Be-Longing: Praying for Unity amidst injustice

Preacher: Revd George Mwaura
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Opening Prayer

Lord, you invite us to turn, to make a new start and to follow you.
You call us beyond ourselves.
You call us to welcome friend and stranger until the whole world has turned and worships you.

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: Come down, O love divine

Come down, O love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
O comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy name bestowing.

O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity
mine outward vesture be,
and lowliness become mine inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart,
which takes the humbler part,
and o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling,
for none can guess its grace,
till he become the place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.

Bianco da Siena (d. 1434)
tr. Richard Frederick Littledale (1833–1890)
CCL31580

A Prayer of Approach

Lord of light and salvation, the stronghold of our lives, we come today to worship you.
You shone in the darkness and have given us hope,
we walk towards your light today knowing that your light can never be extinguished.
Lord, we come today to dwell in your house.

Amen

[Silence]

Confession

Forgiving God,
we are sorry when we say one thing and do another;
we are sorry when we say yes and then say no;
we are sorry when you call us and we choose not to follow.

Lord, you have called us to follow you:
we are sorry when we choose to ignore you;
we are sorry when we choose to do what we want;
we are sorry and respond to your call.

As you called the fishermen to leave their nets and follow you,
help us to follow you too, to go in a new direction with you.

Transform us and make us whole,
and help us to enjoy the journey with you.

[Silence]

Loving and merciful God, who has called us to repentance: we are truly forgiven by you.
We are washed clean by your blood and can respond to your call to follow you,
knowing we are healed and restored.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

God of Unity, forgive us when we are self-serving and help us to grow in unity
and understanding as we extend your love and justice to all.
Expand our vision that it may be wide enough to recognise the beautiful complexity of the tapestry
you chose to weave with each and every one of us.
Gather our frayed edges, our loose ends and bind us together for your glory, in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Micah 6: 6–8

Read by Rosemary Kearsey

⁶ With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

NIV®

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

Psalm 15

[Leader] ¹ Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?</span.

[Women] ² The one whose way of life is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
[Men] ³whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbour,</span
and casts no slur on others;
[Women] ⁴ who despises a vile person
but honours those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
[Men] ⁵who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

[All] Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.

NIV®

Luke 10: 25–37

Read by Kate Abrahams

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

²⁶ ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’

²⁷ He answered, ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”’

²⁸ ‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”

³⁶ ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’

Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd George Mwaura

[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

Led by Cheryl Montgomery

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: Bind us together

Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together with cords
that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together,
bind us together with love.

There is only one God,
there is only one King.
There is only one Body,
that is why we sing:

Bind us together, Lord, …

Made for the glory of God,
purchased by his precious Son,
born with the right to be free,
for Jesus the victory has won.

Bind us together, Lord, …

You are the family of God,
you are the promise divine,
you are God’s chosen desire,
you are the glorious new wine.

Bind us together, Lord, …

Bob Gillman (b. 1946)
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

Come to this table, not because you must, but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love him more.
Come, because he loved you and gave himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are his Body.

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

Andrew Donaldson

Andrew Donaldson’s funeral will take place in the Church of Christ the Cornerstone at 12.00 noon on Wednesday, 8 February 2023. It will be followed by a private ceremony at the Crematorium for Andrew’s family.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity continues

The impressive programme of services and events put together by Churches Together in Milton Keynes for the Week of Prayer continues until Wednesday (25 January 2023), the Conversion of St Paul. The programme is on the Churches Together in Milton Keynes website at https://www.ctmk.church/2022/10/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2023.html The services and events this week are listed on the back of this Notice Sheet.

As part of the Mission Fair this Saturday (21 January 2023) at the Church of the Servant King in Furzton, Revd George Mwaura will be chairing a Cost of Living Summit from 3.15 to 4.30 pm.

Cornerstone Concert: Bach’s Magnificat and Tippet’s ‘A Child of Our Time’

7.30 pm on Sunday (22 January 2023)

The Cornerstone Chamber Choir, Orchestra and soloists deliver a special programme featuring Bach’s great setting of the Magnificat and Michael Tippett’s choral masterpiece, ‘A Child of our Time’.

Tickets can be reserved by phoning/ texting 07961 348697, or by emailing boyntonmusic@btinternet.com; tickets will also be available at the door. There are special concessionary prices for Cornerstone members: £17 (normally £20) and £13 (normally £16), Children £2.

Authorised Listeners

Revd Hannah Akibo-Betts joined BBC Radio Oxford on Sunday (15 January 2023) to share her experience of grief and the influence on her faith, and her role as an Authorised Listener in the Diocese of Oxford. Listen to the full interview and find out about Authorised Listeners.

Five awarded for service to Church

Four new Honorary Canons were installed at Christ Church Cathedral and one candidate was admitted to the Order of St Frideswide in a service on Saturday, 14 January 2023.

Congratulations to Caroline Kallipetis, Revd Catherine Butt, Revd Catharine Mabuza, Revd Will Lamb, and Revd Geoff Colmer! See the full photo gallery on Facebook and read more about each of the candidates.

Listen to Revd Geoff Colmer speaking to BBC Radio Oxford after his installation as an Honorary Ecumenical Canon.

Cornerstone meetings this week

The Pastoral Committee and the Finance & Resources Committee both meet by Zoom on Thursday, 26 January 2023. The Pastoral Committee meets at 10.00 am and the Finance & Resources Committee at 6.45 pm.

Offering

Final Prayer

Lord, send us out as renewed people.

Help us – to turn away from what is wrong and turn to what is right.
Help us – to turn towards our neighbours and to all who are lost.
Help us – to turn away from distractions and towards more adventuring with you.

Help us now and always.

Amen

Hymn: Love divine, all loves excelling

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure unbounded love thou art;
visit us with they salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy grace receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
There we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above;
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation:
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
CCL31580

Blessing

God grant to the living, grace;
to the departed, rest;
to the Nation, peace and concord;
to us all your servants the promise of everlasting life,
light to guide us on our way, courage to support us,
and your blessing to unite us in service to you our God and this our country.
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