Morning Prayer Wednesday, 21 October 2020

Good morning, good Cornerstone people.
It is St Luke’s tide, and we often get a spell of warm weather at this time of year,
but not, it seems, in 2020.
It is going to be a cool and wet day,
so before we do battle with the elements
let us have a time to look at scriptures and in prayer together.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things.
His own right hand and his holy arm
have won him the victory.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
his deliverance he has openly shown in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness toward the house of Israel
and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sound praises to the Lord all the earth;
break into singing and make music.
Make music to the Lord with the lyre
with the lyre and the voice of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sound praises before the Lord, the King.

The Lord has made known his salvation.

Psalm 98: 1–7

Lord God, just and true, you make your salvation in the sight of the nations,
tune the song of our hearts to the music of creation as you come among us to judge the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed

When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He said ‘Yes he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take their toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ When Peter said, ‘From others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin, take that and give it to them from you and me.’

Matthew 17: 22–27

Today’s psalm was one we heard this last Sunday, ‘Sing to the Lord a new song.’
On Sunday too we had the reading about paying taxes with the saying,
’Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.’
Today’s message appears to be that we should pay what is due
to both government and church, whether we personally get benefit or not.
These are for the common good not for individual satisfaction.

As we are not able to operate at Cornerstone in the way we expected
when we set the Ecumenical Partnership budget and have lost some sections of our income,
the contributions from those giving regularly has been maintained, for which we are thankful.
There is a shortfall of income from cash offerings, fund-raising efforts
and gifts from visitors to the building.
There are some savings in expenditure, but not that much.
We anticipate that we will meet all our commitments, but only by using some reserves.
Our trading company has used the time of lock-down to undertake maintenance
of the heating and floors in the building, which is looking clean and bright,
but hire of space from business is at a very low level compared with last year.
We have re-opened the Café, mostly for take-away refreshment,
so if you are getting out and about it is well worth a visit.

Let us pray for the church both locally and world-wide:

We give thanks that our fellowship is able to remain together in these times
and that we are able to meet our financial commitments.
We pray that in the future we may flourish
and be able to serve the community of Central Milton Keynes.
We pray for all those who support our ministry and those who keep our accounts.
We pray for those churches struggling to survive
and for new areas of residential development with no church buildings nearby.
We pray that churches throughout our country will be able to thrive sufficiently
to serve all their communities and support those on the margins.

Almighty God you have promised to be with us to the end of the age,
give us grace that keeping that in our hearts we may follow your command to make disciples of all nations,
baptising them and teaching them to obey everything you have commanded.
Show us how we can reach all who live with us in this city
and give us the courage and determination to follow your will for us
that your name may be glorified in this place and in these days.

Amen

Let us pray for the world:

The coronavirus pandemic affects the health of those who catch the virus
and the mental health of many more people.
Efforts to minimise the spread of this illness have economic effects,
people are losing their jobs, those in work are having to carry out their duties from home
or, if at their usual place of work, they have to operate with new protocols
of how they move about the office/ factory or place of operations
and how they interact with others there.
We are all beginning to get weary under the strain.
The social implications in Central Milton Keynes are not over;
even when we do not have the current limitations,
it is likely that many shops and offices will be empty,
more of us will be regularly ‘working from home.’
This is tolerable if you are living in a house with space,
but very difficult for two or more people sharing a home with young children
or even a single person in a building in multiple occupation with shared facilities,
where they only have the one room.
Let us give thanks for our continued health and wellbeing
and pray for those whose daily experience is more limited challenging than our own.

Lord Jesus Christ, lover of all, we hold before you:
those burdened with anxieties,
those broken in spirit or in body,
those torn by relationships and doubt,
those suffering from the divisions and injustices of our world.
Carry them and us in your loving arms this day.

Amen

Don Head