at Fort George, Ardersier, Inverness. I retired as an Army Chaplain in March 2016 and was Inducted as the Minister at Leuchars: St Athernase Parish Church, Fife, on 13 March 2016. In 2016, I was awarded in the Queen’s Birthday Honours as an Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). I was the Officiating Chaplain to the Military for Leuchars Station and Chaplain to the Leuchars Squadron Air Training Corps (Air Cadets) until September 2021. I am the Chaplain to The Black Watch Association since 2016. I retired from full time ministry on the 30th September 2021 to Dundee. I am a member of the Presbytery of Perth. I currently take services in various churches for colleagues who are on leave or churches which do not have a minister and have a role in planning the re-structuring of the Church of Scotland in Fife.

Rev Lorna Tunstall

Locum Minister

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy realises that there is “no place like home” I could not agree more with her and I feel like I have come home being back with you all at Barnhill St Margaret’s.  I must thank you all so much for the warm welcome that I have received, it really does mean a lot.

 

Moving back home from my linked charge in Brora and Helmsdale was certainly not an easy decision to make and not one that I took lightly.  The church, the congregation, the community and of course the beautiful scenery will certainly be missed and I shall always carry a piece of Brora and Helmsdale with me in my heart.  I know my two Cocker Spaniel dogs are missing their daily walks along the beach!

 

It is however, lovely to be back home, amongst familiar faces and friends.  It has also been great to meet so many new faces that have come to worship at St Margaret’s across both services.  I am so impressed with how everyone has navigated the proposed changes over the past couple of years and I feel, have become stronger as a congregation and as a community.  There are so many great initiatives that the church continues to run and it really is a testimony to everyone involved for all the hard work and dedication that goes into putting on these activities.

 

As you are aware, I am currently serving in a capacity as a Locum minister for 2 days per week and a Sunday.  I intend to base myself in the church office most Tuesday and Wednesday’s so please do feel free to pop in for a chat.  My door is always open and I will never give up an opportunity for a cup of tea and a blether!  Maybe we should make this verse from Hebrews our daily mantra – sounds like good advice to me!

 

24 “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another….” (Hebrews 10: 24-25)

 

Beth Duncan

Pastoral Assistant

After spending the first 5 years of married life in Aberdeen Beth and her family moved back to Dundee and Beth joined Barnhill St Margaret’s in 1986. In 1992 Beth started to help with the Sunday School, then in 1994 she was involved in setting up a bible class group called Seekers. Several years later Beth began helping with the Chi Rho group who met on a Sunday evening, and became an Elder at the Church in 1997. In 2004 Beth was involved in a small group who met with the Church of Scotland Impact Group to organise a summer holiday club and this has been going ever since. Beth has been actively involved in Messy Church since it started in 2011 .

Beth was appointed by the Kirk Session as Pastoral Assistant in February 2010 and it is a position that she says she feels privileged to hold.

Beth is married to Ken and has 4 children and 3 grandchildren. In her spare time Beth enjoys reading, knitting, gardening and walking.

Evelyn Scanlan

Youth Worker

Evelyn has enjoyed working as a youth worker at Barnhill St Margaret’s since January 2017 and has loved getting to know the young people who attend our Chi Rho and Youth Club group. She has found it a pleasure getting to know the rest of the congregation and volunteers at Messy Church, Holiday Club and the Gala Day. Evelyn has been impressed with the warm welcome at Barnhill St Margaret’s as well as the wonderful facilities.

In the past year Evelyn has helped at our Thursday morning Tots & Toddlers and had forgotten how lovely it is to play with little ones again.

Evelyn has lots of experience working with young people running a Friday Night Project in the area she lives for the last 10 years. She enjoys the energy, enthusiasm and challenges that young people bring and finds it particularly satisfying watching them change from boisterous pre-teen to mature young adult.

Churches have experienced a decline in the number of young people attending and Evelyn is interested in finding ways and ideas to encourage their involvement in worship and church life. Young people are the future of our Church and Evelyn is delighted to be a part of a project to engage with them.

Iain Ross

Joint Session Clerk

Iain was born and brought up in Macduff, Aberdeenshire and after graduating in Geography at Aberdeen University in 1973 went on to graduate in town planning at Brookes University, Oxford in 1977.  From then until retirement in 2010 Iain has practiced town planning in Inverness, Tewkesbury Gloucestershire and here in Dundee.

 

Iain and wife Ann, a retired teacher, have lived in Broughty Ferry since 1986 and have three married sons and 4 grandchildren.  They have been associated with Barnhill St. Margaret’s Church since 1986, Iain becoming an Elder in 1988.   Iain is a longstanding member of the Property Committee and enjoys a full range of church activities including most recently the Mission Planning meetings in Broughty Ferry.

 

Iain is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Claverhouse, a member of Abertay Probus Club and enjoys golfing at Carnoustie, gardening, travel and of course the family.

Denise Melville

Joint Session Clerk

Denise is originally from Grangemouth and moved to Broughty Ferry after 12 years in Ayrshire as a librarian. Denise joined Barnhill St Margaret’s in 1987 and became an elder in 1997. 

Denise has been involved in a number of aspects of church life but lately has mostly been involved with the Tots and Toddler groups and with the Finance Committee.

