Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Come and find peace in the Lord.
Put behind you the troubles you bring with you.
Empty your mind of anger and regret.
Focus on God’s love for you, and for all your sisters and brothers,
and be ready for worship.

[Silence]

Welcome to the house 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: 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. 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 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. 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.

Dan Schutte (b. 1947)
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

Loving God, as we come to worship you, forgive us as we forgive one another;
stir in us that flow of love from brother to sister, sister to brother, and back again.
Help us to nurture it in one another, all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen

Confession

Incredible God, forgive us we pray when we are reluctant to let go
of the things that have been done to us that hurt.
Help us to understand more fully what it is to forgive, and heal us.

Forgive us when we justify our own mistakes but are harsh in our judgements of others.
Help us to understand them better from the way that you treat us.
Help us to understand more fully what it is to forgive, and heal us.

Forgive us when we could offer forgiveness but withhold it.
Help us to understand more fully what it is to forgive, and heal us.

Forgive us, heal us and help us grow into the likeness of your Son Jesus Christ.

[Silence]

Gracious God, there are debts to you and to others that we cannot pay.
There are mistakes that we cannot undo.
There are words that we cannot unsay.
But because you forgive us, we can take another step, face another day with confidence,
and rejoice at your love for us and for all creation.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

God of all, we come to offer you the best of ourselves:
To take hold of mercy and to let go of fear.
To take hold of generosity and to let go of resentment;
To take hold of forgiveness and to let go of sin.
To take hold of forgiveness and to let go of sin:
To take hold of gratitude and to let go of grudge.
To take hold of all your very self, in Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 103: 1–7

Read by Pat Kyd

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits –
³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

NIV®

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

Matthew 18: 21–35

Read by Robin Kyd

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’

²² Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.

²⁹ ‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”

³⁰ ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ ‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’

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 Glynne Gordon-Carter

The Peace

The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said,

‘Peace be with you.’

Then the disciples were they glad when they saw the risen Lord.

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

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Hymn: Breathe on me, Breath of God

Breathe on me, Breath of God;
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will,
to do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God;
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
of thine eternity.

Edwin Hatch (1835–1889)
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.

[Said] 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 forever and ever.

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer [said]

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

Draw near with faith.
Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which he gave for you,
and his blood which he shed for you.
Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you,
and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

Post Communion Prayer

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your spirit to give ourselves for others.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices

Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Wednesday Evening Bible Study by Zoom with Revd George Mwaura resumes this week at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 20 September 2023. This week we study Matthew 25: 31–46 ‘The Sheep and the Goats’.

Sponsored Bible Reading – Saturday, 23 September 2023 by Zoom

Please join us to listen to some favourite passages being read from the Bible next Saturday any time between 11.00 am and 2.45 pm. The Zoom link is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86952383019?pwd=bmRUY2oyMmUrNkpHQk1LdWdFZEkwUT09
Meeting ID: 869 5238 3019   Passcode: 026865

If you join us to listen, please remain muted so we don’t get any background noises! The full list of Bible readings will be circulated by email and on WhatsApp beforehand so you can choose when to listen.

This event is to raise much needed money for church funds. If you have not already done so, please sponsor us! There will be envelopes for your donations available in Reception, or, if you prefer to pay by bank transfer, please use the following bank details:

Account name: Ecumenical Partnership of Christ the Cornerstone Milton Keynes
Sort Code: 23 05 80; Account number 37995851 (Metro Bank)
Please give reference as: Sponsor Bible.

Please make any cheques payable to ‘Church of Christ the Cornerstone’.

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROSITY.

Black History Sunday, 8 October 2023

Bring and Share Lunch

The 75th Anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948 is being commemorated by many churches and civic organisations in the UK.

On Sunday, 8 October 2023 a special service is being planned by Revd Ernesto and Revd George. Members of our Congregation who have connections with ‘Windrushers’ as second or third generations will be contributing to the worship. After the service, we will be having a ‘bring and share’ lunch in the Cornerstone Café, which Christine Mwaura is coordinating. Please contact Christine with respect to your assistance, as well as any queries you may have. We look forward to everyone’s participation, as this will be our special event for the celebration of Black History Month.

Christine Mwaura, Glynne Gordon-Carter

Coffee Morning and Fair Trade stall at the Almere

10.30 am – 12.30 pm Saturday, 7 October 2023

We are returning after a very enjoyable gathering in the spring with residents of these new apartments in Avebury Boulevard, MK9 2FF. Please offer your support for a short time if you can, to provide cakes/cookies, help transport the Fair Trade stall goods, set up or clear the room or simply to meet and greet our neighbours with a smile – many are recently moved into Milton Keynes. More information (including arranging drop off of cakes etc. in advance if you are not available on the day) from Joy Chapman, 07854 762676, cjoy.chapman9@gmail.com.

MK Can! – World Record attempt, 10 km of cans for MK Food Bank

So far we have 125 cans, so are ⅓ of the way to our target of 350 cans needed for the MK Food Bank’s ‘MK Can!’ on World Food Day: Monday, 16 October 2023. We need to fill Cornerstone’s 25 metre section of the 10 km, so please donate tins of fruit, vegetables, tomatoes, soup, meat, fish, baked beans, other pulses, rice pudding or custard, or pasta. Bring them to the church on Sunday or whenever it is open and we’ll store them ahead of the event. There are boxes behind the desk in Reception in which to leave your cans. For more information see https://mkfoodbank.org.uk/mk-can/.

We will also need volunteers in the day, so please offer your services if you can be available for some or all of the time 9.00 am – 5.00 pm on Monday 16th October, in Campbell Park. Contact to Mubina Chakera (mubinachakera@hotmail.com) or David Chapman (david@dachapman.free-online.co.uk).

Social Justice Committee

Offering

Hymn: Let us build a house

Let us build a house where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where prophesy speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek
to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome, …

Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground
where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
All are welcome, …

Let us build a house where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, …

Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
All are welcome, …

Marty Haugen (b. 1950)
CCL31580

Blessing

God grant to the living, grace;
to the departed, rest;
to the Church, the King, the Commonwealth and all people,
unity, peace and concord;
and to us and all God’s servants life everlasting.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Amen

Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,

Amen