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.

Monday, 14th September 2026 - Ordinary Time (Creationtide): The Feast of the Holy Cross

Entering the city of Jerusalem on the north side, the first place to be visited, according to the disposition of the streets, is the church of Constantine, called the Martyrium. It was built by the Emperor Constantine, in a royal and magnificent manner, because the Cross of our Lord was said to have been found there by his mother Helena.

From the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book V, Chapter 16

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, who in the passion of thy blessed Son hast made an instrument of painful death to be for us the means of life and peace: grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer for his sake; 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:

No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:13-17, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition 

The Post Communion:

O faithful God, whose Son bore our sins in his body on the tree and gave us this sacrament to show forth his death until he comes: give us grace to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life and our hope, who reigneth as Lord, now and for ever.

Amen.

Common Worship 

An Excerpt from 'The Dream of the Rood' (the Earliest Christan Poem in English), on the Feast of the Holy Cross:

The Rood (cross of Christ) speaks:

It was long past – I still remember it – that I was cut down at the copse’s end, moved from my root. Strong enemies there took me, told me to hold aloft their criminals, made me a spectacle. Men carried me upon their shoulders, set me on a hill, a host of enemies there fastened me.

Anglo-Saxon, 8th Century, Translated by Richard Hammer (1970)

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

September 2026: Durham Dales 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)

A Reading for Creationtide 2026 - Living Water:

Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.

On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.’

Ezekiel 47:9, 12, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition 

A Prayer for All who Work on the Water, for Creationtide:

All-powerful God, creator of heaven and earth,

We pray:
For all who work at sea;
For all those who give service to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, and its work;
For Naval Chaplains, and Mission to Seafarers Chaplains;
For those sailing under flags of convenience;
For those working at the Ports of Seaham, Sunderland, Tyne, Blyth and Teesport, and for those who work on the DFDS passenger ferries;
For those labouring to bring us food: those whose work is in the fishing industry;
For those drilling for oil and natural gas;
For all divers.

We remember that all these face difficulty and danger.
We give thanks for their knowledge of the sea, their courage on putting out into the deep, their patience and their skill.

We pray:
For all those who cause pollution or environmental or ecological damage through negligence, carelessness, greed or accident, remembering that as we benefit from their harvest, so we share the responsibility for its side-effects.
For those anxious about over-fishing and those trying to protect whales and dolphins;
For those who have lost their boats or their jobs because of problems in the fishing and shipbuilding industries;
For those whose hobby is angling, sailing or boating.

We give thanks:
For the work of the Environment Agency and the Canal & River Trust;
For the beauty of our waterways and coasts;
For time for recreation.

We pray for those without clean water or with no water supply at all.
We remember the women whose back-breaking task it is to fetch water.
We pray for those facing drought, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
We pray for those whose homes or work places or fields have been destroyed by floods.
We remember the poverty that forces people to live on marginal land.
We pray for those who are sick or dying because of dirty water.

We give thanks for those who work in the water industry, who deal with sewage, who supply us with clean water - the technicians, engineers, pipelayers, and those who work for Northumbrian Water.

We give thanks for those who monitor the cleanliness of our beaches.
We remember all those who have died at sea.
We remember our own death and resurrection in the waters of baptism.

Amen.

Adapted from a prayer featured in 'Work in Worship', written by Cameron Butland, edited and compiled by the Reverend David Welbourn, published by Hodder & Stoughton Religious, 1985