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.

Saturday, 4th April 2026 - Passiontide: Holy Saturday; Easter Even

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. 

John 19:38-42 New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition

The Collect of the Day:

Grant, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him; and that through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection ; for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rose again for us, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer (1662)

A Sonnet for Holy Saturday:

Station XIV: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

Here at the centre everything is still
Before the stir and movement of our grief
Which bears its pain with rhythm, ritual,
Beautiful useless gestures of relief.
So they anoint the skin that cannot feel
Soothing his ruined flesh with tender care,
Kissing the wounds they know they cannot heal,
With incense scenting only empty air.
He blesses every love that weeps and grieves
And makes our grief the pangs of a new birth.
The love that’s poured in silence at old graves
Renewing flowers, tending the bare earth,
Is never lost. In him all love is found
And sown with him, a seed in the rich ground.

Malcolm Guite

Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year, Canterbury Press (2012)

A Prayer for All who are Experiencing Loneliness:

Dear God, we bring to you all who are lonely.

Comfort those who grieve. Reassure those who feel emptiness and loss from the death of a family member or friend. Remind them of your promise that you are with them always until the end of the world. 

We name those who have lost their life partner. Wrap your arms of love around the widowed and grant them knowledge of your loving presence. 

Console the isolated. May your Spirit prompt those who feel cut off from the support of others to turn to you in prayer and to meditate on your word.

Bless those who are poor in spirit and let them know that theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Help us be a friend to the lonely, a welcoming presence to the downhearted and a generous host to those looking for your love.

And as we feel lonely, help us learn more about ourselves and accept ourselves as you have made us. We bring these petitions to you, loving Trinity, three persons in a loving embrace.

Amen.

Tania Nelson 

The Lutheran Church of Australia 

A Hymn for Holy Saturday:

Dark is the Night, and Friends Lie Sleeping Still

1 Dark is the night, and friends lie sleeping still,
and cold, Gethsemane, with dread and tears;
lanterns and swords no radiance, no defence,
bring to our Lord as pallid dawn appears.

2 Dark is the day, the temple veil is torn,
and friends are hiding from his death and loss;
two thieves his love unfailing came to know,
the first-fruits of salvation by his cross.

3 Dark is the tomb, and friends stoop low to find
if death has won indeed, or risen he;
and we through doubting and despair with them
prepare in faith his wondrous face to see.

Paul Wigmore (b. 1925)

Sing Praise: Hymns and songs for Refreshing Worship, Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd and the Royal School of Church Music (2010) #69

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

April 2026 - Chester-le-Street and Houghton 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)