Holy Communion – Live Streamed – Sunday, 27 April 2025
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Gathering Music
Welcome
Come and find the hide-and-seek God,
the one who breaks down doors, who looks for us wherever we are, who loves us whatever we do.
Come and join the God of surprises, who unlocks doors in our lives and opens our hearts to love.
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: Good Christians all, rejoice and sing!
Good Christians all, rejoice and sing!
Now is the triumph of our King.
To all the world glad news we bring:
Alleluia.
The Lord of Life is risen for ay:
bring flowers of song to strew his way;
let all the earth rejoice and say
Alleluia.
Praise we in songs of victory
that Love, that Life, which cannot die,
and sing with hearts uplifted high
Alleluia.
Thy name we bless, O risen Lord,
and sing today with one accord
the life laid down, the life restored:
Alleluia.
C.A. Aldington (1872–1955)
CCL31580
Confession
Lord God, you call us to be witnesses for you, but very often fear holds us back –
fear of speaking out and being made to look a fool, or, even worse,
imprisoned, as many are in other countries.
Lord God, we’re sorry when we allow our fears to dominate.
Sometimes, like Thomas, we need to see evidence of your promises before our fears subside.
Lord God, locked doors mean nothing to you but we often hang on to the key,
not wanting to face what lurks on the other side of the door;
sometimes unable to forgive ourselves for past actions.
Lord God, unlock any areas of our lives that we may not have dealt with.
We’re sorry, Lord.
Fling wide the doors.
Breathe on us afresh with your peace, we pray.
Our Saviour hung on a tree, shed his blood and freed us from our sins.
Repentance and forgiveness are ours through his life blood poured out for us.
Receive what he died to give us.
Thank you, Saviour God.
Amen
Prayer of the Week
Risen Lord, we give thanks and praise for our many blessings.
You know our point of need and you meet it. Because of you we have reason to rejoice.
You opened our hearts and blessed us with your peace. Thank you, risen Lord.
Because of you we live and grow in witness to your love.
We praise your Holy Name.
Amen
Ministry of the Word
Psalm 118: 14–24
Read by Peter Steeds
14 The Lord is my strength and my defence;
he has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
‘The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!’
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn: Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain
Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain,
wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
In the grave they laid him, Love whom men had slain,
thinking that never he would wake again,
laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain,
he that for three days in the grave had lain,
quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
thy touch can call us back to life again,
fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
J.M.C. Crum (1872–1958)
CCL31580
John 20: 19–29
Read by Nerys Steeds
Jesus appears to his disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’
Jesus appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’
But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’
28 Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’
29 Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’
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: Love’s redeeming work is done
Love’s redeeming work is done;
fought the fight, the battle won:
lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er,
lo, he sets in blood no more.
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Christ has burst the gates of hell;
death in vain forbids his rise;
Christ has opened paradise.
Lives again our glorious King;
where, O death, is now thy sting?
dying once, he all doth save;
where thy victory, O grave?
Soar we now where Christ has led,
following our exalted Head;
made like him, like him we rise;
ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!
Praise to thee by both be given:
thee we greet triumphant now;
hail, the Resurrection Thou!
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
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
Prayers for the City of Milton Keynes
12.30 pm every Friday, beginning on Friday, 9 May 2025
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you …. Pray to the Lord for it.
On his last visit to Cornerstone, Bishop Steven encouraged us to pray together for the life of the Church of Christ the Cornerstone in the centre of our city, as we work together to develop our discipleship, to be an oasis of hope, and to be a Christian force serving the community in which we are placed.
Starting on Friday, 9 May 2025 we shall be holding a weekly prayer meeting in the Chapel every Friday at 12.30 pm, lasting no longer than thirty minutes. Please come and pray with us. These prayer sessions are open to everyone, so please pass this information to any of your family, friends and colleagues who would be able to pop into Cornerstone on a Friday lunchtime. If anyone would like more information, please contact me by email: robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk.
Robin Kyd
Revd George Mwaura
Currently Revd George is on annual leave from 22 April 2025 for one week and resumes on 29 April 2025. We wish him a refreshing leave,
Win Kennedy
With sadness we report that Win Kennedy died peacefully at home with her family on Good Friday, 18 April 2025. Win and her husband Bill were active members of Cornerstone for many years before they moved away from Milton Keynes. Win worked with Fair Trade at Cornerstone and was a lead member of the Peace and Justice Group. Win was also a member of the Iona Community.
Road closures in Central Milton Keynes
Sunday, 4 May 2025
You may need extra time to get to church next Sunday morning. From early in the morning until 11.00 am Midsummer Boulevard from Witan Gate to Saxon Gate and Saxon Gate from Midsummer Boulevard to Childs Way will be closed to traffic. There are other closures that may affect your journey. Check Road Closures – Milton Keynes Marathon Weekend 5-6 May 2024.
Don Head
Episcopal Visitation Report implementation of recommendations: Church Council Away Day
Saturday, 10 May 2025
In his Pastoral Letter of 13 March 2025, Bishop Steven laid out how it was agreed that Cornerstone would move forward, with an oversight group established, chaired and facilitated by Revd Asa Humphreys, Parish Development Advisor.
The Church Council will meet on 10 May 2025 for a whole day, dedicated to discussing this, and will meet Revd Asa Humphreys.
Pat Kyd, Church Secretary
Offering
Final Prayer
Let us go out with laughter
to spread God’s joy.
Let us go out with passion
to spread God’s truth.
Let us go out with compassion
to spread God’s healing.
Let us go out with love
to spread God’s peace.
Amen
Hymn: Christ is alive! Let Christians sing
Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.
The cross stands empty to the sky.
Let streets and homes with praises ring.
Love, drowned in death, shall never die.
Christ is alive! No longer bound
to distant years in Palestine,
but saving, healing, here and now,
and touching every place and time.
In every insult, rift and war,
where colour, scorn or wealth divide,
Christ suffers still, yet loves the more,
and lives, where even hope has died.
Women and men, in age and youth,
can feel the Spirit, hear the call,
and find the way, the life, the truth,
revealed in Jesus, freed for all.
Christ is alive, and comes to bring
good news to this and every age,
till earth and sky and ocean ring
with joy, with justice, love and praise.
Brian A. Wren (b. 1936)
CCL31580
Blessing
May the strength of God sustain us;
may the power of God preserve us;
may the hands of God protect us;
may the way of God direct us;
may the love of God go with us
and the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
rest upon you and dwell within you this day and evermore.
Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,
Amen