Led by: Revd Dr Margaret Goodall

Introit

Call to Worship

Come, children of God, and be welcomed here as you are.
We gather here to worship God.

Come, children of God, and be fed at the Lord’s Table.
We come to receive what we need for our journey.

Come, children of God, and let us find encouragement for our faith.
We come to receive God’s blessing and share it with others.

Come, let us worship God.

Hymn: Sing for God’s glory

Sing for God’s glory that colours the dawn of creation,
racing across the sky, trailing bright clouds of elation;
sun of delight
succeeds the velvet of night,
warming the earth’s exultation

Sing for God’s power that shatters the chains that would bind us,
searing the darkness of fear and despair that could blind us;
touching our shame
with love that will not lay blame,
reaching out gently to find us.

Sing for God’s justice disturbing each easy illusion,
tearing down tyrants and putting our pride to confusion;
lifeblood of right,
resisting evil and slight,
offering freedom’s transfusion.

Sing for God’s saints who have travelled faith’s journey before us,
who in our weariness give us their hope to restore us;
in them we see
the new creation to be,
spirit of love made flesh for us.

Kathy Galloway (b. 1962)
CCL31580

Prayer

We gather today to seek you, Holy God, to bring you our thanks,
to rest in your presence, and to feel Your loving kindness,
knowing that you meet us in this place we join today in the joy that comes through your love;
through the nourishment of Jesus, the one who feeds us in mind and in body.

Forgive us, good Lord, when we’ve refused to seek you, when we’ve ignored your voice,
turned away from your call, and disregarded you when we stumble across you.
Forgive us and give us time to change, for we know you meet us in this place.

Forgive us, merciful God, for all that we would bring to you now:

Kyrie

Out of an abundance of grace, love, and mercy, God forgives you.
Accept the peace that this brings in hope and faith.
Free your minds to love and be loved.
In Jesus’ name and for his sake.

Amen

The Gloria

Bible Readings

Isaiah 55: 1–5

Read by Cheryl Montgomery

Invitation to the thirsty

¹ ‘Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendour.

NIV®

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

Matthew 14: 13–21

Read by Rosemary Goldie

Jesus feeds the five thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed those who were ill.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’

¹⁶ Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’

¹⁷ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered.

¹⁸ ‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. ¹⁹ And he told the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

NIV®

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

Heaven shall not wait

Heaven shall not wait
for the poor to lose their patience,
the scorned to smile, the desperate to find a friend:
Jesus is Lord;
he has championed the unwanted;
in him injustice confronts its timely end.

Heaven shall not wait
for the rich to share their fortunes,
the proud to fall, the élite to tend the least:
Jesus is Lord;
he has shown the master’s privilege –
to kneel and wash servants’ feet before they feast.

Heaven shall not wait
for the dawn of great ideas,
thoughts of compassion divorced from cries of pain:
Jesus is Lord;
he has married word and action;
his cross and company make his purpose plain.

Heaven shall not wait
for triumphant Hallelujahs,
when earth has passed and we reach another shore:
Jesus is Lord;
in our present imperfection;
his power and love are for now, and then for evermore.

John l. Bell (b. 1949) and Graham Maule (b. 1958) Iona Community
CCL31580

Sermon

By Revd Dr Margaret Goodall

Music for Reflection

Affirmation of Faith

We affirm the faith of the Church:

We believe in God, who made the world.
We believe in Jesus Christ who redeemed humankind.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God.

Intercessions

Led by Adrian Boynton

The Peace

The Lord has made an everlasting covenant of peace with his people.

The peace of the Lord be always with you,
and also with you.

Let us offer a sign of peace to our neighbours.

Offertory

Offertory Prayer

Lord and giver of every good thing, we bring to you bread and wine for our Communion,
and gifts and lives for your kingdom.
Transform them through your grace and love, made known to us in Christ Jesus our Saviour.

Amen

Hymn: Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face

Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face;
here would I touch and handle thing unseen;
here grasp with firmer hand the eternal grace,
and all my weariness upon thee lean.

