07 December 2022

The Church of Christ the
Cornerstone in Milton Keynes
is Britain’s first ecumenical
city centre church

The Church of Christ the Cornerstone almost serves as a cathedral for Milton Keynes and five of the main churches in the city (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Milton Keynes has no cathedral – unless I count the Tree Cathedral – but the Church of Christ the Cornerstone almost serves as a cathedral for the new city and five of the main churches in the city.

The Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes is Britain’s first ecumenical city centre church. It was completed in 1991 and was dedicated 30 years ago in 1992. There are covenants that bring together the Church of England, the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church in a partnership that became an important step forward for the ecumenical movement.

The five churches share the same space in the church in Central Milton Keynes on Saxon Gate, between Midsummer Boulevard and Silbury Boulevard, with the Fred Roche Memorial Gardens behind it.

The Church of Christ the Cornerstone describes itself as ‘An Oasis of Hope.’ Central Milton Keynes has no residential heart, with just shopping centre office buildings, shopping centres, hotels, restaurants and a train shopping forming the core of the city. Yet, despite what often appears to be a strangely disconnected place, this modern church is very much a part of its community.

The Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes was dedicated 30 years ago in 1992 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The church dates from March 1978, when Milton Keynes Christian Council approached the Development Corporation to secure a site for an Ecumenical Church in the centre of Milton Keynes. A Local Ecumenical Partnership was formed in September 1979 with a service of dedication in Middleton Hall in Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.

A new congregation met for the first time on 6 April 1980 at a site called Centrecom on North Row. The expanding church moved next door to Milton Keynes Central Library at Easter 1981, and was dedicated as ‘The Church of Christ the Cornerstone.’

A 6.6-metre white cross was raised on the edge of the new church building site on 1 February 1990. Lord Campbell of Eskan, first chair of Milton Keynes Development Corporation, cut the first turf on the site of the new church building on 31 May 1990, and building work began on 4 June 1990.

The plinth stone – the ‘cornerstone’ in the chapel – was laid on 16 September 1990, and the dome, weighing 40 tonnes, was lifted by crane on 19 December 1990.

The church was designed by the architect Iain Smith of Planning Design Development Ltd, a local Milton Keynes firm. The architect of the flanking office blocks was Conran Roche. The church was built by Marriotts of Rushden, Northamptonshire and Church Square around the site was developed by Beazer Developments Ltd.

The church was designed by the architect Iain Smith of Planning Design Development (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The cross on top of the lantern was designed by the artist and metalsmith Alan Evans of Stroud, Gloucestershire. It was placed on top of the church during a service on Good Friday 29 March 1991 attended by over 1,000 people. Construction work on the church was completed on 20 December 1991, when the keys were handed over by the builders, and the congregation moved into the new church on 12 January 1992, when the congregation walked from the library to the new building for the first service.

The church was dedicated by Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury, Cardinal Basil Hume, the Revd Dr John Newton and the Revd Desmond Pemberton in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1992. The music for the service was composed by Jonathan Dove.

The church is 101 ft high to the top of the lantern, and the cross rises a further 18 ft, making it the highest point in central Milton Keynes.

The worship area incorporates five important features from each tradition sharing the church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

During the ‘church in the library’ days, as members watched the new church being built, there were discussions about the interior layout, particularly in the worship area. The mixed congregation wanted to incorporate the most important features from each of the five traditions in the worship area, while keeping the style simple and uncluttered. Today they are the lectern (URC and Methodist), the baptistry (Baptist), the altar table (Anglican), and the reserved sacrament in the chapel (Roman Catholic).

There were discussions too about the position of the organ and the choir so that the sound effects in services and in concerts were the best possible.

The altar is of rosa porrino was quarried in north-west Spain, shaped in Italy to a design by PDD Architects and finished in Torquay. It weighs 2 tonnes. The pulpit or lectern is also of granite and weighs just under 1 tonne. Despite their weight, both the altar and the pulpit are moved easily.

The pewter Paschal Candle is the work of Toby Russell, a London metal designer.

In the Baptistry, a channel links two fonts and provides a 4-ft wide waterfall into the baptistry pool. The whole is lined with polished granite.

The two-manual and pedal organ was built by JW Walker & Sons of Norfolk (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The two-manual and pedal organ by JW Walker & Sons of Norfolk was built in 1965 for the former Royal College of Organists in Kensington. When the college left Kensington in 1991, the organ was installed in Milton Keynes and rebuilt by Walkers in 1992.

The worship area can seat 400 people at ground level and 116 people in the first floor balcony.

Despite a constant bustle of activity, the church is light and bright, with a serenity of space. The church is principally a place for worship, but is also a centre for concerts, recitals, exhibitions and drama.

The chapel is open daily for private prayer and meditation (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The chapel, which is open daily for private prayer and meditation, mirrors the main worship area: it is a circular area with a round altar designed by Planning Design Development Architects and made in the church by Scotts of Thrapston.

The stained glass in the doors and shutters is the work of Ruth Ward, the brass cross in the alcove was a gift of Allgoods, and the Tabernacle holds the reserved sacrament. The wooden Madonna and Christ Child was sculpted by Willi Soukop.

