Saint Barnabas was one of the earliest Christian believers. The book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts) refers to him as an apostle—a carrier of the good news of Christ Jesus. Barnabas was a Jew from Cyprus who was originally named Joseph, and possibly the cousin of Saint Mark the Evangelist. His name Barnabas, which was apparently given him by the other apostles, means Son of Encouragement. At some point Barnabas was sent to Antioch to be a teacher and prophet in the infant church there and this is where he met Saul (known to us as Saint Paul).

Saul and Barnabas were sent from Antioch to Cyprus on a missionary voyage going city to city in the eastern Mediterranean preaching the gospel and converting the Gentiles. Eventually, Paul and Barnabas separated and proceeded on separate missionary journeys. Tradition has it that Saint Barnabas was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, found in the New Testament, and the Epistle of Barnabas, but there is no way the tradition can be verified. St. Barnabas was martyred in Cyprus around 61 A.D. He is considered the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church.

St. Barnabas has no dress code. Some parishioners may choose to dress up for holidays, but ultimately, whatever you wear, you are welcome.

We are located on the south side of Butterfield Rd. between Route 53 and Park Blvd

We have one large parking lot behind our building, which features plentiful visitor and handicap parking spaces.

Yes. Our parking lot has designated handicap parking spaces with easy access to the church building. The ramp up to the front doors lead to an elevator to the left, which provides access to all floors. 

The paragraph below reflects the Sunday morning children’s opportunities before the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are welcome at all church services! Plans are being made to again have a nursery staff. Kids Formation is currently a video ministry (click here for our YouTube channel), with monthly-ish special in-person activities. We will update soon.

Children are encouraged to attend with their families! Prior to services, there are child and youth formation programs which begin at 9:30 am. Check in with our children’s ministry director, Judi Horjus, and she will direct you to the appropriate classroom. For ideas on how to involve your child in the service, visit our worship page. We also have a nursery next to our sanctuary that is outfitted to handle all of your infant/young child needs during your time here.

In the Episcopal Church, all of our worship is taken from The Book of Common Prayer. There are BCPs in every pew in church, along with The Hymnal 1982. Your worship bulletin will  contain the entire service and direct you to page and hymn numbers in The Hymnal 1982, as well as provide helpful notes in the margins to help you understand unfamiliar gestures and traditions. We get it! It's a lot! Please feel free to ask our rector or deacons should you have any questions!

All baptized Christians of any denomination or tradition are welcome to receive Holy Communion at St. Barnabas, children included. When your pew is released by the usher, walk forward to the altar. You will be directed to come forward to receive the elements. To receive the bread, place your right hand over your left, palms up, so that the priest may put a portion of bread in your palm. If you are going to drink from the chalice, you may consume the bread immediately. If you do not wish to drink from the chalice, the chalice bearer will intinct (dip) your bread in the wine and place it on your tongue, or you may intinct it yourself. It is helpful if you place your hand on the bottom of the chalice and help the chalice bearer guide it to your mouth. If you do not wish to receive wine at all, simply consume your bread, cross your arms over your chest and return to your seat.

The paragraph below reflects the Sunday schedule before COVID-19. Our current schedule includes music rehearsal at 8:30am, coffee hour after the 9:30am service, and Formation class, resuming February 27, 2022, at 10:45am.

Sundays are exciting and busy at St. Barnabas. You may choose to attend Adult Formation, which runs from 9:30-10:15 am. Children and Youth go to their Sunday formation program at the same time. St. Barnabas has many parish and volunteer groups that hold meetings on Sundays. Sometimes we’ll have a luncheon or a reception for a special occasion. There are always various sign up sheets on our bulletin board should you be interested in participating in addition to your Sunday worship attendance.

There are three orders of clergy in The Episcopal Church: deacons, priests, and bishops. Many address our deacons as Deacon followed by their first name. At St. Barnabas, some parishioners use “Father” to address the male priests and "Mother"  to address female priests on staff. The best way to know how to address the priests and deacons at Saint Barnabas is to ask them how they like to be addressed.

Of course! Please contact the office (630.469.1394) to schedule.