There is no choir this morning

Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

[Silence]

Welcome to the house of God.
We have come from all the corners of the earth.

Welcome to the hospitality of God.
We come as we are; we bring our life, our stories, our journey.

Welcome, brothers and sisters.
We are the rainbow people of God.

Welcome, chosen people.
May God our companion bind us in his love.

Amen

Hymn: Guide me, O thou great Redeemer

Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand;
bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more. (×2)

Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through;
strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield. (×2)

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside,
death of death, and hell’s destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side;
songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee. (×2)

Welsh, Willian Williams (1717–1791) tr. Peter and Willian Williams
CCL31580

Confession

As we acknowledge our human frailty, we call to mind our sins of word, deed and omission,
and confess them before God our Father.

[Silence]

You raise the dead to life in the Spirit:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

You bring pardon and peace to the broken in heart:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

May God our Father forgive us our sins and bring us to the eternal joy of his kingdom,
where dust and ashes have no dominion.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Merciful Father and Lord of all life,
we praise you that we are made in your image and reflect your truth and light.
We thank you for the life of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth,
for the love she received from you and showed among us.
Above all, we rejoice at your gracious promise to all your servants, living and departed,
that we shall rise again at the coming of Christ.
And we ask that in due time we may share with your servant Elizabeth that clearer vision
promised to us in the same Christ our Lord;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Lamentations. 3: 22–26, 31–33

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.’

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

…

³¹ For no-one is cast off
by the Lord for ever.
³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
³³For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.

NIV®

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

John 6: 35–40

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.’

NIV®

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

Silent Meditation

[Silence]

Prayers and Intercessions

Eternal God, our heavenly Father, we bless your holy name for all that you have given us
in and through the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth.

We give you thanks:
for her love of family and her gift of friendship;
for her devotion to this nation and the nations of the Commonwealth;
for her grace, dignity and courtesy;
and for her generosity and love of life.

We praise you for:
the courage that she showed in testing times;
the depth and of her Christian faith;
and the witness she bore to it in word and deed.

We pray for our Sovereign Lord the King and all the Royal Family,
that you might reassure them of your continuing love
and lift them from the depths of grief into the peace and light of your presence.

God of mercy, entrusting into your hands all that you have made
and rejoicing in our communion with all your faithful people,
we make our prayers through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen

The Peace

Jesus says:
Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

The peace of God be always with you.
and also with you.

Hymn: All people that on earth do dwell

All people that on earth do dwell,
sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
him serve with fear, his praise forth tell,
come ye before him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, id God indeed;
without our aid he did us make;
we are his folk, he doth us feed,
and for his sheep he doth us take.

O enter then his gates with praise,
approach with joy his courts unto;
praise, laud and bless his name always,
for it is seemly so to do.

For why? The Lord our God is good
his mercy is for ever sure;
his truth at all times firmly stood,
and shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
the God whom heaven and earth adore,
from men and from the angel-host
be praise and glory evermore.

William Kethe (d. 1594)
CCL31580

Holy Communion

May all who are called to a place at your table
follow in the way that leads to the unending feast of life.

Amen

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

Post Communion Prayer

Gracious Lord, in this holy sacrament you give substance to our hope:
bring us at the last to that fullness of life for which we long;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen

Notices

Civic Service in memory of Queen Elizabeth II

1.00 pm on Sunday (18 September 2022)
at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone

Cornerstone members are very welcome to attend the service, but the seating capacity is 250 and there are a lot of invited officials and guests. The unreserved seats will be available on a first come, first served basis. Unfortunately, once full, no-one else can be admitted. The service will be live-streamed from the church. The link is https://youtu.be/xDvOxs_AywA.

Books of Condolence

There are two Books of Condolence in the Chapel. During the week the Chapel is open 9.30 am–7.00 pm, and sometimes longer. The last day for signing the books will be Sunday, 18 September 2022, when the Chapel will be open from 9.30 am till 12.00 noon.

Cornerstone meetings this week

The Ministerial Leadership Team is meeting by Zoom on Tuesday at 10.30 am. Ecumenical Council will meet at the church at 7.00 pm on Tuesday.

Volunteer vacancies

Stewards and readers for Church Services

More volunteers are needed to join our team of Stewards for Cornerstone Church Services. Full training will be provided. Volunteer stewards give an invaluable service ensuring the smooth running of our services and are particularly important as we maintain good safeguarding practices. Without sufficient stewards we are not able to conduct services in the church building. We also need more readers to read the Bible at Sunday morning services. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Kate Abrahams or speak to one of the Stewards or one of the Ministers after a Service.

Volunteers for Cornerstone Café and Reception

In order to fulfil our mission to the people of Milton Keynes and to be an Oasis of Hope in Central Milton Keynes, we need to keep the church building open throughout the week.

The Cornerstone Café plays an important role in providing a welcoming environment to everyone who comes to our building during the week. The Cornerstone Café needs more volunteers to help in the preparation and serving of food and drink, and taking payments at the till. The Café is open 9.00 am – 3.00 pm Monday–Friday. If you are able to offer a few hours, either on a regular basis or as support when regular volunteers are away, please contact our Catering Manager, Marianne Cockburn (marianne.cockburn@cornerstonemk.co.uk) to discuss what is needed. Volunteers will have the opportunity to study for a Food Hygiene qualification.

Volunteer Receptionists are the welcome face of the church, and ideally we need two people in Reception whenever the building is open to the public. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet people and contribute in an important way to our outreach to the people of Milton Keynes. Volunteers each cover a morning, afternoon or evening ‘shift’. The hours are 9.00 am – 1.00 pm, 1.00–5.00 pm and 5.00–8.00 pm. Please contact our Business Manager, Simon Lowson (email simon.lowson@cornerstonemk.co.uk or telephone 01908 246481).

Offering

‘God loves a cheerful giver’

Thanks to your generous giving we can be an Oasis of Hope to Milton Keynes.

Please keep supporting our mission!

If you are at our worship service in the church building and would like to make an offering, please place your offering in the basket at the door to the worship area. If you can’t find it, please ask the stewards.

There are many different ways to give: online, telephone banking or by cheque. For more information how to give please visit the Cornerstone website (www.cornerstonemk.co.uk) or contact: steward.cccmk@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

Hymn: Praise, my soul, the King of heaven!

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven!
To his feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him! [×2] Praise the everlasting king!

Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him still the same for ever,
slow to chide and swift to bless.
Praise him! Praise him! [×2] Glorious in his faithfulness!

Father-like he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him! [×2] Widely as his mercy flows.

Angels, help us to adore him;
ye behold him face to face;
sun and moon bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him! [×2] Praise with us the God of grace!

Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847)
CCL31580

Blessing

God grant to the living, grace; to the departed, rest;
to the Church, the King, the Commonwealth, and all humankind, peace and concord;
and to us and all his servants, life everlasting;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Amen

The Dismissal

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

Amen