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.

Friday, 27th March 2026 - Passiontide

Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:12-16, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition

The Collect of the Day:

Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ hast delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory; 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 Prayer for All who are Suffering Oppression Throughout the World:

Judge eternal, bringer of justice, hear the cry
of those who suffer under the lash of heartless political oppression; those who languish in prisons and labour camps, untried or falsely condemned; those whose bodies are shattered, or whose minds are unhinged by torture or deprivation. Meet them in their anguish and despair, and kindle in them the light of hope, that they may find rest in your love, healing in your compassion and faith in your mercy. In the name of him who suffered, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Reverend Canon Michael Saward 1932-2015, Jubilate (The Song and Hymn Writers Foundation CIO)

A Poem for Passiontide:

Messiah

Anoint the wounds
of my spirit
with the balm
of forgiveness.
Pour the oil
of your calm
upon the waters
of my heart

Take the squeal
of frustration
from the wheels of my passion
that the power
of your tenderness
may smooth
the way I love

That the tedium
of giving
in the risk of surrender
and the reaching
out naked
to a world
that must wound

may be kindled fresh daily
in a blaze of compassion
– that the grain may fall gladly
to burst in the ground
– and the harvest abound.

Father Ralph Wright (1938), Benedictine Monk at St Louis Abbey, Missouri, USA

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Monthly Deanery Intention - March 2026:

Lanchester 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)