Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

As we gather before you today, Lord God, we remember that you are God of all;
so we pray for wisdom and sensitivity in hearing the voices of those on the margins of our experience.
Lead us to hear with your ears and to follow your example,
as we seek to meet needs and foster harmony in your world.

[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: How great thou art

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art!</span

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, …

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die – I scarce can take it in:
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, …

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home – what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, …

Russian hymn by Carl Boberg (1850–1940) tr. Stuart K. Hine (1899–1989)
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

Lord, we thank you that no cry is too small for you to hear.
You are attuned to the voices of the weak and oppressed.

Lord, we thank you that no voice is too loud for you to acknowledge.
You are not offended by those who shout in their need and determination.

We adore you for being the God whose heart is open to all.

Amen

Confession

Father, we confess that although we are not governed by purity laws,
we still shy away from some fellow human beings, as if they would taint us.
They are not our sort, we say; their issues are not our concern.
But you do not cut yourself off from anybody. You do not turn your back where there is need.
Forgive us for distancing ourselves from the problems of those who are different in some way.
We commit to hearing the cries of all your children, and to responding where we are able.

[Silence]

You forgive us, Lord, when our hearing is selective,
when we choose to whom we shall listen and respond.
Thank you for forgiving our selfishness.
You forgive us, Lord, when our faith is selective,
when we choose the bits that we like and ignore the difficult things.
Thank you for forgiving our wilful ignorance.
Thank you for being the God of forgiveness, heart ever open to our penitence and the will to do better.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Gracious God, your tender, kind, compassionate love hugs the whole of your creation.
May we let that love heals us and, unblocked, within us, flow out to all we meet.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 67

Read by Bob Collard

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us –
² so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
³ May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.

⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
⁵ May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
⁶ The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
⁷ May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

NIV®

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

Matthew 15: 21–28

Read by Rosemary Kearsey

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.’

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’

²⁴ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said.

²⁶ He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’

²⁷‘Yes it is, Lord,’ she said. ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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: Bind us together

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.

[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

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

This Week’s Flowers

The flowers in the Worship Area this weekend have kindly been donated by Joan Ranson. Joan, a long-time supporter and volunteer at Cornerstone, is also a senior officer with St John Ambulance, a volunteer-led, charitable non-governmental organisation dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid in England. Joan has given the flowers to commemorate St John’s wonderful work in providing medical assistance and first aid throughout the country. Thank you, Joan.

And also, many thanks to our team of talented flower arrangers, led by Ratna, who work so hard every week to decorate our Worship Area so beautifully.

‘Songs of Praise’ by Zoom

6.00 pm next Sunday (27 August 2023)

Rosemary Kearsey is offering to present a ‘Songs of Praise’ by Zoom at 6.00 pm next Sunday. If you have a favourite hymn or reading you would like included, please would you send this to Rosemary by this Sunday (20 August 2023), so that she has plenty of time to find the links and plan the service. Rosemary’s email address is rosemary.kearsey@btopenworld.com.

Cornerstone Baby and Toddler Group

We are re-starting the baby and toddler group in September and would like to invite families with pre-school children to come and join the fun on Monday mornings, 10.00–11:30 am starting from Monday, 11 September.

We already have a core team in place but also need volunteers who could help us to get the group up and running. Perhaps you could join in with the activities with the children, make tea, or help to set up. We know people are busy so you don’t need to commit to coming every week but any support you could give would be brilliant and we guarantee you will have fun too!

Please contact: Nerys Steeds njsteeds@icloud.com or Joy Chapman cjoy.chapman9@gmail.com

First Congregational Meeting of the Cornerstone CIO

The Trustees of Christ the Cornerstone Ecumenical Partnership hereby notify the Congregations that a meeting will be held on Sunday, 10 September 2023 at the close of Morning Worship (about 10.50 am) in the church building. All members are invited.

Agenda

The purpose of the meeting is to elect an additional trustee to the CIO.

Background

The congregation elected the following to serve as Trustees of the CIO in addition to the clergy trustees, Revd George Mwaura, Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga, Revd Fr Francis Higgins: Peter Cope, Cheryl Montgomery, Peter Steeds, Ade Amos, Tabbie Macharia and Grace Hunting.

The Trustees have considered all the work they have to do and have determined that they need an additional Trustee. The Trustees are nominating Ademola Adeyemi to be a Trustee.

Resolution

To elect Ademola Adeyemi as a Trustee of Christ the Cornerstone CIO for a term of three years.

Additional information

If you are watching online you can vote via WhatsApp or via text message to 07795 237 888. It is possible to vote by email any time up to and including 10 September by sending your response (I agree with the resolution or I do not agree with the resolution) to this email: mkstitcher2016@gmail.com.

Cheryl Montgomery – Secretary

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

We need tins of food: lots of them! Cornerstone is committed to collecting at least 350 cans ahead of the event on World Food Day: Monday, 16 October 2023. This event is being organised by the MK Food Bank and is a major Milton Keynes effort to smash the current world record for the longest line of cans of food! 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 is a box behind the desk in Reception in which to leave your cans. All the cans will be used during the following months by MK Food Bank to give out in food parcels, so they need to be in good condition (not dented or damaged) and well within the best before date, ideally by a year at least. 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: And can it be

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died he for me, who caused him pain?
For me, whom him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: the Immortal dies!
Who can explain his strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
let angel minds enquire no more.

He left his Father’s throne above —
so free, so infinite his grace —
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam’s helpless race.
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
for, O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, we forth, and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ, my own.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
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