We are a Church of England parish with a strong tradition of music in worship, where all are very welcome. As an ancient Church in the centre of Durham, St Oswald's is a reservoir of peace for all who enter it.

The Sunday Eucharist is at 11:00am, and we have a play and books corner by the font for any younger worshipper who feels a parent or carer would enjoy it there. Evensong is at 6:00pm on Sundays, either in the chancel, or roughly every other week during term time when the usual hymns expand to a full choral setting, in the body of the church. Midweek Holy Communion is at 10:00am on Wednesdays, and the church is usually open from 9:30am till round about 5:00pm (or dusk, if earlier) on weekdays.

***A very warm welcome to all new and returning Durham University students! Please do join us this Sunday, 4th October 2026 at 11:00am for our Dedication Festival Sung Parish Eucharist (Common Worship), followed by tea and coffee, and/or at 6:00pm for Said Evensong with Hymns (1662 Book of Common Prayer). We look forward to welcoming you in Church.***

God of peace, as young people and young adults begin higher education, university, or enter the world of work, may they know your presence with them in this time of change. Grant them courage, wisdom, and confidence and inspire those they encounter to have welcoming hearts.

Amen.

Diocese of Bath & Wells

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Romans 15:7, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition

Sunday, 4th October 2026 - Ordinary Time, Creationtide: The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity; Dedication Festival; The Last Day of Creationtide (The Feast of St Francis of Assisi)

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, to whose glory we celebrate the dedication of this house of prayer: we praise thee for the many blessings thou hast given to those who worship thee here: and we pray that all who seek thee in this place may find thee, and, being filled with the Holy Spirit, may become a living temple acceptable to thee; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Common Worship 

The Gospel Reading Appointed for the Principal Service on the Day of the Dedication Festival:

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer”;
but you are making it a den of robbers.’

The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, they became angry and said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read,

“Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise for yourself”?’

Matthew 21:12-16, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition

A Poem for the Feast of St Francis of Assisi:

The Canticle of the Sun

Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
yours are the praises, the glory, the honour, and all blessing.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendour!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather through which
you give sustenance to your creatures.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you light the night and he is beautiful
and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us and who produces
varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praised be you, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by you, Most High, they shall be crowned.

Praised be you, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living person can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those who will
find your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord,
and give him thanks
and serve him with great humility.

St Francis of Assisi 

The Post Communion:

Father in heaven, whose Church on earth is a sign of thy heavenly peace, an image of the new and eternal Jerusalem: grant to us in the days of our pilgrimage that, fed with the living bread of heaven, and united in the body of thy Son, we may be the temple of thy presence, the place of thy glory on earth, and a sign of thy peace in the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Common Worship 

A Prayer for Single Friendly Church Week (Sunday 27th September - Sunday 4th October 2026):

Maker of us all, 

As you draw us into your love, may we love others in your name.

We pray that all churches would be places of welcome for single people, who seek community in an increasingly fragmented and isolated world. May we, as the Body of Christ, be your hands and feet, working together as one.

We pray for the work of Single Friendly Church Network and their vision for all single people to be valued in church. May we learn from single people and those who attend church alone about their experiences.

We give thanks for all the ways churches already create opportunities of invitation and belonging. May we, with the Holy Spirit, strive to help everyone flourish in our communities, whatever their relationship status.

We thank you for your grace, as we seek to be more like Christ.

Amen.

Single Friendly Church Network 

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

October 2026: Darlington Deanery

A Prayer of St Oswald of Northumbria:

Let us all kneel, and together beseech the true and living God Almighty in his mercy to defend us from the proud and cruel enemy; for he knows that we have undertaken a just war for the safety of our nation.

Amen. 

(Prayed by King Oswald of Northumbria and his army on the battlefield on the eve of the Battle of Heavenfield)