Being a Christian
People become Christians through opening their heart to God and then by belonging to God’s family, the Church. We become members of the worldwide Church through our Baptism where we receive grace from God to become his adopted sons and daughters and inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Being a Christian doesn’t stop with Baptism. We live out our faith in our daily lives. We can do this by:
Worship
Mass is held every Sunday and at other times during the week. By attending Mass, we are making time to praise God for his greatness and give thanks to him for his goodness despite our sins.
Prayer
Praying is one of the ways we show our trust in God and our faith that he will always be with us. It invites God in and allows him to transform us.
Our Lives
When we were baptised, we were baptised into new life with Jesus, a life that is characterised by LOVE – love of God, of friends and family and of our neighbours. We consider therefore how we can live our lives to reflect the love that God showed us by giving his Son.
Coming with hope, doubts, questions or grief.
Whether you’ve come to church your whole life,
you’re returning to church after a time away, or you’ve never been before.
You are welcome here.
What can I expect?
Setting foot into a new place can be daunting especially if you don’t know what to expect. As you walk through the doors of St Oswald’s, you will be greeted by a friendly smile by one of our welcoming team who will hand you a mass booklet and direct you where to go. They are there to help, so please feel free to ask questions.
Our Sunday morning services are just over an hour long. and are followed by tea, coffee and biscuits in the church hall, which you are most welcome to join. If you can’t, do introduce yourself to Fr Edward, the Parish Priest, who will be very pleased to meet you.
Try coming to church for a few weeks and see for yourself what it is like. You will find a warm and welcoming community and it will not take long for you to feel at home at St Oswald’s. We’d love to see you!
As Anglo-Catholics, we are rooted firmly in the Catholic Tradition of the Church of England. We see the Eucharist at the heart of our worship, which is very similar to that of the wider Catholic Church. The words and prayers in our liturgy are the same, and the use of bells and incense creates a more profound and enhanced experience of worship.
By singing hymns, we are able to connect emotionally through the stories or prayers that lie in their text. The Homily (sermon) from the priest encourages us to reflect on the scripture readings that we listen to and helps us to live out what we have heard in our lives.
The Wednesday Mass (9:30am) is said, offering a quiet space in the middle of our busy week.