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.

Sunday, 28th June 2026 - Ordinary Time (Petertide): The Fourth Sunday after Trinity; The Eve of the Feast of St Peter and St Paul

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified thee in their death as in their life: grant that thy Church, inspired by their teaching and example, and made one by thy Spirit, may ever stand firm on the one foundation which is thy Son, Jesus Christ 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 Passage of Scripture from Today's Principal Service:

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:20-end, New Revised Standard Version - Anglicized Edition

We pray for all in our Diocese who were ordained into the Diaconate this morning at Durham Cathedral:

The Collect for the Ordering of Deacons

Almighty God, giver of all good things, who of thy great goodness hast vouchsafed to accept and take these thy servants unto the office of Deacons in thy Church: Make them, we beseech thee, O Lord, to be modest, humble, and constant in their ministration; to have a ready will to observe all spiritual discipline; that they having always the testimony of a good conscience, and continuing ever stable and strong in thy Son Christ, may so well behave themselves in this inferior office, that they may be found worthy to be called unto the higher ministries in thy Church; through the same thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and honour world without end. 

Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer 

We also pray for and congratulate all in our Diocese who were ordained into the Priesthood yesterday afternoon at Durham Cathedral, especially Helen Miller who was previously an ordinand at St Oswald's and will continue to serve her curacy at St Nics. 

We also pray for and congratulate our friend Neville Griffiths at St Oswald's on the 60th anniversary of his ordination.

A Prayer for all Clergy who Serve in our Diocese this Petertide:

A Prayer for the Clergy and People

Almighty and everlasting God, who alone workest great marvels, send down upon our bishops and curates, and all congregations committed to their charge, the healthful spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer 

A Sonnet for Petertide:

St Peter

Impulsive master of misunderstanding

You comfort me with all your big mistakes;

Jumping the ship before you make the landing,

Placing the bet before you know the stakes.

I love the way you step out without knowing,

The way you sometimes speak before you think,

The way your broken faith is always growing,

The way he holds you even when you sink.

Born to a world that always tried to shame you,

Your shaky ego vulnerable to shame,

I love the way that Jesus chose to name you,

Before you knew how to deserve that name.

And in the end your Saviour let you prove

That each denial is undone by love.

From Sounding the Seasons by the Reverend Dr A Malcolm Guite, Canterbury Press Norwich 

A Prayer for All Affected by the Earthquake in Venuzuela:

When the earth trembles and homes fall to dust, hold our hearts, God.

When the aftershocks come and fear takes hold, hold our hearts, God.

When grief shakes families to the core, hold our hearts, God.

Send our hands and feet to help however we can.

Our sisters and brothers in Venezuela live this now.

God of love and mercy, may we match your love in the way we respond - now.

Amen.

Christian Aid 

A Prayer for Unity in Diversity:

Almighty God, through your Holy Spirit you created unity in the midst of diversity;
We acknowledge that human diversity is an expression of your manifold love for your creation;
We confess that in our brokenness as human beings we turn diversity into a source of alienation, injustice, oppression, and wounding.
Empower us to recognize and celebrate differences as your great gift to the human family.
Enable us to be the architects of understanding, of respect and love;
Through the Lord, the ground of all unity, we pray.

Amen.

Author Unknown 

Durham Diocesan Prayer Cycle Deanery Intention for the Month:

June 2026 - Jarrow Deanery

A Prayer of St Oswald of Northumbria:

Let us kneel together, and pray the true, the ever living and almighty God to protect us in his mercy from the arrogant savagery of our enemies, for he knows that we fight in a just cause for the preservation of our nation.

Amen. 

Saints of the North 

(Prayed by King Oswald with his Army on the Battlefield on the Eve of the Battle of Heavenfield, AD634)