A separate video feed of the choir is available here.

Preacher: Krou Assoua LLM
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Come to God with your longings: our heavenly Father knows them all.
Come to God with your belongings: our loving Saviour holds them all.
Come to God alone and together: the Holy Spirit is here for all.

Amen

[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: To God be the glory

To God be the glory, great things he has done!
so loved he the world that he gave us his Son.
Who yielded his life in atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus his Son;
and give him the glory, great things he has done!

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God!
And every offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord!  …

Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord!  …

Fanny Crosby (née Frances J. van Alstyne) (1820–1915)
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

Father God, you give us so much, and yet we long for more.
Help us to open ourselves to you today, and draw us closer to you.
Help us to be open to one another, and draw us closer together.

Amen

Confession

Your call to the very first disciples, Lord, was ‘Come, follow me.’
We follow you today, Lord, but sometimes we can fall out of step with you.
Our longing to walk closely with you can get hijacked
by our longing to belong to the ‘in crowd’ of the moment.
And our behaviour makes us poor witnesses for you.
Lord, we are sorry;
help us to live unselfishly.

At times our words may not be nice and we’re at fault of quarrelling with one another.
Lord, we are sorry;
help us to live in unity.

Sometimes fear of the consequences of speaking out and sharing of you can silence us.
Lord, we are sorry;
strengthen our faith.

Help us to make the most of every opportunity. To be better witnesses for you so that others will come and know the love and joy of belonging to your family.

[Silence]

When we belong to the Lord. Salvation is ours.
We are washed clean.
Forgiven and free to live in joy with the Lord.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Let us come and worship the Lord Most High,
who guards the lives of his faithful ones.
Let us rejoice in the Lord and praise his holy name.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 97

Read by Richard May-Miller

¹ The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
² Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
³ Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
⁴ His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.

⁷ All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols –
worship him, all you gods!

⁸ Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, Lord.
⁹ For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
¹⁰ Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light shines on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.

NIV®

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

John 17: 20–26

Read by Rosemary Kearsey

Jesus Prays for all Believers

²⁰ ‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – ²³ I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴ ‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

²⁵ ‘Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Krou Assoua LLM

Choral Response

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 Don Head

The Peace

Peace to you from God, who is our Father.
Peace from Jesus Christ, who is our peace.
Peace from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life.

The peace of God be always with you.
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Hymn: When I survey the wondrous cross

When I survey the wondrous cross,
on which the Prince of Glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the death of Christ my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down;
did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
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 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

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

A big thank you

A big thank you to all our cake makers and cake buyers. At last weekend’s home-baked cake sale we raised a total of £112.54 for Christian Aid.

Heather Hughes

Congregational Meeting postponed to later in summer

The Ministerial Leadership team met on Tuesday to discuss the agenda for the Congregational Meeting scheduled for Sunday, 12 June 2022. There was very little business, so it was decided to postpone the meeting, which will be by Zoom, until later this summer. In the meantime, we are all looking forward to socialising over celebratory cake and a sparkly drink after the Pentecost service on 5 June 2022.

Changes to Safety Protocol at Sunday services

The Ministerial Leadership team reviewed the findings of last Sunday’s questionnaire to the congregation. The vast majority of responses wanted mask wearing to be voluntary, and for the seating to return to setting out in rows. However, it is recognised that some members may be vulnerable and so need more space around them, and the ability to leave the church easily.

Starting this Sunday (29 Mayb2022)

• Mask wearing will be voluntary.
• Chairs will be set out in rows with a slightly larger space between rows than before lockdown. ‘Please do not sit here’ notices will be available for people to put on the chairs next to them, to allow spaces between groups.
• The area at the back of the church will be set out with single chairs, or just two together, spaced widely. Stewards will be making this area available to people who need more space.

These arrangements will be reviewed as we see how they work in practice.

Advance Notice

Our worship on Sunday, 26 June 2022 will focus on the environment and Cornerstone’s commitment to become an Eco-Church. Over the next few weeks there will be information about what this means for all of us as a Congregation and as individuals. It’s also the Sunday when we will collect together our pumpkin seedlings!

Mark the date and make sure you come along.

Eco-Church Support Group

Send-off for Revd George Mwaura on his sabbatical

Sunday, 26 June 2022

Sunday, 26 June 2022 will mark the start of Revd George Mwaura’s sabbatical leave. We want to send him off with blessings – and a bit of a party. There will be a bring-and-share lunch after church, when we can share our family-favourite recipes from whatever is our cultural background in a wonderfully diverse buffet. Closer to the date we will be seeking volunteers for washing up!

The Ecumenical Council

Offering

‘God loves a cheerful giver’

Thanks to your generous giving we can be an Oasis of Hope to Milton Keynes.

Please keep supporting our mission!

If you are at our worship service in the church building and would like to make an offering, please place your offering in the basket at the door to the Worship Area. If you can’t find it, please ask one of the stewards.

There are many different ways to give: online, telephone banking or by cheque. For more information how to give please visit the Cornerstone website (https://cornerstonemk.co.uk/financial-giving-to-the-church-of-christ-the-cornerstone/) or contact: steward.cccmk@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

Final Prayer

Send us out, Lord, not perfect creations, but always work in progress.
Keep before us the vision of heaven on earth.
Show us the way of life that is the pattern of Christ.
Fill our hearts with the hope and promise of your ongoing work of transformation in our lives.
now and every day.

Amen

Hymn: Rejoice! Rejoice!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Christ is in you,
the hope of glory in our hearts.
He lives! He lives!
His breath is in you.
Arise! A mighty army, we arise!

Now is the time for us
to march upon the land,
into our hands
He will give the ground we claim.
He rides in majesty
to lead us into victory,
the world shall see that Christ is Lord!

Rejoice! Rejoice! …

God is at work in us
His purpose to perform,
building a kingdom
of power not of words,
where things impossible
by faith shall be made possible;
let’s give the glory
to Him now.

Rejoice! Rejoice! …

Though we are weak, His grace
is everything we need;
we’re made of clay
but this treasure is within.
He turns our weaknesses
into His opportunities,
so that the glory
goes to Him.

Rejoice! Rejoice! …

Graham Kendrick (b. 1950)
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

The Dismissal

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

Amen