Celebrant Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Preacher Krou Assoua LLM

Gathering Music

Welcome

God of life and death, we bring to you our hearts and minds, our questions and our fears,
our understanding and our uncertainty, those we love and those who are in trouble,
knowing that with you all are safe, as we are, in life, in death and beyond.

Amen

[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: Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days!

Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days!
A world without saints forgets how to praise.
Their faith in acquiring the habit of prayer,
their depth of adoring, Lord, help us to share.

Some march with events, to turn them God’s way;
some need to withdraw, the better to pray;
some carry the gospel through fire and through flood:
our world is their parish; their purpose is God.

Rejoice in those saints, unpraised and unknown,
who bear someone’s cross, or shoulder their own:
they shame our complaining, our comforts, our cares:
what patience in caring, what courage is theirs!

Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days!
A world without saints forgets how to praise.
In loving, in living, they prove it is true:
the way of self-giving, Lord, leads us to you.

Fred Pratt Green (1903–2000)
CCL31580

Confession

God of life and wisdom, forgive us when we avoid asking questions that will help us grow,
when we settle for answers that are comfortable not challenging,
when we do not trust you with our lives and our deaths
but allow fear to fester and uncertainty to undermine our faith.

Bless us, we pray, with confidence and courage, and the ability to live with mystery
as we follow in the steps of Jesus, his disciples and all the saints.

[Silence]

Living God, you understand our fear of death and forgive us.
You understand how hard it is to let go of life and support us.
You understand when we allow our world to cloud our vision of your kingdom.
You understand, you forgive, and one day you will call us home.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

God, our parent, teacher, mentor and guide,
may we come to you with enquiring hearts, eager to learn,
confident that you will never reject our smallest question,
and willing to walk with you in faith when no answers can be given.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 32: 1–7

¹ Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, ‘I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.’
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.

⁶ Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
⁷ You are my hiding-place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

NIV®

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

Luke 19: 1–10

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

¹ Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’

⁹ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Krou Assoua LLM

[Silence]

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in the Creator:
the maker of all things

We believe in the Son:
the redeemer of our broken world

We believe in the Spirit:
The sacred wind that binds all things together in the family of God.

Creator Father, beloved Son and living Spirit.

Amen

Prayers and Intercessions

The Peace

Peace to you from God, who is our Father.
Peace from Jesus Christ, who is our peace.
Peace from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life.

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

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Hymn: Make me a channel of your peace

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love.
Where there is injury your pardon, Lord.
And where there’s doubt true faith in you.

Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness only light,
and where there’s sadness ever joy.

Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek …

Make me a channel of your peace.
It is pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving to all that we receive,
and in dying that we’re born to eternal life (

Sebastian Temple (1928–19970
from a prayer of St Francis of Assisi (c. 1183–1226)
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

Post Communion Prayer

Eternal Father, we thank you for nourishing us with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith, build us up in hope,
and make us grow in love; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices

Harvest Thanksgiving

This week, 30 October 2022, is the final week of our Harvest Thanksgiving. Please consider whether you can give a financial gift to support the work of Cornerstone.  A flyer containing details of how to make your gift can be obtained from the Stewards.

Details of how to make your gift can also be found on the home page of the Cornerstone website under Harvest Thanksgiving.

Thank you for your support, it is much appreciated.

Janet Trimnell
steward.cccmk@gmail.com

Freewill offerings – collections during services

From this Sunday, 30 October2022 our Stewards will be taking the Offertory during the Service, as we used to do before Covid. The Offertory will be taken to the Altar for a blessing. Please put any weekly offering envelopes or cash into the basket when it comes to you. If you pay through the Parish Giving Scheme or by bankers’ order, please just pass the basket on to the next person. Thank you to everyone for your generosity. There will no longer be Offertory baskets in the Entrance Hall.

Church Membership Renewals 2022

If you were on the Church Membership List for 2021 and you supplied an email address, you should by now have received an email asking you to confirm your details and supply any necessary changes.  If you have not received this email and think you should have done, please contact steward.cccmk@gmail.com so that we can resolve this issue.

If you are new to Cornerstone and would be interested in membership, please contact the above email or leave your details with one of the Stewards.

Thank you, to everyone who has responded by email. Hopefully, we have saved both on paper and also on the cost of stamps!

Donations for coffee

The donations you give for your coffee after the service usually go to our Hardship Fund. However, this Sunday (30 October2022) and for the next few weeks we will be giving the money to a special fund for the Sunday School. The Sunday School leaders are planning a treat for the children at Christmas and your donations would be very much appreciated towards the costs. Thank you!

Creative Expressions of Faith – A Black History Month Event

10.30 am – 3.30 pm Saturday, 29 October 2022
Servant King Church & Community Centre, Dulverton Drive, Furzton MK4 1NA

This special day brings together the creative expression of faith to celebrate black heritage through art, dance, music, poetry and more. The event is for anyone who would like to explore the richness and depth of black heritage and celebrate the influence of black history in the UK.

Find out more and book your free place at:
eventbrite.co.uk/e//creative-expressions-of-faith-tickets-427930330137.

Piano Recital by John Robertson

St Mary & St Giles, Stony Stratford: 3.00–4.30 pm Sunday, 30 October 2022

John Robertson, whom many Cornerstone members will remember as Director of Ecumenical Mission with the Milton Keynes Mission Partnership, is giving a piano recital as part of the Music for All at SMSG programme. He will be performing pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Entry is £10 on the door, and refreshments will be available.

Cornerstone Shop Stamps and Christmas Cards

The Cornerstone Shop has a stock of the current second-class stamps. Anyone buying Christmas cards from the shop can buy books of twelve second-class stamps at £7 (normally £7.92).

Final Prayer

Heavenly Father, send us out into the world as children full of wonder.
Give us the boldness of children in asking awkward questions,
a child’s playful delight in the mystery of things,
and a childlike trust in you – the one who knows what we can not.

Amen

Hymn: Be thou my vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
be all else but naught to me save that thou art;
be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true Word;
be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord;
be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;
be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might;
be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my high tower:
O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise:
thou mine inheritance now and always;
be thou and thou only the first in my heart;
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art!

High King of heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys after vict’ry is won;
great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

Irish (8th century)
tr. Mary Byrne (1880–1931)
versified Eleanor Hull (1860–1935)
CCL31580

Blessing

The Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
teach you to walk in his way more trustfully,
to accept his truth more faithfully, and to share his life more lovingly;
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
you may come as one family to the kingdom of the Father.
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

The Dismissal

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

Amen