Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Please note that the video feed will go live from around 9:50 am and will be switched off after the service.
A separate video feed of the choir is available here.

Gathering Music

Welcome

Gathering Prayer

Lord God, we come in expectation,
we come with joy at what is to come,
we come to worship and centre ourselves.
We come knowing your greatness, your eternal presence,
your abiding love, your overwhelming generosity.
We come to rest in this place and to see afresh the wonders of your being.
Lord God, we come, we come, we come.

Amen

Hymn: O little town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet, in the dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth;
for Christ is born of Mary;
and, gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming;
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy
pray to the blessèd Child,
where misery cries out to thee,
son of the mother mild;
where charity stands watching
and faith holds wide the door,
the dark night waits, the glory breaks,
and Christmas comes once more.

O holy child of Bethlehem,
descend on us, we pray;
cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.

Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)
CCL31580

Prayer of Confession

Almighty God, we have not always followed your path.

Bring us back to you, from all the diversions we have been on;
bring us back, Almighty God.
Almighty God, we have often lost focus on our Advent journey.

Bring us back to the meaning of Christmas, of loving and giving, of receiving and blessing;
bring us back, Almighty God.
With penitent hearts, we stand before you, seeking your gifts of blessing and forgiveness.

[Silence]

In all your busy-ness, among the parties and preparations, the carols and crackers,
may you hear the gentle words of God, offering you the gift of forgiveness.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Lord God, you are light in our darkness. What a blessing you are!
You are purpose in our wandering. What a blessing you are!
You are revealed in the angel’s greeting. What a blessing you are!
You are known in the acceptance of Mary. What a blessing you are!
You are felt in the care of Joseph. What a blessing you are!
You are received in the following of the shepherds. What a blessing you are!
You are given in the gifts of the magi. What a blessing you are!
You, Lord God, are a blessing today.

Amen

Lighting the Advent Candle

As we light this Advent candle, may its flame be for us a sign of blessing.
As Mary and Elizabeth greeted each other, and Mary praised God for the blessings received,
may we know God’s blessing in our lives and community,
as we offer prayers and praises in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Hebrews 10: 5–10

Read by Cheryl Montgomery

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.

⁷ Then I said, “Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll –
I have come to do your will, my God.” ’

⁸ First he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them’ – though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

NIV®

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke 1: 39–45

Read by Michael Hunting

Mary visits Elizabeth

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’

NIV®

This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.

Meditation

By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Choral response

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God the Father:
Origin and destiny of us all.

We believe in the beloved Son:
Promise of Hope; God’s laughter in the face of despair.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the sacred wind that binds us together in God’s love.

We believe in the coming of that day on this day,
when the creation will be made whole once more
and God’s peace and justice will reign on all people
and we will adore the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Amen

Prayers and Intercessions

The Peace

The Lord Jesus Christ, said:
I leave you peace, my peace I give you.
Lord, grant us your peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you,
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Hymn: Go, tell it on the mountain

Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching
o’er wandering flocks by night,
behold from out of heaven
there shone a holy light.

Go, tell it on the mountain, …

And lo, when they had seen it,
they all bowed down and prayed,
they travelled on together
to where the Babe was laid.

Go, tell it on the mountain, …

When I was a seeker,
I sought both night and day:
I asked my Lord to help me
and he showed me the way.

Go, tell it on the mountain, …

He made me a watchman
upon the city wall,
and if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.

Go, tell it on the mountain, …

Traditional
CCL31580

Holy Communion

The Thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this bread to offer,
which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God for ever.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this wine to offer,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become our spiritual drink.

Blessed be God for ever.

The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

Almighty God, good Father to us all, your face is turned towards your world.
In love you gave us Jesus your Son to rescue us from sin and death.
Your Word goes out to call us home to the city where angels sing your praise.

We join with them in heaven’s song:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

We bless the name of Jesus, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh,
whose brokenness and suffering makes love real,
who on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,
gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying,

Take, eat. This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

After supper he took the cup saying,

Drink from this, all of you, this is my blood given for you.
Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.

This is the mystery of our faith.

Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.

Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we acknowledge brokenness as a path to truth.
We long for the bread of tomorrow: eternally broken and so able to nourish.
We long for the new wine of the kingdom: continuously poured out that thirst may be quenched.

Send your Spirit on us now,
that by these gifts we may feed on Christ with opened eyes and hearts on fire.
May we and all who share this food offer ourselves to live for you
and be welcomed at your feast in heaven, where all creation worships you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours forever and ever.

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

The Communion

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.

Amen

After Communion

God of new beginnings, you draw near to us in word and sacrament to strengthen and renew us;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit, may your light so shine through us
that all may welcome your Son at his coming.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Emmanuel.

