Holy Communion – Live Streamed – Sunday, 17 May 2026
Celebrant: Rt Revd Bishop Jonathan Meyrick
Gathering Music
Greeting
Beloved in Christ, we meet in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
rejoicing that in the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ,
‘God has gone up with a merry noise, the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.’
May his grace and mercy be with you
and also with you.
Today, the Sunday after Ascension,
we recall how Jesus left this earth and returned to his Father in glory.
Trusting in his reign over all creation, and submitting to his kingly rule of love,
we hear the story of his parting.
Hymn: Christ is the King!
Christ is the King! O friends rejoice;
brothers and sisters with one voice
tell all the world he is your choive.
Alleluia.
O magnify the Lord, and raise
anthems of joy and holy praise
for Christ’s brave saints of ancient days.
Alleluia.
They with a faith for ever new
followed the King, and round him drew
thousands of faithful hearts and true.
Alleluia.
O Christian women, Christian men,
all the world over, seek again
the Way disciples followed then.
Alleluia.
Christ through all ages is the same:
place the same hope in his great name.
with the same faith his word proclaim.
Alleluia.
Let love’s unconquerable might
your scattered companies unite
in service to the Lord of light.
Alleluia.
So shall God’s will on earth be done,
new lamps be lit, new tasks begun,
and the whole church at last be one.
Alleluia.
G.K.A. Bell (1883–1958)
CCL31580
Acts 1: 4–11
Read by Brian Halstead
Jesus taken up into heaven
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
6 Then they gathered round him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’
7 He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’
NIV®
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Seeing we have a great high priest who has passed through the heaven, Jesus the Son of God,
let us offer him the praise worthy of his name.
Gloria
Let us pray that our risen and ascended Lord will lead us to eternal life.
Prayer of the Week
Risen Christ, you have raised our human nature to the throne of heaven:
help us to seek and serve you, that we may join you at the Father’s side,
where you reign with the Spirit in glory, now and for ever.
Amen
Psalm 47
Read by Nerys Steeds
1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gradual Hymn: Name of all majesty
Name of all majesty,
fathomless mystery,
King of the ages
by angels adored;
power and authority,
splendour and dignity,
bow to his majesty,
Jesus is Lord!
Child of our destiny,
God from eternity,
love of the Father
on sinners outpoured;
see now what God has done
sending his only Son,
Christ the beloved One,
Jesus is Lord!
Saviour of Calvary,
costliest victory,
darkness defeated
and Eden restored;
born as a man to die,
nailed to a cross on high,
cold in the grave to lie,
Jesus is Lord!
Source of all sovereignty,
light, immortality,
life everlasting
and heaven assured:
so with the ransomed, we
praise him eternally,
Christ in his majesty,
Jesus is Lord!
Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926–2024)
CCL31580
Gospel Acclamation
Led by Peter Steeds
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
God has highly exalted Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.
Alleluia!
Let every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord.
Alleluia!
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
John 17: 1–11
Read by Peter Steeds
Jesus prays to be glorified
1 After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed:
‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus prays for his disciples
6 ‘I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
NIV®
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Glory to you, O Christ. Alleluia!
Sermon
By Rt Revd Jonathan Meyrick
Musical Meditation
Prayers of Intercession
Led by Adrian Boynton
Sharing of Peace
Jesus said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. If you love me, rejoice because I am going to the Father. Alleluia!
The peace of the risen and ascended Lord be with you
and also with you.
Let us offer one another signs peace.
Hymn: Alleluia, sing to Jesus!
Alleluia, sing to Jesus!
his the sceptre, his the throne;
alleluia, his the triumph
his the victory alone:
hark, the songs of peaceful Sion
thunder like a mighty flood;
Jesus out of every nation
hath redeemed us by his blood.
Alleluia, not as orphans
are we left in sorrow now;
alleluia, he is near us,
faith believes, nor questions how:
though the cloud from sight received him,
when the forty days were o’er,
shall our hearts forget his promise,
‘I am with you evermore’?
Alleluia, bread of angels,
thou on earth our food, our stay;
alleluia, here the sinful
flee to thee from day to day:
Intercessor, Friend of sinners,
earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
where the songs of all the sinless,
sweep across the crystal sea.
Alleluia, King eternal,
thee the Lord of lords we own;
alleluia, born of Mary,
earth thy footstool, heaven thy throne:V
thou within the veil hast entered,
robed in flesh, our great High Priest;V
thou on earth both Priest and Victim
in the eucharistic feast.
William Chatterton Dixon (1817–1898)
CCL31580
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you,
and also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
Glorious God, through the history, legends and law of your people,
in their prophets and their psalms, you showed your purpose for them and us,
and your love for your world. In Jesus, you fulfilled your promises and opened to us your heart.
