About Us

Welcome to St Oswald's, an Anglican church in the centre of the beautiful cathedral and university city of Durham. We seek to be a place of encounter with Christ, and of help to grow in faith in an active and reflective Christian community of all ages.

Our style of worship is quite traditional, with an emphasis on the help music can provide. We have a fine organ and excellent church choir which welcomes new recruits, and each academic year we offer four choral scholarships and an organ scholarship. We also have a very enthusiastic team of bell ringers. 

Close ecumenical contacts and shared activities with the other churches in the Elvet area of the city are an important part of our parish life, as is our mission to the large student community in the parish. The church is usually open in daytime Mondays–Fridays to visit, pray or just enjoy the peace. Community is at the heart of church life, and a lively programme of social events runs throughout the year.

Responsible stewardship of God's earth is a particular concern, and our leafy churchyard is managed as a wildflower meadow and haven for birds and other wildlife, a tranquil oasis in the city centre.

Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.