Sunday 14th September, Holy Cross Day11:00am Parish Eucharist6pm EvensongWednesday 10am Morning PrayerSunday 21st September, St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist11:00am Parish Eucharist6pm EvensongPlease see the Calendar of services attached.PARISH FINANCES: The PCC must decide how much to give to the diocese in 2026 for Parish Share, and is proposing reducing this from £40,000 given in 2025 to £30,000 for 2026. Please read the separate email St. Oswald’s Finances which more fully explains our financial situation.In memory of Ed and Heather Almond: Fiona and Graeme are doing the MacMillan Mighty Hike in Northumberland on 13th September 2025, raising funds for MacMillan, please sponsor them. https://www.justgiving.com/page/fiona-almond-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=WAHarvest Thanksgiving will take place on Sunday 28th September, with the Harvest Tea at 4pm at the Institute. Do join in this always enjoyable occasion. The school harvest service in Church will take place on Thursday 2nd October.Parish magazine: There are still just a few copies of the current issue on sale at the back of church (£2 each). The next issue is already threatening to be very full! Any remaining articles should come to Stevie or Sarah asap please, and certainly before the copy deadline of 21st September.Durham Churches Together: Peace with Creation: Season of Creation 2025, please see the attached notice of a service and course on this theme.A Northern Requiem: For the Miners at Durham cathedral on 20th September is explained:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6apP6PkIvACoffee Morning at St. Helen’s Kelloe: The Mayor’s coffee morning will take place on Saturday 4th October at St Helen’s, proceeds to St. Cuthbert’s Hospice.Foodbank – Weekly message from Lynda Delf : On Sunday 7th Steve collected food from Church and a donation from a Parishioner, I was not at the foodbank this week. I will let you know the totals next week, many thanks for your continuing support. We are in need of tinned rice pudding, fruit, meat, fish, potatoes, vegetables, spaghetti hoops, also biscuits, coffee, sugar, jam, and kettle food such as noodles and instant soup. We always need household cleaning materials, longlife milk and fruit juice.Many thanks for all you do to help local people who use our foodbanks.Amongst the sick please pray for Angie Robley. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Andrew Perry RIP; and for his family and brother David, and sister Gillian.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.
