Preacher and Celebrant: Rt Revd Bishop Jonathan Meyrick
Led by: Revd George Mwaura

Gathering Music

Call to Worship

Today we gather in the shelter of God’s mercy.
We come remembering a mother who placed her child in the reeds,
trusting the river of danger to the river of God’s promise.

We come remembering a mother who held her child in the temple,
hearing that love would one day pierce her heart like a sword.
We come as those who have been mothered, by women and men of courage,
by the Church that bore us in baptism,
by Christ who longs to gather us as a mother hen gathers her brood.

Come, let us worship the God who births hope in impossible places, who turns fear into future,
who holds us fast in love.

Amen

Greetings and Welcome

Hymn: Tell out, my soul

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of your word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name!
Make know his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy name, the Lord, the mighty one.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm in his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children and for evermore!

Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926–2024)
based on Luke 1: 46–51
CCL31580

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Gracious and life-giving God, we thank you for the gift of mothers, for those who carried us,
those who raised us, those who taught us faith, those who sheltered us in times of danger.

We thank you for courage like that of Moses’ mother,
who trusted you when the future was hidden.
We thank you for compassion like Pharaoh’s daughter,
who chose mercy in a world of cruelty.
We thank you for Mary, who treasured your promises
even when they led her toward sorrow.

Yet we confess before you Lord:

We have not always trusted you with what we love most.
We have clung in fear instead of releasing in faith.
We have failed to protect the vulnerable.
We have wounded those who nurtured us.
We have resisted the costly path of love.

Forgive us, merciful Father. Heal what is broken in our remembering.
Comfort those for whom this day brings grief or longing.
Teach us again to trust your hidden purposes through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

[Silence]

Kyrie

Absolution

Rt Revd Bishop Jonathan Meyrick

May the Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in life eternal, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Faithful God, who’s loving purposes are often hidden yet never fail, grant us the courage of Jochebed,
the compassion of Pharaoh’s daughter, and the steadfast heart of Mary.
When we must release what we cherish, teach us to trust you.
When love leads us through sorrow, hold us in hope.
And in all our living, make us instruments of your protecting grace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Exodus 2: 1–10

Read by Mayowa Olubayo

The birth of Moses

¹ Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river-bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?’

⁸ ‘Yes, go,’ she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’ So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water.’

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,
Christ our God, to you 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:
Christ our God, to you we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and mind’s delight,
for the mystic harmony
linking sense to sound and sight.
Christ our God, to you 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:
Christ our God, to you 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:
Christ our God, to you we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

F.S. Pierpoint (1835–1917)
CCL31580

Luke 2: 33–35

Read by Florence Olubayo

³³ The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

NIV®

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

Sermon

By Rt Revd Bishop Jonathan Meyrick

Musical Meditation

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen

Prayers and Intercessions

Led by Adrian Boynton

Sharing Peace and Giving of Flowers

Christ is our peace. In him the dividing walls fall, fear is quieted, and strangers become family.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you,
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of Christ’s peace.

Hymn: Now thank we all our God

Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices
who wondrous things hath done,
in whom this world rejoices;
who from our mother’s arms
hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessèd peace to cheer us;
and keep us in his grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills
in this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given,
the Son, and him who reigns
with them in highest heaven,
the one eternal God,
whom earth and heaven adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.

Martin Rinkart (1586–1649)
tr. Catherine Winkworth
CCL31580

Holy Communion

Rt Revd Bishop Jonathan Meyrick

The Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you,
and also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, always and everywhere to give you thanks,
holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For in every generation, you bring life out of danger and hope out of despair.
You watched over a child hidden among reeds and raised him to deliver your people.
You entrusted your Son to the care of Mary, who bore him in faith and stood beneath his cross in love.
In Christ, you have shown us that love is stronger than fear,
and that even a pierced heart can become the doorway of salvation.
Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven,
we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:

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.

We give you thanks and praise, loving Father, through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ;
who in the same night that he was betrayed took bread and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; then he gave it to them, 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.