Denise has two daughters, two much loved grandchildren, soon to be joined by a third. 

Her hobbies are bridge, crosswords, reading and trying not to waste too much time playing games on her tablet !

Alison Tonner

Office Secretary

Alison has been our Church Secretary for over 20 years and is the first point of contact for all our enquiries either face to face, telephone or e-mail. Alison is responsible for all administration requirements and provides support to our minister and various Church committees.

Kirk Session and Committees

Our Kirk Session, made up of the elders in the Church and guided by our Minister and Session Clerk, usually meets monthly to discuss and take decisions on a wide variety of congregational matters and business.

Church members and members of the public can attend these meetings but do not have a vote and may on occasion be asked to step out of the meeting if a confidential or sensitive matter is being discussed.

Several committees report to the Session. These committees are made up of Church members, not necessarily elders, who may have a particular interest or area of expertise relevant to that committee.

The committees currently in place are

• Fellowship
• Nurture
•  Outreach
• Care Team
• Property (including Health and Safety and the Grounds Team)
• Stewardship and Finance

If you would like any more information about the Kirk Session or any of its committees, please contact the Church Office.

Please find the most recent Kirk Session meeting minutes and reports here

Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notice

The Kirk Session has adopted a Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notices policy.

You can view the full policy here

Paper copies are available for consultation from the Church Office

'Whistleblowing' Policy

The Kirk Session has adopted a policy on ‘whistleblowing’. This policy provides a procedure which enables concerns to be raised if there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is serious malpractice occurring or likely to occur. 

You can view the full policy here

Paper copies are available for consultation from the Church Office

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The Kirk Session have adopted a policy for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. You can view the whole policy here

Giving

Barnhill St Margaret’s

One of the ways that we can express our love for God and for others is through our giving. Both the Church of Scotland and Barnhill St. Margaret’s rely on charitable giving, and any support given is deeply appreciated. Donations from members and supporters are vital in enabling us to meet the cost of ministry and mission and for the upkeep of our historic building. Our donations also help support the wider work of the Church both at home and abroad.

There is an Online Giving page on the Church of Scotland website which enables you to use PayPal (PayPal charge 30p + 2.9% per transaction) to give to the Church of Scotland centrally or to an individual congregation like Barnhill St. Margaret’s. See here to take you straight to the ‘Donate to Church’ page.

Regular donations can be made by Standing Order or Freewill Offering envelopes. UK taxpayers can also increase their giving by 25% at no cost to themselves by filling in a Gift Aid Form. For further information please contact the Church Office.

Christian Aid

Christian Aid seeks to create a world free from extreme poverty and injustice by tackling the root causes. At Barnhill St Margaret’s we actively support Christian Aid, and encourage any Church members who are able to do so, to make regular gift-aided contributions directly. During Christian Aid week we arrange doorstep collections within our parish, and on the penultimate day you will find members of our congregation shaking their collection buckets locally. We also enjoy collaborating in an event with other nearby church congregations to raise the profile of Christian Aid locally.

To donate or find out more about Christian Aid please visit their website here.

At Barnhill St. Margaret’s we also support the following local charities;

Dundee Foodbank

Approximately 1 in 5 people are deemed to be living in poverty, and Dundee Foodbank aims to provide assistance to this group by way of providing food parcels to those deemed most needy.
Barnhill St Margaret’s Church has been a supporter of the Foodbank for a number of years, by inviting and encouraging members of the congregation to donate items of food each Sunday. At the main entrance of the Church are 2 large labelled green plastic baskets where non-perishable food items can be donated.

A team of Church volunteers are responsible for delivering donated items to the Foodbank each week. Of course, if you as an individual would like to deliver directly to the Foodbank, please find a link to their website below.

Dundee and Angus Foodbank Donations

In 2023 the congregation of Barnhill St. Margaret’s Church donated a total of 1121kg (which is over 1 ton)  of food and other items to the Foodbank.

A fantastic contribution, and a mark of the care, compassion and ongoing generosity of the congregation towards those in our community who are struggling socially and financially. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed.

Thanks also to the dedicated team who collect and deliver the donated items to the Foodbank every week. Well done everyone.

To read more about the work of Dundee Foodbank and for a list of what items are urgently required please see here

Dundee Starter Packs

Dundee Starter Packs SCIO is a voluntary charity, initiated by Scottish Churches Housing Action in 2000, responding positively to the problems faced by resettling homeless individuals, families and those in need, in Dundee and surrounding areas. People are referred for a number of different reasons but they all have one thing in common, financial hardship and have no means to provide themselves with basic household items.

Barnhill St. Margaret’s alongside other local Churches collaborate with Dundee Starter Packs by collecting good quality unwanted household items, such as; Crockery, Cutlery, Pots, Pans, Utensils, Casserole Dishes, Mugs, Tumblers, Storage Containers, Bedding, Towels, Curtains and small domestic electrical appliances.

Small donations can be left at the main Church entrance.

For more information on the charity or to contact them directly to arrange a large donation please visit the Dundee Starters Packs here.

Our Church contact for Dundee Foodbank is the Church Office 01382 7372949 and Dundee Starter Packs is Christine Johnston 01382 477739.