Holy Communion – Live Streamed – Sunday, 1 June 2025
Preacher: Revd George Mwaura
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Gathering Music
Welcome
Come, let us gather in awe and gratitude.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it – each field, each bird, each breath belongs to God.
As in the garden, God entrusts us to care for creation, to work and to rest in his presence.
We will worship the One who holds all things together
and invites us to trust, tend, and rejoice in his abundant love.
Through the warmth of the sun
and the blessing of rain,
with all that has breath
we give glory to God!
As the sun and the moon
shape the day and the night,
so we children of earth
tend and care where we live.
Through fire, through water
we pass on our way:
bring us refreshment today!
Amen
Hymn: Morning has broken, like the first morning
Morning has broken, like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them springing, fresh from the Word!
Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where his feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s re-creation of the new day!
Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965)
CCL31580
Confession
Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of creation,
for the earth and all that fills it, for the beauty of the land and the life it sustains.
You have trusted us to tend and care for your world, and for this we are grateful.
Thank you for your constant provision,
for feeding the birds and clothing the flowers, and for meeting our needs each day.
We praise you for your faithfulness and for the peace that comes from trusting in your love.
But, Merciful God, we confess that we have not always honoured the trust you placed in us.
Too often we forget that the earth is yours and treat it as our own possession.
We worry about many things and fail to rest in your care.
Forgive us for neglecting our calling to steward your creation and for doubting your provision.
Help us to live with gratitude and trust, caring for all you have made and resting in your abundant grace.
Amen
Prayer of the Week
Creator God, you have entrusted us with the care of your good earth
and remind us that all things belong to you.
Open our eyes to the beauty of all you have made and stir in us a spirit of wonder and responsibility.
Give us thankful hearts and quiet trust, that we may cherish your creation and work to protect it,
trusting always in your loving provision, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Ministry of the Word
Genesis 2: 15–16
Read by Adrian Boynton
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
NIV®
Psalm 24: 1–2
Read by Adrian Boynton
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn: For the beauty of the earth
For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.
For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.
For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
pleasures pure and undefiled:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.
For each perfect gift of divine
to our race so freely given,
joys bestowed by love’s design,
flowers of earth and fruits of heaven:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.
For thy church which evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.
F.S. Pierpoint (1835–1917)
CCL31580
Matthew 6: 25–30
Read by Don Head
Do not worry
25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?
NIV®
This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.
Meditation
By Revd George Mwaura
A message from Eco Church
By Chinwe Osaghae
[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 Joy Enenche
The Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord.
The peace of God be always with you.
and also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
Hymn: Think of a world without any flowers
Think of a world without any flowers,
think of a wood without any trees,
think of a sky without any sunshine,
think of the air without any breeze;
we thank you, Lord, for flowers and trees and sunshine;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Think of a world without any animals,
think of a field without any herd,
think of a stream without any fishes,
think of a dawn without any bird;
we thank you, Lord, for paintings and for colours;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Think of a world without any paintings,
think of a room where all the walls are bare,
think of a rainbow without any colours,
think of the earth with darkness everywhere;
we thank you, Lord, for all your living creatures;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Think of a world without any poetry,
think of a world without any books,
think of a song without any music,
think of a hymn without any verse;
we thank you, Lord, for poetry and music;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Think of a world without any science,
think of a journey with nothing to explore,
think of a quest without any mystery,
nothing to seek, and nothing left in store;
we thank you, Lord, for miracles of science;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Think of a world without any people,
think of a street with no-one living there,
think of a town without any houses,
no-one to love and nobody to care;
we thank you, Lord, for families and friendships;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Think of a world without any worship,
think of a God without his only Son,
think of a cross without resurrection,
only a grave and not a victory won;
we thank you, Lord, for showing us our Saviour;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Thanks to our Lord for being here among us,
thanks be to him for sharing all we do,
thanks to our Church and all the love we find here,
thanks for this place and all its promise true;
we thank you, Lord, for life in all its richness;
we thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name.
Doreen E. Newport (1927–2004)
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 for ever 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
Invitation
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
Waste Not, Want Not
In collaboration with the Eco Church at Cornerstone, Acornfields Community Interactions, a local well-being organisation, is hosting sustainable living workshops around our ‘Waste Not, Want Not’ Project series.
This Sunday (1 June 2025), right after the Sunday Morning Service there will be a workshop on making hand scrubs using coffee grounds and other kitchen cupboard ingredients. This workshop will be showcasing how to eliminate waste by creating valuable products. If you can, please donate clean empty ham, chutney and, pickle jars for use in our sustainable living workshops. The workshop is rightly timed to align with the World Environmental Day on Thursday, 5 June 2025.
Chinwe Osaghae
World Environment Day Prayer Vigil
At MK Rose, Campbell Park 5.30–6.00 pm Thursday, 5 June 2025
Churches Together in Milton Keynes are holding a prayer vigil to mark World Environment Day on Thursday, 5 June 2025 between 5.30 and 6.00pm at the Milton Keynes Rose. Please join us.
Cornerstone Eco Church Group
Pentecost
Sunday, 8 June 2025
Next Sunday is Pentecost. We are asked to wear bright clothing, as a reminder of the tongues of fire that descended on the participants at the first Pentecost. After the service there will be a bring and share lunch in the Guidhall.
Final Prayer
Lord, be with us through this coming week,
as we seek to carry out your mission and reveal your glory to the world.
Amen
Hymn: He’s got the whole wide world
He’s got the whole wide world in his hands,
He’s got the whole wide world in his hands,
He’s got the whole wide world in his hands,
He’s got the whole world in his hands,
He’s got everybody here in his hands, …
He’s got the tiny little baby in his hands, …
He’s got you and me, brother, in his hands, …
D.J. Crawshaw
CCL31580
Blessing
May the God who formed the earth and filled it with every good thing
bless you with grateful hearts and open hands.
May you see the world as God’s Garden; precious, alive, and entrusted to your care.
As God provides for the birds and the lilies, may you trust in his provision.
Go now, tending the earth and trusting the One who holds it all.
And the blessings of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
descend and rest upon you today and always.
Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,
Amen