In the church calendar today (16^th July), we remember Osmund who became Bishop of Salisbury in 1078. He oversaw the building of the earlier cathedral at Old Sarum in 1092 which no longer survives above ground, but it was the predecessor of the present Salisbury Cathedral.

Osmund is best known for helping develop and standardise the pattern of worship used at Old Sarum, which later spread across much of medieval England and influenced later Anglican worship. He organised the cathedral clergy into a structured community and produced liturgical rules and service books that later became known as the Sarum Rite or Sarum Use.

Even people who have never heard his name are still touched indirectly by traditions of worship, cathedral music, church organisation, and liturgical structure that developed from his work. We never know the legacy we may have when we faithfully serve the Lord with all our heart. As St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:58 ‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’