Church of Christ the Cornerstone is an

Ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

church in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, Buckinghamshire. It was completed in 1991 and has the Church of England, the

Baptist Union Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. H ...

, the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church working together to share the space. It is situated in Central Milton Keynes on Saxon Gate, between Midsummer and Silbury boulevards, with the

Fred Roche Frederick Lloyd Roche, CBE (11 March 1931 – 9 November 1992), was a British architect who worked on the programme of new towns in the United Kingdom. He was Chief Architect of Runcorn Development Corporation from 1965 to 1970 and General Mana ...

Memorial Gardens behind it. It was the first ecumenical metro centre church in the United Kingdom.

History

Foundation

In late September 1979, a Local Ecumenical Partnership was created. It commenced with a service of dedication in Middleton Hall in Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre. On 6 April 1980, the present congregation met at a site called Centrecom on North Row. At Easter 1981, they moved next door to Milton Keynes Central Library.History
from CornerstoneMK.co.uk, retrieved 24 December 2015

Construction

On 31 May 1990, The Baron Campbell of Eskan, the first Chairperson of Milton Keynes Development Corporation, broke ground on the site. On 4 June 1990, construction work on the church. Iain Smith, of Planning Design Development in Milton Keynes, designed the church. The Church Square, around the site was built by Beazer Developments and the church building was constructed by Marriotts of Rushden. On 20 December 1991, construction was completed at the church was handed over. On 12 January 1992, the congregations moved into the new church. On 29 March 1991, the cross was placed on top of the church. It was designed by Alan Evans, an artist from

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

in Gloucestershire. To the top of the lantern, the church is 101 feet high and the cross adds another 18 feet to the height. On 13 March 1992, the church was dedicated by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in a service where the music was composed by

Jonathan Dove Jonathan Dove (born 18 July 1959) is an English composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmin ...

Organ

The organ is by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd. It was built in 1965 for the former Royal College of Organists in Kensington, which the College vacated in 1991, following which it was installed in the church.

Chapel

The chapel is open seven days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and the café is open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday to Friday. On the weekend, in the church, there are services on Saturday at 5.30 pm for the Catholic

Vigil Mass In Christian liturgy, a vigil is, in origin, a religious service held during the night leading to a Sunday or other feastday. The Latin term ''vigilia'', from which the word is derived meant a watch night, not necessarily in a military context, and ...

and on Sunday at 10.00 am for the morning service and 6.00 pm for the evening service. During the week there is a Daily Prayer at 9.30am Monday to Friday and Catholic Mass on Mondays at 12.30 pm. services
at CornerstoneMK.co.uk, retrieved 21 May 2022

References

External links

{{commons category, Christ the Cornerstone Church, Milton Keynes
Church of Christ the Cornerstone site
Churches in Milton Keynes Catholic–Protestant ecumenism Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton Diocese of Oxford Methodism in England United Reformed churches in England Baptist Christianity in England