Holy Communion – Live Streamed – Sunday, 1 September 2024
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Gathering Music
Welcome
Gracious God, we come to you today with gratitude and awe,
for you are the giver of every good and perfect gift.
Help us to worship you in spirit and in truth, to listen to your Word with faith and obedience,
to share your love with generosity and compassion.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Welcome to the hospitality of God.
We have come from all the corners of the earth.
Welcome to the hospitality of God.
We come as we are; we bring our life, our stories, our journey.
Welcome, brothers and sisters.
We are the rainbow people of God.
Welcome, chosen people.
May God our companion bind us in his love.
Amen
Hymn: All my hope on God is founded
All my hope on God is founded;
he doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance he guideth,
only good and only true.
God unknown,
he alone
calls my heart to be his own.
God’s great goodness aye endureth
deep his wisdom, passing thought:
splendour, light, and life attend him,
beauty springeth out of naught.
Evermore
from his store
new-born worlds rise and adore.
Daily doth th’Almighty giver
bounteous gifts on us bestow;
his desire our soul delighteth,
pleasure leads us where we go.
Love doth stand
at his hand;
joy doth wait on his command.
Still from man to God eternal
sacrifice of praise be done,
high above all praises praising
for the gift of Christ his Son.
Christ doth call
one and all:
ye who follow shall not fall.
Robert Bridges (1844–1930)
CCL31580
Confession
Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole being. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
Forgive us, O God, for our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and renew a right spirit within us.
Help us to be doers of the Word, and not just hearers.
Loving God, we thank you for your forgiveness, which sets us free from sin and guilt.
Thank you that you do not treat us as our sins deserve, but as your beloved children.
Thank you that you do not remember our sins any more, but cast them into the depths of the sea.
We receive your forgiveness with gratitude and joy.
Amen
Prayer of the Week
Holy God, we adore you for who you are and what you have done.
You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, creator, and sustainer of all that is.
We thank you for your wonderful gifts of grace and truth.
You have revealed yourself to us in your Word and in your works.
You have forgiven us our sins and healed our wounds.
You have filled us with joy and peace in believing.
We adore you, O God, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Amen
Ministry of the Word
James 1: 22–27
Read by Veronica Fernandes
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Mark 7: 14–19
Read by Rosemary Kearsey
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’ [16]
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18’Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
NIV®
This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.
Meditation
By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
[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 Cheryl Montgomery
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: Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together with cords
that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together,
bind us together with love.
There is only one God,
there is only one King.
There is only one Body,
that is why we sing:
Bind us together, Lord, …
Made for the glory of God,
purchased by his precious Son,
born with the right to be free,
for Jesus the victory has won.
Bind us together, Lord, …
You are the family of God,
you are the promise divine,
you are God’s chosen desire,
you are the glorious new wine.
Bind us together, Lord, …
Bob Gillman (b. 1946)
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
Revd George Mwaura
Revd George Mwaura is away on URC duties this Sunday and next (1 & 8 September 2024). He will be back here at Cornerstone to officiate at Holy Communion on Sunday, 15 September 2024.
Episcopal Visitation relating to
the ecumenical parish of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes
Bishop Simon’s Visitors (Commissaries) will be in Milton Keynes 23–27 September 2024 to meet church leaders, members of councils and committees and members of Christ the Cornerstone. Personal submissions to the Visitation should be posted to ccmkvisitation@oxford.anglican.org at least two weeks before 23 September 2024. Requests to meet the Visitors should also be sent by the same date.
Church bank accounts
Our new church bank accounts are now open. As mentioned at the recent Congregational Meeting, our main bank account is now with Unity Trust Bank. Please note that the old NatWest account is now closed.
Our new Metro Bank account is also now open. The account details are:
Account name: Christ the Cornerstone Ecumenical Partnership
Account number: 54451865
Sort code: 23 05 80
A special ‘thank you’ to everyone who donates to us by standing order or electronic payment for changing your payments to the new bank accounts. Your help has been very much appreciated.
If you are new to the church and need information about the different ways you can make regular offerings, please pick up one of the leaflets in the Reception area.
Peter Cope
Volunteers’ Tea Party
Change of date:
4.30 pm on Wednesday, 25 September 2024 in the Worship Area
Because of a number of absences for holidays, The tea party for Cornerstone volunteers originally scheduled for this Wednesday (4 September 2024 has been deferred until 4.30 pm on Wednesday, 25 September 2024 in the Worship Area. Volunteers are asked to RSVP to Marianne Cockburn (marianne.cockburn@cornerstoneevents.co.uk) or Simon Lowson (simon.lowson@cornerstoneevents.co.uk).
Wednesday Bible Study by Zoom
Change of start date: 7.00 pm Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Our next Wednesday Bible study will be on the Book of Revelation. Because the Bishop’s Visitation is taking place 23–27 September 2024 we are deferring the beginning of our Bible study to Wednesday, 2 October 2024 at 7.00 pm. More information will be available in September. If you have not yet joined these stimulating sessions and would like to join us, please send a request to robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk to add your email address to the list of folk receiving the Zoom link.
Thursday Morning Coffee
We shall resume Thursday Morning Coffee sessions by Zoom this coming Thursday (5 September 2024). If you would like to receive an invitation to these Zoom sessions by email please send a request to robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk.
Robin Kyd
Offering
Final Prayer
Go! The service is ended, but our service in the world begins.
May God strengthen and encourage us as we go, to live lives of gratitude,
spilling over into loving responses of joyful caring.
Amen
Hymn: Immortal, invisible, God only wise
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we raise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light;
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might –
thy justice like mountains high-soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all laud we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
W. Chalmers Smith (1825–1908)
CCL31580
Blessing
God be in your head, and in your understanding;
God be in your eyes, and in your looking;
God be in your mouth, and in your speaking
God be in your heart, and in your thinking;
God be at your end, and at your departing.
And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you today and always.
Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,
Amen