The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu drew a year of celebrations at St Oswald’s Church, Fulford to a close by leading its final 150th birthday service on Pentecost, Sunday 4th June 2017 at 10am. The service was followed by a community lunch in the Church Hall, for which the Archbishop also stayed.

St Oswald’s has celebrated the 150th anniversary of its present building over a year beginning in 2016 with the Feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated as the beginning of the whole Christian Church. Kicking off the Celebrations in May 2016, Archdeacon Sarah Bullock led a service of celebration, blowing out candles on a birthday cake and since then 12 guests speakers have followed suit each month (with a new cake each time, of course); among these have been past clergy and charity leaders who have been blessed by the work of the St Oswald’s community.

Over the course of the year there have been 18 successful community events ranging from flower festivals, Christmas tree festivals and Christingle services, not forgetting to mark another significant birthday for the Queen. There have also been a number of History Walks between the current church and the original building on St Oswald’s road in Fulford, which dates back to 1150.


A 150th birthday party is a great occasion for a church and I thoroughly enjoyed it – but remember we’re celebrating over 850 years of faith in Fulford! Oswald was one of the heroes of the early Church in the North East together with St Aidan, and I pray that St Oswald’s will continue to do as they did, spreading the faith through teaching and supporting people in need.

Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu

Vicar of Fulford the Revd Terence McDonough said ‘it’s been a good year and it’s been exciting to engage with the wider community.’

Next, it is time to look towards the future. This includes the launch of the 150+ Project which will seeking to develop the facilities and mission of the church and setting a vision for what St Oswald’s will be for the next 150 years.