St Oswald's joined with other Rugby churches at the beautiful Caldecott Park on Sunday 5th July - in the culmination of the Love Rugby Festival 2026. The sun shone the entire time adding to the wonderful atmosphere. As well as the praise and worship, there were opportunities to listen to inspirational talks, testimonies and the magnificent choir. A prayer tent was available too.Lots of fun activities and outdoor games were available for all the family to participate in. St Oswald's provided a Craft Corner with lots of craft activities enjoyed equally by both children and their parents/carers! They took home bags of delightful creations all with a theme of God's love. The Mayor of Rugby stopped by the Craft Corner and took the time to decorate and assemble one of the doves of peace & hope. She later put on Facebook " The peace dove now has pride of place in the Mayor's parlour a small reminder of hope for mankind."
As part of our care for creation, we have developed a nature trail.The trail can be downloaded from https://www.smso.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Nature-trail-1.pdf Our care for creation also includesRegular prayer and worship for God’s creation and our stewardship of the EarthWe are a Fair Trade Church and use eco-friendly products whenever possibleEncouraging re-use, recycling, repair and refurbishing in all aspects of our church and community lifeSupporting local flora and fauna through bird and hedgehog boxes, butterfly and bee feeding stations and planting bee-friendly plantsEngaging all ages of the church community in prayer walks, cycle rides and litter picksEncouraging engagement with nature through participation in initiatives such as the Great British Garden Bird Watch and the Big Butterfly CountWorking with other churches and local environmental groups to promote our care for God’s creation.
At our Morning Worship Service on Sunday 19th April (with tissues at the ready), we said a heartfelt thank you and goodbye to Alan and Jane Hulme who are retiring. After 6.5 years with us here, they will be sorely missed. As the Church Wardens said on behalf of the congregation, Alan and Jane have clearly and humbly shown us how to be Jesus Centred, God Dependant, Missionary Disciples and we have been personally enriched by their ministry.We had an incredibly generous response to the collection which we were able to present to them alongside a beautiful wooden plaque. We wish them a blessed and restful start to their retirement.
We have just become the second church in this diocese and the 108th nationally to be awarded anA Rocha Gold Eco Church Award.Our main buildings are operating at carbon zero thanks to our heat pumps, but the external auditors also assessed us under the categories of our:Worship and teachingBuildings and energyLand and natureCommunity and global engagementLifestyle.“You put us in charge of your handcrafted world.” Psalm 8:6The citation from A Rocha included the following: 'This is a really impressive church, where the care of creation is thoroughly embedded in all aspects of church life. It is clear that much has changed even since their application was submitted, as the eco team continues to challenge itself to continue their journey.' The reports and presentations can be viewed at www.smso.org.uk/eco-church. You may be surprised to read how much has happened.