Amen

Notices

Offering Envelopes for 2022

If you would like a set of offering envelopes for next year, please get in touch with me. You can either leave a message with the Church Office or send me an email.

Janet Trimnell
steward.cccmk@gmail.com

City Centre Carol Service

12.30 pm Tuesday, 21 December 2021

Come and join us for more carol singing at the City Centre Carol Service.

Sadly, due to the high levels of contagion from the new variant of Covid-19 there will not be mulled wine and mince pies served after the service. This service will not be live-streamed, so come to Cornerstone on Tuesday if you don’t want to miss it.

To make up for the absence of mulled wine and mince pies, why not pop into the Cornerstone Café after the carols for hot drinks and cake, or even hot soup or a snack.

Advent Study Groups

Week Four: The Holy Mystery

The material we will be using is:
Unwrapping Advent: Celebrating the Wonder of Jesus’ Arrival Then and Now by Margaret Feinberg.

The Bible passages for this week’s study are: Matthew 1, John 1: 1–18, and Isaiah 9: 6. You may wish to read these as part of your preparation for your study session.

Cornerstone Café

The Cornerstone Café will be open Monday–Friday (Christmas Eve) this coming week. It will be re-opening after the Christmas break on Tuesday, 4 January 2022. The Café’s normal opening times are 9.00 am –3.00 pm each day. (It may close a little earlier on Christmas Eve.) Take a break from your last-minute Christmas shopping and pop in to the Café for refreshment, relaxation and a friendly chat.

Bank Details for the Cornerstone Christmas Appeal

We now have a separate bank account for the Cornerstone Christmas Appeal. Unfortunately the details of this new account were not available when the Appeal Information went to print. As a result the printed information contains the bank details for the main Church Metro Account.

The details for the Christmas Appeal Account are:

Name: Cornerstone Christmas Appeal
Sort Code: 23–05–80
Account No:  43302825
This account is also with the Metro Bank.

If you are unsure which account you are using, please include the word XMAS alongside your name in the payment reference, as this will make it clear where the money is for. Your name needs to be clear so that we can claim Gift Aid where appropriate.

Please make any cheques payable to ‘Cornerstone Christmas Appeal.’

Thank you
Janet Trimnell
on behalf of the Christmas Appeal Committee

Covid-19 safety at Services

Please:

• Wear face masks – including when singing
• Remember social distancing at all times when in the building
• Do not come into the building if you feel unwell with covid or flu type symptoms
• If you have it, use your NHS phone app to register with track and trace on arrival
• Keep the reception area clear for people to enter or exit the building safely.
• If you go for tea/coffee after the service, continue to wear your face mask until we’ll away from the serving area and continue to remember social distancing.

For Covid-19 safety reasons, we have a reduced seating capacity at the moment. Our seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Unfortunately, once full, no-one else will be admitted.

Thank You

Volunteer vacancies

Stewards for Church Services

More volunteers are needed to join our team of Stewards for Cornerstone Church Services. Full training will be provided. Volunteer stewards play an invaluable service ensuring the smooth running of our services and are particularly important as we maintain good safeguarding practices in response to the pandemic. Without sufficient stewards we are not able to conduct services in the church building. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Kate Abrahams or Mark Okor, Church Administrator (email: admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk; tel: 01908 246480) or speak to one of the Stewards or one of the Ministers after a Service.

Receptionists

To keep the church building open throughout the week we need volunteers to be on the front desk in Reception as long as the church building is open. Receptionists are usually on duty for a three- or four-hour shift: mornings 9.00 am – 1.00 pm; afternoons 1.00–5.00 pm; evenings 5.00–8.00 pm. If you are able to help, whether on a regular basis or as a stand-by please contact Mark Okor, Church Administrator (email: admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk; tel: 01908 246480).

Hymn: Come and join the celebration

Come and join the celebration.
It’s a very special day.
Come and share our jubilation,
there’s a new King born today!

See, the shepherds
hurry down to Bethlehem;
gaze in wonder
at the Son of God who lay before them:

Come and join the celebration. …

Wise men journey,
led to worship by a star,
kneel in homage,
bringing precious gifts from lands afar, so:

Come and join the celebration. …

‘God is with us’
round the world the message bring.
He is with us,
‘Welcome’, all the bells on earth are pealing.

Come and join the celebration. …

Valerie Collison (b. 1933)
CCL31580

Blessing

God, who blessed the earth with life and love,
thank you that you greet us in the person of Jesus,
and pour your blessings on us by the power of your Holy Spirit.
Empowered by the same Spirit, send us out to be signs of greeting and blessing
to a world so in need of your peace, and people in need of your love.
Help us serve and bless in your name, and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you today and always.

Amen

Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,

Amen