A separate video feed of the choir will be available here during the service.

Guest Preacher: Revd Daphne Preece
Led by Revd George Mwaura and Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Opening Prayer

Let us draw near to our awesome God.
We bring our praise and adoration.
We bring ourselves, our memories and our hopes,
in expectation of meeting with our Lord, whose presence is all around us
In Jesus, God is with us.

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: 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

Prayer of Approach

‘The Lord is king, let the peoples tremble!’
Lord, we praise your great and awesome name, you are the holy one.
Today we draw close to you, to be still and to listen, to be mesmerised by your dazzling brightness.
Meet us today, Lord, in this place.

Amen

Confession

Transforming God, we come to the foot of your cross and say sorry when we don’t listen.

We are sorry
when we miss you in the midst of our lives, when we fail to glimpse you,
even when you are shining so bright before us.

We are sorry
when we are afraid and don’t trust you,
when we fall asleep, absorbed in our own lives,
when we make our own conclusions and don’t involve you,
when we think we know best.

Help us to always seek refuge in you,
to be transformed by your brightness,
and draw closer to you.

[Silence]

Awesome God, we are your beloved and our home is in you.
We are forgiven and transformed into your likeness.
You make us whole.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Eternal God, your Son and our Saviour was glorified on earth together with you,
with the glory which he had with you before the world was.
We thank you for sending him so that we could all be saved
and that we could have an example on how to lead lives that are pleasing to you here on earth.
On this Transfiguration Sunday, we thank you for the glorification of your Son
and the power that was made known in him,
because we believe that we too can experience your power here on earth
through the Spirt he promised and sent.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Exodus 24: 12–18

Read by Peter Steeds

¹² The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.’

¹³ Then Moses set out with Joshua his assistant, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He said to the elders, ‘Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.’

¹⁵ When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, ¹⁶ and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. ¹⁷ To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

NIV®

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

Hymn: Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
unaccompanied by thee;
joyless is the day’s return,
till thy mercy’s beams I see,
till they inward light impart,
glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,
pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
fill me, radiancy divine,
scatter all my unbelief;
more and more thyself display,
shining to the perfect day.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788))
CCL31580

Matthew 17: 1–9

Read by Nerys Steeds

The Transfiguration

¹ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no-one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd Daphne Preece

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 Adrian Boynton

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: Let us break bread together on our knees

Let us break bread together on our knees.
Let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Let us drink wine together on our knees.
Let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Let us praise God together on our knees.
Let us praise God together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Traditional
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

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

King Charles III at Christ the Cornerstone

Last Thursday (16 February 2023) Revd George Mwaura welcomed His Majesty to the Church of Christ the Cornerstone, where the king took part in the City Celebration to recognise officially the status of Milton Keynes as a city: the City of Milton Keynes.

Eco Church update

This Sunday (19 February 2023) during the Notices, Cheryl will demonstrate how to analyse your carbon footprint by using the calculator of the World Wildlife Fund. If you have a tablet or smartphone, please bring it with you and make sure you are connected to the internet (but silent) until that part of the Service. If you want to have a look first, here is the link: https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/questionnaire.

The aim is to discover your climate impact and make one resolution to bring about change.

Our guest preacher: Revd Daphne Preece

Having graduated in geography, I taught for a few years before training for ministry in the United Reformed Church. I was ordained in 1989. In 1997 I joined the ministerial team at The Church of Christ the Cornerstone. Sadly, after problems in my personal life, I had health issues and I resigned in 2001. One of the last things I did before becoming ill was share in the funeral of Patricia Preece. Her widower, Frank, was very supportive of me through a tough time, and in due course we fell in love. We married at Cornerstone in 2004. My Gethsemane became my place of resurrection.

More than half my ministry, however, has been in hospital chaplaincy, most recently as Lead Chaplain at Milton Keynes University Hospital. Since retiring in 2015 I have become involved in spiritual direction, working with individuals on their faith journey. My passion is leading quiet days, but opportunities are limited.

Frank and I live in Winslow where Frank is active in the Catholic congregation. I worship at the Anglican church, there being no URC nearby, and have helped out during their interregnum. I lead services in URCs from time to time, and am currently a chaplain to newly ordained URC ministers.

Lent Studies 2023

This season we will be using materials from the Diocese of Oxford called ‘Come and See’, which will be available on line and from Cornerstone. The study is based on the Beatitudes. Participants are asked to sign up at https://oxford.anglican.org/come-and-see for a daily email from Oxford and there will be videos available each week. We shall also aim to have appropriate material from Cornerstone.

There are three groups. The Tuesday group, led by Rosemary Kearsey, starts this week at 7.15 pm via Zoom on 21 February 2023. As it’s Ash Wednesday this Wednesday, the Wednesday group next meets at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 1 March 2023. The Thursday group also begins this week at 7.30 pm on Thursday, 23 February 2023. This group meets either in-person in Newport Pagnell or via Zoom, led by Stuart Kean. If you wish to join either the Tuesday or Wednesday group, please send an email to robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk and he will add your name to the mailing list for those session.

Look to the heavens: Count the stars and enjoy the beauty of creation

Join this year’s Star Count, taking place 17–24 February 2023. Star Count is organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) as part of their campaign to tackle light pollution which seriously disrupts wildlife, affects our sleep cycles, and excess lighting contributes to carbon emissions. The best way to see how many stars we can all see in the sky is to count them! Every year, around February, people from across the country are asked to become ‘citizen scientists’ and look heavenwards for one night. You don’t need any special equipment – it’s all done with the naked eye. It’s great for kids too, in fact they’ve even created a Star Count activity pack for kids aged five and up, which you can download. For more information please go to: https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/star-count-2023-is-coming/.

World Day of Prayer 2023

Friday, 3 March at 12.30 pm
at The Salvation Army, Ramsons Avenue, Conniburrow, MK14 7BA

The service has been written by women from Taiwan, and we will be joining with people throughout the world to pray for them. All are welcome. Please com and join us. It would be great to see a good number from Cornerstone there. If you would like to take part in the service, please contact Rosemary Kearsey (rosemary.kearsey@btopenworld.com or 01908 373263 or 0776 8407576).

THE BIG BREW

Saturday, 4 March 2023

FairTrade fortnight begins at the end of February. To mark the fortnight at Cornerstone and to give us a chance to meet new residents in our neighbourhood, we have organised a Coffee Morning with Fair Trade stall on Saturday,4 March 2023 from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon at the Almere Apartments (the new tall building across from Sainsbury).

You can help: Cakes and other goodies are needed, with a list of their ingredients, and people are needed to help on the day, too. Cakes can be brought to church Reception on Friday, 3 March 2023 any time. To offer help on the day, please contact Joy Chapman, email cjoy.chapman9@gmail.com, or mobile 07854 762676.

This outreach is part of our Oasis of Hope Roadmap.

Cheryl Montgomery

Offering

Final Prayer

Beloved God, your glory shines all around us.
Help us to use all our senses to know how close you are.
Give us words to tell everyone that you are there for them too.

Amen

Hymn: Shine, Jesus, shine

Lord, the light of your love is shining,
in the midst of the darkness, shining;
Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us,
set us free by the truth you now bring us,
shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine,
fill this land with the Father’s glory;
blaze, Spirit, blaze,
set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow,
flood the nations with grace and mercy;
send forth Your word,
Lord, and let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, …

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness
So our faces display Your likeness.
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, …

Graham Kendrick (b. 1950)
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 this day and always.
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