Sunday 17th November The Second Sunday before Advent11:00am Parish Eucharist, followed by drinks celebrating Richard and Jane’s marriage, at the Institute.6pm Choral Evensong &Drinks. Preacher: Lloyd Brown,Curate at Pennywell, and a former Oswald’s student.Sunday 24th November Christ the King11:00am Parish Eucharist6pm EvensongMid-week service: Wednesday 10am Holy Communion.Please see David's Music Notes for November Please see the Calendar for the services in Advent and Christmas.Foodbank – Weekly message from Lynda Delf: On 10th November 46kg of food was collected in Church, much of this was donated by the school, I have thanked them separately. This generous donation will provide 58 meals for those people who need to use our local foodbanks, many thanks for your continuing support and kindness.This week we still need squash, biscuits, tea, sugar, jam and rice; we also need tins of fish, fruit, rice pudding and spaghetti hoops. We always need long-life milk and fruit juice as well as household cleaning materials and toilet rolls.We are also collecting festive food to provide Christmas hampers for everyone who has needed support this year from our foodbanks. The annual Tesco collection is at the end of the month, there is still time to volunteer 2 hours of your time to help in store. Many thanks for all you do to support people using our foodbanks.Evensong, every Sunday 6pm. Parish magazine : Please note that all contributions for the next issue should reach Stevie Taylor or Sarah Knight by Sunday 24th November.Advent Appeal: As a result of the request posted in the weekly notice sheet, the Outreach Committee received three good nominations for its Advent appeal, all concerned in one way or another with the terrible suffering being inflicted on civilians in the Near East. Out of these, the committee selected the Disaster Emergency Committee Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.The DAC is a committee with 15 member charities. The funds raised by its Middle East appeal will be mainly spent in aid to Gaza and Lebanon, but with some spent in the surrounding region including the West Bank. The UK Government has undertaken to match donations received by the Committee up to ten million pounds. This is a different Gaza charity to the one we supported last year.Concerts: There is a big list of concerts coming up at Church this term. Do come to one or more of these concerts, they are always very enjoyable occasions.November15th.....DU Brass Band 7:30PMDecember3rd Dunelm Consort & Players 7:30PM 4th DU Palatinate Orchestra 7:30PM6th DU Gospel Choir Michaelmas Showcase 7-10PM7th DU Orchestral Society 7:30PM10th Footnotes Acapella Choir TBC11th Grey College Carol Service13th DUCE (details to follow) TBC14th Northern Spirit Singers 7:30PMAppointment of a bishop of Durham: On Tuesday 26 November, the process to appoint a new Bishop will reach its climax and we will gather in the Feretory at the Shrine of St Cuthbert to pray for 24 hours for the movement of the Holy Spirit and for discernment, for those who will help to make the appointment and for those who will be considered as the potential new Bishop of Durham. Please join us at any time during the day or night from Morning Prayer at 8.30 a.m. until Morning Prayer on Wednesday 27 November. Between 8.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., you can arrive via the usual public entrances. After hours, please aim to arrive on the hour or half past the hour. After 6.30 p.m., you will need to arrive via the College (the cathedral close on the south side) and report to the Porters Lodge. After 10.30 p.m., the College Gate will be closed and you will need to knock on the porters window (on the right of the red gate) to gain admittance. Out of hours, there will be a second porter to show you into the Cathedral. Do consider joining us when you can. And please share this with your people. The Reverend Canon Michael HampelVice-Dean & PrecentorPlease pray for the repose of the soul of Keith Lodge RIP. Keith is Alison Shambrook’s brother, he died this week after a sudden and short illness. Keith visited Alison from his home in the United States just three weeks ago, and enjoyed a Sunday Eucharist with us here at St. Oswald’s. Alison messaged me to say that Keith had 100% integrity, a ready wit, warmth, loyalty, thoughtfulness, great love of family. What a brother he was.With All Good Wishes and Prayers, Peter
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.
