Our Mission
Beloved is where we begin.
Who We Are
We are enriched by your presence with us and welcome you no matter where you are on your own journey.
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church is a member of the worldwide Anglican communion with 70 million members in 163 countries. We are a community of Christians bound together by our belief that Holy Scripture contains the very core of all Christian faith. Through the many ancient - as well as modern - stories that connect us to Jesus in his teachings, we discover daily God’s hope and call to us in our life together.
Our Beliefs
We believe in one God who creates all things, redeems us from sin and death, and renews us as children of God. As Episcopalians, we promise to follow Jesus Christ and we believe the mission of our God is restoration of all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
We are enriched by your presence with us and welcome you no matter where you are on your own journey.
Celebrating God’s Presence
In our worship services, we celebrate God with us through water, bread, and wine. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us through water that we are united with God. We call this Baptism. The Episcopal church believes through baptism in any Christian denomination we become brothers and sisters in God’s family (If you are not baptized and wish to be, you may contact the church office for more information).
Jesus shared bread and wine with his first followers and is with us today in this family meal we call Holy Communion. Through it we receive the forgiveness of our sins in a strengthening of our union with God and one another as we remember Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
Music
Music plays an integral role in uniting our worship and prayers. Our Director of Music organizes a talented team of musicians in residence to lead us sining a variety of hymns from the Hymnal with accompaniment by our magnificent pipe organ, the guitar, the violin, and the mandolin. The choir, children’s choir and handbells add beauty to our worship various Sundays and special occasions. Each of these may be joined by all interested without need for extenstive musical experience. Reach out to the church office for practice times.
Our Worship
In worship, we are united, acknowledging the holiness of God, to hear God‘s word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate God‘s presence among us.
All are welcome to participate in our worship as it is in worship that we live out our lives as a Christian family, together. Holy Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship, and each of our services centers on this participation in Christ’s sacrificial love.
Our order of worship is from the Book of Common Prayer, and includes readings from Scripture, a sermon, and other prayers and blessings.
The Book of Common Prayer includes a variety of ancient and modern prayers, as well as worship services for occasions when the whole community gathers and for individual use. It allows all to participate, reminding us that each person is an important part of worship, whether the service is a celebration or a solemn occasion. It is a guidebook for daily Christian living and personal prayer.
The Book of Common Prayer also contains the Lectionary—a three-year calendar that lists the selections from Holy Scripture to be read during worship. Using it, we read the entire Bible every three years. In it you can also find an outline of the Episcopal faith and church history.
The Book of Common Prayer is one of the treasures of the English language. It has been a source of comfort, joy, and inspiration, a unique treasure in Christian worship for more than 400 years. Originally compiled in 1549, the BCP is used by over 70 million Anglicans in 163 countries.
It can be found online at www.bcponline.org.
Join us and experience for yourself the love and the presence of God in the Episcopal faith.
Sacraments
A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace. In the Episcopal Church we take part in certain sacramental acts of worship that are reenactments of Christ ministries on earth. The two primary sacraments are Baptism and Holy Communion.
We believe that God is actively present in the world and in us in the sacraments. We realize his presence and his favor toward us. Through the sacraments, which are freely given to us by God, our sins are forgiven, our minds are enlightened, our hearts stirred, and our wills strengthened.
In Baptism, the outward and visible sign is water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; the inward spiritual grace is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit.
In Holy Communion the outward and visible sign is bread and wine, given and receieved according to Christ’s command. The inwards and spiritual grace is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith for the forgiveness of sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretast of the hea enly baquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.
There are sacraments the church recognizes as means of grace and spiritual markers in our journey of faith:
Confirmation: The adult affirmation of the baptismal vows received as an infant.
Reconciliation of a Penitent: private confession
Matrimony: Christian marrirage
Orders: Ordination to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopacy
Unction: Anointing the sick or dying with holy oil
The sacraments are contained in the worship services found in the Book of Common Prayer. Your questions are encouraged and always welcome.
The Cornerstones of our Faith:
The Creeds
In the Episcopal Church, we say both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed in our worship. Those are statements that contain a summary of our beliefs, and because we are a community of faith, we openly declare these beliefs unite ourselves with Christians in the past, present, and future. The word creed comes from the Latin word creo, which means “I believe.”
The Apostles' Creed dates from the early years of the Christian church and was used as a statement of faith at baptism. It is included in the services of morning and evening prayer that may be used both at church and in private devotions.
The Nicene Creed was written in the year 325 by early bishops meeting in Nicaea (modern day Turkey). It is a statement that summarizes the Christian faith and is said in unison during services of Holy Eucharist.
What if a person still has doubts or questions?
It is not unusual to have doubts and questions. In the Episcopal Church, questions are encouraged. There are many groups, classes, and forums available for discussing questions with other seekers. Or simply call the church and make an appointment to speak with a member of our clergy. They are happy to help with questions of faith.
