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, 23rd May 2026 - Ascensiontide: The Eve of Pentecost (The Eve of Whitsun)

Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Alleluia. 

Gospel Acclamation, Ascension to Pentecost - Common Worship 

A Passage of Scripture from Today's Common Worship Morning Prayer:

The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.’ But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Luke 9:12-17, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition 

The Collect of the Day:

O God the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven: we beseech thee, leave us not comfortless, but send to us thine Holy Spirit to comfort us and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before; 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 Affected by the Current Outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):

God of all hope,

we cry to you for all who wrestle with Ebola.

Grant we pray,

Your healing to the sick,

Your peace to the fearful,

Your welcome to the dying and

Your comfort to those living with loss.

And, merciful Father,

bless those many loving hands

That bravely offer care and hope.

God of healing, whose Son healed those who were brought to him,

Hear our prayer for the peoples of DR Congo suffering from the Ebola outbreak.

Inspire and enable your church to be a source of healing, comfort and hope to those affected,

and an agent for the education and equipping of communities to stop the spread of this disease.

For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

The Anglican Alliance

A Prayer for Ascensiontide:

We praise you and we bless you, our risen Lord Jesus, King of glory, for in your ascension you are crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. As we worship you on your heavenly throne, prepare our hearts for the coming of your Spirit. To you, Lord Jesus, who will come back in the same way you went up into heaven, be honour and glory, now and for ever.

Amen.

Seventeenth Station (XVII), The Ascension - Stations of the Resurrection (The Way of Light, Via Lucis), Common Worship 

A Poem for the Eve of Pentecost:

Whitsun Eve

THE WHITE dove cooeth in her downy nest,

Keeping her young ones warm beneath her breast;

The white moon saileth through the cool clear sky,

Screened by a tender mist in passing by;

The white rose buds, with thorns upon its stem,

All the more precious and more dear for them;

The stream shines silver in the tufted grass,

The white clouds scarcely dim it as they pass;

Deep in the valleys lily-cups are white,

They send up incense all the holy night.

Our souls are white, made clean in Blood once shed;

White blessed angels watch around our bed:

O spotless Lamb of God, still keep us so,

Thou who wert born for us in time of snow.

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894)

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

May 2026 - Gateshead and Gateshead West Deaneries

A Prayer of St 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