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.

Thursday, 24th September 2026 - Ordinary Time (Creationtide)

The Collect of the Day:

O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; 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 

Verses from the First Reading Appointed for Today's Morning Prayer:

As Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him; Obadiah recognized him, fell on his face, and said, ‘Is it you, my lord Elijah?’ He answered him, ‘It is I. Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here.’ And he said, ‘How have I sinned, that you would hand your servant over to Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, “He is not here”, he would require an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. But now you say, “Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here.” As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the Lord from my youth. Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water? Yet now you say, “Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here”; he will surely kill me.’ Elijah said, ‘As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.’ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

1 Kings 18:7-16, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition 

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

September 2026: Durham Dales Deanery

A Prayer of St Oswald of Northumbria:

Let us all kneel, and together beseech the true and living God Almighty in his mercy to defend us from the proud and cruel enemy; for he knows that we have undertaken a just war for the safety of our nation.

Amen. 

(Prayed by King Oswald of Northumbria and his army on the battlefield on the eve of the Battle of Heavenfield)

A Reading for Creationtide 2026 - Living Water:

Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.

On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.’

Ezekiel 47:9, 12, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition 

A Prayer for Creationtide 2026 Inspired by St Hildegard of Bingen:

A Prayer for Living Water

God of living water,
source of all life,
you breathe your Spirit into creation
and the earth becomes green with life.
You make the rivers flow,
the seeds germinate,
the trees bear fruit,
and the earth renew itself.
As Hildegard saw,
your life-giving power is within all that lives.
Where there is dryness, bring water.
Where there is barrenness, bring new life.
Where there is sickness, bring healing.
Where there is despair, bring hope.
We pray for the waters of our world:
for rivers polluted and seas rising,
for communities without safe water,
for creatures whose habitats are disappearing,
and for all who suffer because creation is wounded.
And we pray for the Holy Land.
Let your living water flow
where there is war and violence,
where homes have been destroyed,
where families have been divided,
where children live with fear
and where hope has been crushed.
Protect the children of Palestine and Israel.
Hold those who grieve.
Heal those who are wounded in body and spirit.
Give courage to those who work for peace.
Turn our hearts away from violence
and towards the flourishing of life.
May your Spirit make us green again –
alive with compassion,
alive with courage,
alive with justice,
alive with peace.
God of all creation,
make us part of the river of your healing. 

Amen.

Pilgrim Uniting Church, Adelaide (the Uniting Church in Australia)