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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

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 Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, 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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

working together to share the space. It is situated in

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a #Civil parish, civil parish in its own right, with a town council#England and Wales, town council. The district is approximately long by w ...

on Saxon Gate, between Midsummer and Silbury boulevards, with the Fred Roche 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 The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre ...

. 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 Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) was a development corporation operating from 1967 to 1992 oversee the planning and early development of Milton Keynes, a new town midway between London and Birmingham. Establishment MKDC established o ...

, 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 ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. 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 The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

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

History

Foundation

Construction

Organ

Chapel

See also

References

External links