Here would I feed upon the bread of God
here drink with thee the royal wine of heaven;
here would I lay aside each earthly load,
here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

Mine is the sin, but thine the righteousness;
mine is the guilt, but thine the cleansing blood;
here is my robe, my refuge and my peace —
thy blood, thy righteousness, O Lord, my God.

I have no help but thine; nor do I need
another arm save thine to lean upon;
it is enough, my Lord, enough indeed;
my strength is in thy might alone.

Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
CCL31580

Holy Communion

God 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 offer our thanks and praise.

Loving God,
you made this wonderful world for us to enjoy.
You made people to live for you and for one another.
You gave us Jesus to be our friend and bring us closer to you.
He died on a cross, but you raised him to life, to live with us for ever.

You send us your Spirit, and you bring us to this table so that we can share your love.

For all your goodness we give you thanks; and together we give you praise:

Sanctus

We gather at this table to remember that on the night before he died, Jesus had a meal with his friends.

He took a loaf of bread. After blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying:
‘Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Each time you do this, remember me.’

Then, Jesus also took a cup. After giving thanks, he passed it to his friends, saying:
‘Drink. This cup, poured out for you, is the promise of God’s love.
Whenever you drink it, remember me.’

So, remembering Jesus’ death and celebrating his resurrection, we pray:

Lord of all life, help us to be your true disciples,
and work together for the day when your kingdom comes,
and justice, peace and mercy are seen in all the world.

Now send, O God, your Holy Spirit upon us and what we do here,
that we and these gifts, touched by your Spirit, may be signs of life and love to one another,
and to the world.

Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours, O Lord, for ever and ever.

Amen

And we pray together:

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

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in the one bread.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Those who come to me shall not hunger, and those who believe in me shall never thirst.”

Draw near with faith.

After communion we pray:

We thank you Lord,
that you have fed us in this sacrament, united us with Christ
and given us a taste of the heavenly banquet prepared for all people.

Amen

Notices

Gift Day and Fundraising Event – Update and Final Call!

So far, our total has reached over £7170, and donations are still arriving. Thank you. Amazing!

If you’ve not made your donation yet, just a reminder that your gifts are still very welcome!

There are yellow ‘Gift Day’ donation envelopes in Reception for gifts of cash or cheques.

For card payments, please use the ‘Gift Day’ tab on the card machine in Reception.

Or for telephone or on-line banking use the following details:

Account name: Christ the Cornerstone Ecumenical Partnership
Sort code: 23 05 80 (Metro Bank)
Account number: 54451865
Please write ‘Gift Day’ as payment reference.

A huge thank you to everyone!

The Finance Group

Big Butterfly Count: Between 17 July and 9 August 2026

Please take part in the Big Butterfly Count that started on Friday, 17 July and continues until Sunday, 9 August 2026. All you have to do is choose a place to spot butterflies and moths and watch and record for 15 minutes! Details of what’s involved can be found on this website: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/.

Eco Church Core Group

Cornerstone Prayer Network

Prayer is central to our Christian fellowship. The Cornerstone Prayer Network is here for people who have asked us to pray for them. Please send your prayer requests to cornerstonechurch.prayernetwork@gmail.com and the details will be passed on to the members of the Prayer Network. If your prayer request is for someone else, please check with them before sending details to the Cornerstone Prayer Network.

If you would like to become a member of the Cornerstone Prayer Network, please send your details by email to cornerstonechurch.prayernetwork@gmail.com, or speak to June Halstead after a Service in the church.

Hymn: I, the Lord of sea and sky

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin
my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them,
they turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. …

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them,
my hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide,
till their hearts be satisfied,
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. …

Dan Schutte (b. 1947)
CCL31580

Prayer of the Week

Almighty God, you have created all people and all of creation.
We give you thanks that we are invited
to share with others the hope, joy and love you give us.
Open our hearts and our eyes to see our communities as you would have us to see them.

Amen

Blessing

May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself.
May the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service
and many the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls.
And the grace of God be with you now and for ever.

Amen

Now go in peace, to love and serve the Lord,
in the name of Christ.

Amen