Sunday 13th April, Palm Sunday11:00am Parish Communion6pm EvensongThe asterisked services below are services transferred from the Cathedral, and taking place at St Oswald’s, due to the King’s visit to the Cathedral for the Maundy Ceremonies.Holy Tuesday 9:30am Holy Communion at St. Mary’s Coxhoe6pm Contemplative Prayer at St. Mary’s ShincliffeHoly Wednesday 10am Holy Communion12:30pm Holy Eucharist*7:30pm Said Compline with Address*The Triduum 2025, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday.Please attend and take part in all the services for the great days of our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.Maundy Thursday 8:30am Morning Prayer*12:30pm Holy Eucharist*6pm Eucharist, Stripping of the Altars, and WatchGood Friday 10:30am Stations for children and adults at Shincliffe2pm Liturgy of the Day and Sung PassionHoly Saturday 8pm Vigil, And Service of Light.Sunday 20th April, Easter Sunday11am Parish EucharistNo evening serviceEaster Wednesday 10am Morning PrayerSunday 27th April, The Second Sunday of Easter11am Parish EucharistNo evening servicePlease see David’s Music Notes for Holy Week and Easter attached.Please see the Calendar of services attached.Mid-week service: Wednesday 10am Holy CommunionThe popular coffee afternoons at the Institute are on the second Tuesday of the month, at 2pm.St Oswald’s local outreach campaign for Lent and Easter will be to support Durham’s St Cuthbert’s hospice, which is in serious need of financial support and has recently had to cut 18% of its workforce. For more information, including how to make a contribution¸ please see the Outreach information board inside the church’s south door. Bob Layton and the Outreach Committee.Electoral Roll: This year a new Electoral roll must be made. Please fill in an Application Form to join the new Roll. The form is also attached, please return your completed application to the Electoral Roll Officer, Sue Pitts. Email address suejpitts@yahoo.co.uk or to the parish office.Annual Meeting: The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place on Sunday 18th May after the Parish Communion. The annual meeting is the main chance for the PCC to report to the whole congregation on its activities during the year. Reports are made on Finances and Accounts, and all the activities of the parish. Please put this date in your diary.Foodbank – Weekly message from Lynda Delf : On 6th April £50 and 3 kg of food was donated in Church, a Parishioner gave 12kg of food and £10, additionally someone posted £20 through our door, the food will provide meals for 18 people. The money will be used to buy more food, many thanks for your continuing generosityPeople who need to use our foodbanks need longlife fruit juice and milk, coffee, biscuits, sugar, jam, and tins of rice pudding, custard, fruit, potatoes, spaghetti hoops, meat and fish.We also need kettle food, tiolet rolls and personal and household cleaning materials.Many thanks for all you do to support our foodbanks.Confirmation: The Deanery Confirmation will take place at St. Luke’s Ferryhill at 6pm, on Saturday 7th June 2025 (The Eve of Pentecost) . At this service adults, including students, as well as children from throughout Durham Deanery will be confirmed. Please let Peter know if you would like to be confirmed at this service.Amongst the sick please pray for Andrew Perry, Angie Robley.Amongst those being ordained deacon this Petertide, please pray for Marc Voase, and for the parish of St. Margaret Ilkley, and for Helen Miller and for the parish of St. Nicholas Durham. And thank you for your part in their training for ministry whilst on placement here.‘Komm süsser Tod’, the Durham Singers’ concert for Easter 2025, will take place on Saturday 12 April at 7.30pm in the stunning venue of St Cuthbert’s Chapel, Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens, DH7 7DW. Our programme on the theme of ‘Come, sweet death’ includes music from the 16th century to the present day. Please join us in exploring different reflections on the passion narrative.Tickets (£15) are available from David Harris (Assistant Musical Director of Durham Singers), or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/durhamsingers ‘Komm süsser Tod’, a meditation on music from across the ages. The program features music on a lenten theme by J. S. Bach, Alonso Lobo, Francis Poulenc, Ethel Smyth, and contemporary American composer Caroline Shaw. The concert culminates in the northern première of The Crucifixion by Tom Edney, our music director. Based on Stainer’s seminal work, this moving interpretation of the Passion story features new hymn texts by Mother Carrie Thompson, each reflecting on the seven last words from the Cross. We are thrilled to perform with local professionals: mezzo-soprano Laura Oldfield, baritone Adam Hilton, and organist David Harris. Tickets are £15 for adults, £12 for students, and free for under-12s. They are available via www.ticketsource.co.uk/durhamsingers or on the door.With All Good Wishes and Prayers, PeterThe Reverend Peter Kashouris
There has been a bonfire every year in the churchyard for hundreds of years, and this year's bonfire took place, for once, on 5th November itself. Our usual crowd was even bigger than previously, with St. Oswald's schoolkids, students, and longstanding residents enjoying the fire, the sparklers, and the refreshments. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a lovely evening, to Roz Layton for organising everything brilliantly, to everyone who contributed toffee, biscuits and sweets, and to Giles Radford, Scout Leader extraordinaire, silhouetted in the photo, for building and superintending the magnificent fire.
Oswald, King of Northumbria 634–642ᴀᴅ, was instrumental in bringing Christianity to this region, and is celebrated on 5th August every year with a choral evensong at the cathedral in which we traditionally join to celebrate our patron saint. Generally, we meet in church for a short prequel, and then peregrinate the 715 yds. (0.65 km) across Kingsgate Bridge to the mother church, though this year for a variety of reasons we made our own ways there. Nonetheless, we were very graciously welcomed by the Dean as the 'pilgrims' from St. Oswald's, and three of our younger members made a fine job of processing His Northumbrian Majesty's banner to the high altar.The banner party is pictured here with other members of the congregation, in an image that has been watercolourised to try and rescue a truly dreadful snap.
ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏ ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛ: ᴛʀᴇᴠᴏʀ ꜱᴍɪᴛʜCongratulations to David Harris, our much-loved organist and choirmaster, who is joint winner of the 2024 Laudemus! competition with his setting of the anthem Hail, Gladdening Light! for SATB and organ. Laudemus!, an adult choir which meets annually to sing evensong in churches down in Dorset, will be singing the winning anthems at Wimborne Minster on 10th August, which by happy coincidence is also David's birthday.The Royal School of Church Music will be publishing both winning pieces, and our choir at St. Oswald's will be singing Hail, Gladdening Light! just as soon as it has been premièred.David has been Director of Music at St. Oswald's since his second year at Durham University in 2014. Before that, he was an organ scholar at Portsmouth Cathedral, and works as a performer, teacher, and church musician.