‘It is Finished’ by Pamela Richardson (1909-2001) in the Cloister (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The cloister includes art work by David Peace, Sally Scott, Mary Everett, Alexander Beleschenko, and a memorial window for the late Fiona Smith, calligrapher and wife of the Revd Dr Paul Smith.

There are four small garden areas between the worship area and cloister and the square of the four surrounding blocks.

The Guildhall is a meeting place for business and commerce in the city centre, and can accommodate 130 people for conferences and meetings or 100 people at receptions.

The stained glass in the chapel is the work of Ruth Ward (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The Church of Christ the Cornerstone serves five denominations who work together, sharing the same space and a commitment to serving the people of Milton Keynes. It is a diverse community discovering and growing in the Christian faith.

The covenant between the five denominations declares ‘the unity of the church is the will of God.’ The covenant agreed by members and ministers of the congregation at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone rests ‘upon the foundation of the recognition that we have one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; for, we share a Gospel which effects reconciliation between God and humankind and between nations and peoples.’

It continues: ‘Travelling as Pilgrims on a journey that has already started and which will lead we know not where, we are pleased to place our trust in God, in whose hands the future lies, and to be led forward by Him.’

The five churches undertake ‘to proclaim the gospel by common witness and service in the community and the world, and in obedience to God’s call, through the power of the Holy Spirit.’ The commitments to each other are:

• to work together in love;
• to pray and care for one another and for our neighbours;
• to serve together the community based in the city centre;
• to live together in fellowship, to the greater glory of God.

The wooden Madonna and Christ Child was sculpted by Willi Soukop (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The ministerial team today includes Father Francis Higgins, Roman Catholic Priest, and Dean of Milton Keynes; the Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga of the Church of England; and the Revd George Mwaura of the United Reformed Church.

The chapel is open seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm and the café is open from 8:30 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

At the weekend, there are services on Saturdays at 5.30 pm for the Catholic Vigil Mass for the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, and on Sundays at 10 am and 6 pm. During the week there is Daily Prayer at 9:30 am Monday to Friday and Catholic Mass on Mondays at 12:30.

The Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes is Britain’s first ecumenical city centre church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Praying in Advent with Lichfield Cathedral
and USPG: Wednesday 7 December 2022

Saint Ambrose among seven Fathers of the Church above the south door of Lichfield Cathedral (from left): Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, Saint Ambrose, Saint Gregory, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Athanasius and Saint Basil (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in the second week of Advent, and the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Teacher of the Faith, 397, with a Lesser Festival.

Saint Ambrose (339-397) was born in Trier into an aristocratic family and was governor of northern Italy, with his headquarters in Milan. Ambrose was known and respected by all and tried to bring peace to the Christian community. Arians and the orthodox or catholic Christians were vying with each other, trying to gain the election of their own candidate as bishop. Although Ambrose was not yet baptised, he found himself being urged to accept the rôle of bishop. The gathered population took up the cry, ‘Ambrose for bishop’.

Ambrose finally accepted, was baptised, and was consecrated on this day in the year 374. He became a teacher and preacher of great renown, promoting the essential divinity of Christ as being at the centre of Christian faith. He wrote hymns that gave a clear understanding of orthodox teaching, ensuring that what the people prayed was what they believed.

He came up against the imperial powers and, with the support of the whole community, stood firm against the interference of the State in matters of the Church and faith. Saint Ambrose died on Easter Eve, 4 April 397.

Before today gets busy, I am taking some time this morning for reading, prayer and reflection.

During Advent, I am reflecting in these ways:

1, The reading suggested in the Advent and Christmas Devotional Calendar produced by Lichfield Cathedral this year;

2, praying with the Lichfield Cathedral Devotional Calendar;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary, ‘Pray with the World Church.’

‘For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?’ (Luke 22: 27) … a table for two (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Luke 22: 24-30 (NRSVA):

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’

Saint Ambrose of Milan baptises Augustine of Hippo (Gozzolini, 1575)

The Lichfield Cathedral Devotional Calendar:

Reflect on this passage. Christ questions our status-seeking and desire for power and control. Pray to embrace his example of humility.

Collect:

God of hosts,
who called Ambrose from the governor’s throne
to be a bishop in your Church
and an intrepid champion of your faithful people:
mercifully grant that, as he did not fear to rebuke rulers,
so we, with like courage,
may contend for the faith we have received;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Post Communion:

God of truth,
whose Wisdom set her table
and invited us to eat the bread and drink the wine
of the kingdom:
help us to lay aside all foolishness
and to live and walk in the way of insight,
that we may come with Ambrose to the eternal feast of heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

USPG Prayer Diary:

The theme in the USPG Prayer Diary this week is ‘Human Rights in the Philippines.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with an excerpt from the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church) human rights report by USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary invites us to pray today in these words:

Let us pray for all who live in fear of detention and torture. May the new regime of Ferdinand Marcos Jr listen to past wrongs, observe human rights and govern peaceably.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Some images from Lichfield and Lichfield Cathedral over the years (Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org