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.

Thursday, 2nd April 2026 - Passiontide: Maundy Thursday

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty and everlasting God, who of thy tender love towards the world hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross: grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; 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 Sonnet for Maundy Thursday:

Maundy Thursday

Here is the source of every sacrament, 

The all-transforming presence of the Lord,

Replenishing our every element,

Remaking us in his creative Word.

For here the earth herself gives bread and wine,

The air delights to bear his Spirit’s speech,

The fire dances where the candles shine,

The waters cleanse us with his gentle touch.

And here he shows the full extent of love

To us whose love is always incomplete,

In vain we search the heavens high above,

The God of love is kneeling at our feet.

Though we betray him, though it is the night,

He meets us here and loves us into light.

Malcolm Guite

A Prayer for the Persecuted Church:

Lord Jesus, today we think of all those who, like you, have been handed over to their enemies. We think of Christian girls forced into marriage against their will; of wives or husbands betrayed to the authorities by their spouses; of children handed over by their parents. We think of churches who meet in secret, and who often cannot be sure who they can trust, or whether they have spies in their midst. Lord, may they remain strong in their faith; may they have wisdom in knowing what to share, and courage not to give into fear. And may those who betray them see in their lives your forgiveness and hope. 

Amen.

Open Doors UK & Ireland

A Sonnet for Passiontide and Holy Week:

Crucifying

By miracles exceeding power of man,

He faith in some, envy in some begat,

For, what weake spirits admire, ambitious hate:

In both affections many to him ran,

But Oh! the worst are most, they will and can,

Alas, and do, unto the immaculate,

Whose creature Fate is, now prescribe a Fate,

Measuring selfe-life's infinity to a span,

Nay to an inch. Loe, where condemned he

Bears his own cross, with pain, yet by and by

When it bears him, he must bear more and die;

Now thou art lifted up, draw me to thee,

And at thy death giving such liberal dole,

Moist, with one drop of thy blood, my dry soule. 

John Donne 

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

April 2026 - Chester-le-Street and Houghton Deanery

The Prayer of King 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)