In his passion and death, we saw both the consequences of our rejection and the depth of your yearning.
Then you raised Jesus from the tomb, a further sign of your love.
In his resurrection you invite us into the company of your eternal joy,
and in his ascension on high you seal as complete his work among us.
So with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we praise you for ever, singing:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Gracious God, your Son at his ascension promised
the disciples that they would be clothed with power from on high.
Send now your Holy Spirit, that we may know the presence of your Son among us,
and that bread broken, and wine outpoured, may be for us his body and his blood.
Who, at supper with his disciples,
took bread, gave you thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying:
‘Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’
After supper he took the cup. Again, he gave you thanks, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
‘Drink this all of you: this is my blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you, and for many,
for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Generous God, your Son told his disciples to stay in the city until they were clothed by the Spirit.
Give courage to those whom you call to stay in places of danger and confusion
when their hearts are full of doubt and disillusion.
Your Son withdrew from the disciples when they did not know what the future would hold.
Be close to all who face an uncertain future and deeply know their need of you.
Your Son’s disciples were then continually in the Temple praising you.
Give your church a fresh outpouring of your Spirit
and make it a blessing to all the children of your earth;
until the completion of your Son’s ministry becomes the completion of your whole creation,
and you are all in all, one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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
Breaking of the Bread
Lord we died with you on the cross.
Now we are raised to new life.
We were buried in your tomb.
Now we share in your resurrection.
Live in us that we may live in you.
Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us,
Therefore, let us keep the feast.
Most merciful Lord,
your love compels us to come in.
Our hands were unclean, our hearts were unprepared;
we were not fit even to eat the bread from under your table.
But you, Lord, are the God of our salvation, and share your bread with sinners.
So cleanse and feed us with the precious body and blood of your Son,
that he may live in us and we in him;
and that we, with the whole company of Christ, may sit and eat in your kingdom.
Amen
Communion is shared
Post Communion Prayers
God our Father,
You have raised our humanity in Christ and have fed us with the bread of heaven:
Mercifully grant that, nourished with such spiritual; blessings,
we may set our hearts in the heavenly places; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
We thank you, Lord, that you have fed us in this sacrament, united us with Christ,
and given us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet prepared for all peoples.
Amen
Notices and Offertory
Vacancy for Anglican Minister at Cornerstone
The vacancy has now been advertised. The closing date for applications is this Thursday (21 May 2026) and interviews are scheduled for 23 & 24 June 2026.
Vestry meeting: 12.00 noon on Sunday (17 May 2026)
A Vestry meeting will be held on Sunday at 12 noon, following the Morning Service. This meeting is to elect two additional people to join the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and to elect two churchwardens for the coming year.
If you are interested in joining the PCC or becoming a churchwarden, please contact me on annwilson.mk@googlemail.com You will need a proposer and seconder who are Church members and you can obtain the relevant paperwork from me.
Ann Wilson, Clerk to the PCC, Churchwarden
Offertory Prayer
Gracious God, all abundance flows from your endless love.
We humbly present these offerings before you.
Receive them, we pray, and use them to your honour and glory, and the relief of those in need,
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Hymn: Christ triumphant, ever reigning
Christ triumphant, ever reigning,
Saviour, Master, King!
Lord of heaven, Our lives sustaining,
hear us as we sing:
Yours the glory and the crown,
the hight renown, the eternal name!
Word incarnate, truth revealing,
Son of Man on earth!
power and majesty concealing
by your humble birth:
Yours the glory …
Suffering servant, scorned, ill-treated,
victim crucified!
death is through the cross defeated,
sinners justified:
Yours the glory …
Priestly king, enthroned for ever
high in heaven above!
sin and death and hell shall never
stifle hymns of love:
Yours the glory …
So, our hearts and voices raising
through the ages long,
ceaselessly upon you gazing,
this shall be our song:
Yours the glory and the crown,
the hight renown, the eternal name!
Michael Saward (1932–2015)
CCL31580
Dismissal
Acts 1: 12–14
Read by Brian Halstead
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
NIV®
As we wait in silence,
make us ready for your coming Spirit.
As we listen to your word,
make us ready for your coming Spirit.
As we worship you in majesty,
make us ready for your coming Spirit.
As we long for your refreshing and renewing,
make us ready for your coming Spirit.
As we long for your equipping and empowering,
make us ready for your coming Spirit.
Blessing
May the Spirit,
who came to set the Church on fire on the day of Pentecost,
bring the world alive with the love of the risen Christ.
And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be with you and all those whom you love, this Ascensiontide and for ever.
Amen
Waiting expectantly for the promised Holy Spirit, go in the peace of Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!