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.
The latest editions of the weekly news-sheet and music notes are in the 'News' tab, and please ask if you'd like to join the mailing list. Here are links to bell ringing and
choir and concert info. We have a strong connection with
St Oswald's Primary and Nursery School, and with our neighbouring parishes within The Benefice of the Three Saints—
St Mary's (Shincliffe),
St Mary's (Coxhoe) and
St Helen's (Kelloe).
Monday, 25th May 2026 - Whitsuntide: The Venerable Bede, Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian, 735 [Lesser Festival]; St Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, 709 [Commemoration]
Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.’
Luke 9:23-27, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty God, maker of all things, whose Son Jesus Christ gave to thy servant Bede grace to drink in with joy the word which leadeth us to know thee and to love thee: in thy goodness grant that we also may come at length to thee, the source of all wisdom, and stand before thy face; 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
A Prayer of the Venerable Bede:
Open Wide the Door of my Heart
Lord God almighty,
open wide the door of my heart
and illumine it with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
that I may seek what is pleasing to your will.
Guide my thoughts and my heart,
and lead my life in the way of your commandments,
that I may always seek to fulfill them,
and that I may grasp the eternal joys of the heavenly life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Venerable Bede (672–735)
A Sonnet for the Venerable Bede:
I kneel above your bones and read your words.
Church-Latin letters, shimmering in gold,
A kingdom-glimmer through the dark and cold,
A revelation gleaming on the shards
Of all our broken lives and promises.
Christus est stella matutina
Qui nocte saeculi transacta
Christ is the morning star. He promises
The light of life when this dark night is past…
Lucem vitae sanctis promittit
You speak for all his Wounded witnesses,
The morning star will shine on us at last.
Scholar and saint, illuminate the way
That opens into everlasting day.
The Reverend Dr A Malcolm Guite, The Singing Bowl, Canterbury Press
The St Aldhelm Prayer:
God of mission,
You called Aldhelm to sing of your love; May our hearts dance with joy,
Our lives tell your story
And our wills be stirred
To walk with your people on the Way,
Till we come to the feast of your Kingdom;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bybrook Benefice (The Diocese of Bristol)
A Prayer for all who are Affected by the Current Outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
God of all hope,
we cry to you for all who wrestle with Ebola.
Grant we pray,
Your healing to the sick,
Your peace to the fearful,
Your welcome to the dying and
Your comfort to those living with loss.
And, merciful Father,
bless those many loving hands
That bravely offer care and hope.
God of healing, whose Son healed those who were brought to him,
Hear our prayer for the peoples of DR Congo suffering from the Ebola outbreak.
Inspire and enable your church to be a source of healing, comfort and hope to those affected,
and an agent for the education and equipping of communities to stop the spread of this disease.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
The Anglican Alliance
Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:
May 2026 - Gateshead and Gateshead West Deaneries
A Prayer of St Oswald of Northumbria:
Let us together implore the living and true and almighty God in his mercy to defend us against the pride and fierceness of our enemy; for that God knows our cause is just, and that we fight for the salvation of our nation.
Amen.
Prayed by King Oswald with his Army on the Battlefield on the Eve of the Battle of Heavenfield, AD634
St Oswald's, Durham Charity No. 1196296