We remember his offering of himself made once for all upon the cross;
we proclaim his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; we look for the coming of your kingdom,
and with this bread and this cup we make the memorial of Christ your Son our Lord.
Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of thanks and praise,
and as we eat and drink these holy gifts in the presence of your divine majesty, renew us by your Spirit,
inspire us with your love and unite us in the body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven,
we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of everlasting praise:

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

Breaking of the Bread

Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Meal is Shared

Post-Communion Prayer

Loving God, you have fed us with the bread of heaven and refreshed us with the cup of salvation.
As you once watched over a child in a basket and strengthened a mother in sorrow,
so now watch over us.
Send us out to nurture life, to defend the vulnerable, to trust your purposes when they are hidden,
and to love with courageous hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices and Offertory

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Jill and Anton Peruško

The flower arrangement this Sunday has been donated by Jill and Anton Perusko to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on March 18th. We send them our love and warm congratulations.

Nigel and Betty Godfrey

This is Nigel and Betty’s last Sunday with us before they move to their new home in Pickering, on the edge of the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors National Park. We thank them for their fellowship and service to the church, and wish them all happiness in the future.

Journeying with Jesus – Week 4: ‘Supper with Jesus’

We continue our Lenten Bible study this week looking at Luke 14: 1–14, where Jesus dines with a Pharisee.

Annual Congregational Meeting 2026

Sunday 22 March 2026 after morning service in the Worship Area

Everyone is invited to this meeting, which will reflect on the church’s achievements in 2025 and look forward to our plans for 2026. The Annual Reports and Accounts 2025 have been circulated to all on the church mailing list. For those who aren’t able to view it on screen, hard copies of the booklet are available from the Reception desk. The Agenda for our Congregational Meeting on the 22 March 2026 together with the Minutes of last year’s Annual Congregational meeting, will also be available. If you have questions for the meeting, please contact me by email or in person after a Sunday service.

Election of two church representatives on Deanery Synod

Nominations are requested for two church members willing to be Cornerstone representatives on the Anglican Deanery Synod for the period July 2026 – May 2029. It involves attending three evening meetings a year at church venues across Milton Keynes. Our current representatives are Glynne Gordon-Carter (who is retiring) and Pat Kyd. If you are interested, please contact Pat Kyd by email pat_kyd@yahoo.co.uk or in church for a nomination form – you will need both a proposer and seconder who are church members. The election will be held at the Annual Congregational Meeting.

Pat Kyd, Church Secretary
pat_kyd@yahoo.co.uk

Milton Keynes City Council elections

Thursday, 7 May 2026

Tell us over coffee after the Sunday morning service in the Guildhall (or send an email) what you think are priorities to ask of the candidates ahead of the Milton Keynes Council elections that will be held on 7 May 2026. Remember that due to re-organisation this is a particularly important election in the city, with sixty seats up for grabs!

Please think about:

• • what is the most important climate-related action that we should ask candidates to pledge to support if they are elected?
  • what is the most important social justice action that we should ask candidates to pledge to support if they are elected?

Stuart Kean stuart.kean@gmail.com and David Chapman dachapman9@gmail.com

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Offertory Prayer

Gracious God, all abundance flows from your endless love.
We humbly present these offerings before You, those placed before Your altar today
and those given faithfully throughout the week,
whether shared in person or offered electronically, seen and unseen.
Receive them all as signs of our gratitude and tokens of our trust in You.
Bless these gifts and those who give them, that they may serve Your purposes, proclaim Your kingdom,
and reflect the generous love revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Hymn: He’s got the whole world in his hand

He’s got the whole world in his hand. [×4]

He’s got you and me, brother …

He’s got you and me, sister …

He’s got everybody here …

He’s got the whole world …

Traditional
CCL31580

Blessings and Sending out

May the love of God, who comforts us like a mother, fill your hearts with peace and joy.
May you go out to share kindness, patience, and love with all you meet.
And the blessing of God almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Dismissal

Church, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ, we will.

Congregational Hymn

May God’s blessing surround us each day,
as we trust him and walk in his way.
May his presence within guard and keep us from sin.
Go in peace, go in joy, go in love.