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.

Friday, 4th September 2026 - Ordinary Time (Creationtide): The Feast of St Birinus, Bishop of Dorchester (Oxon), Apostle of Wessex, 650 [Commemoration]

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, who hast called thy Church to witness that thou wast in Christ reconciling the world to thyself: help us so to proclaim the good news of thy love that all who hear it may be drawn unto thee; through him who was lifted up on the cross, and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Common Worship 

The First Reading Appointed for Today's Morning Prayer:

Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man whom God exalted,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the favourite of the Strong One of Israel:

The spirit of the Lord speaks through me,
his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

Is not my house like this with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
Will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?
But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away;
for they cannot be picked up with the hand;
to touch them one uses an iron bar
or the shaft of a spear.
And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

2 Samuel 23.1-7, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition 

A Prayer for All who are Affected by the Flash Flood Disaster in Nepal and Tibet:

We are praying for all those affected by the devastating flash floods in Nepal and Tibet.

We pray for those who are grieving, and for those who are still waiting for news of their missing loved ones. We pray for the emergency workers in the region, operating in immensely difficult conditions to rescue people and bring relief. We also pray for those who are injured, and for the doctors and nurses working tirelessly to bring healing and rebuild lives. Into the hands of our loving God, and in the name of Jesus Christ, we place all those who watch, wait and weep.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Amen. 

Christ Episcopal Church, Columbia (Diocese of Maryland), USA

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 Piece of Prose for the Feast of St Birinus:

At the same time also a certain bishop named Birinus came from the city of Rome to the King of the West Saxons, named Cynegils, who was still a heathen, as was all the land of the West Saxons. Birinus indeed travelled from Rome by the direction of the Pope who was then in Rome, and promised that he would fulfill the will of God and preach the Saviour's name to the heathen and the true faith in distant lands. Then he came to Wessex, which was then still heathen, and converted the king Cynegils to God, and all his people to the faith with him. It happened then that the faithful Oswald, King of Northumbria, came to Cynegils and accepted him in baptism, rejoicing in his conversion. Then the kings Cynegils and Oswald gave holy Birinus the town of Dorchester, and he lived there, exalting the praise of God and truly guiding that people in the faith for a long time by his teaching, until he in blessedness journeyed to Christ. And his body was buried in the same town, until Bishop Hædde later took his bones to Winchester, and placed them with honour in the Old Minster, where they are still venerated.

Lives of the Saints, Life of St Oswald by Ælfric of Eynsham