Are you new to St. Barnabas? If you are here are a few questions you may like to ask:

    I worship at St. Barnabas and would like to know more about

Can I have my baby christened?

If you live within the parish boundary, yes.
If not, maybe

The basic requirement for baptism is that you want to bring up your child as a Christian person and are willing publicly to promise you’ll do that. We make quite an event of the Baptism service – it takes place on the first Sunday of the month at 10am. We will try to make you as welcome as we possibly can.

If you don’t live inside the parish, we ask you to make contact with your own vicar we make any arrangements for baptisms to come to St Barnabas. But we do recognise   that family connections sometimes make that the more sensible place for a family occasion. So we are very happy to discuss it with you, provided that your own vicar is happy.

Do I live in the parish?

Parish boundaries do strange things, like going down the middle of streets and even through the middle of houses, so when it comes to technical things like the legalities of weddings and baptisms you do need to make sure by asking the vicar.

But as a general guide, the parish of St. Barnabas with Christ Church consists of  Rainbow Hill, Brickfields, Tolladine, Saddlers Walk, Astwood Farm and Bilford Road.

To book a Baptism at St. Barnabas, come to the parish office in the church any Wednesday between 6:30 and 7:00pm. At Christ Church we baptise by arrangement with the clergy.

What if I were never confirmed as a young person?

You can be at any age. Come to church for a while and then speak to the clergy. We usually begin confirmation preparation after Easter for a confirmation service in the cluster in early July.

There are legal requirements about getting married in the Church of England

Will the Church arrange a family funeral even if we don't go to church

Yes of course! At a distressing time like a death in the family, we will help all we can - and if you ask us to conduct a funeral for you we will be pleased to arrange it with you  and will visit you at home.

Can I come to any service?

Yes, of course. All worship in the Church of England is public worship

 --- and you are most welcome at any of the times advertised, either on notices at the church or here on this site. The difficulty you may feel is when you are strange to it and wonder whether you dare come in. If you feel like that, please talk to the vicar about it.   He can help you.

What Sunday services do you have?

On Sundays there are three main services:

At 8am there is a quiet service, shorter than the later service, of Holy Communion without any music.

At 10am there is a longer service which we call the Parish Eucharist. This service includes music [with a good sprinkling of traditional hymns and modern songs for you     to enjoy] and a sermon. It usually lasts around an hour and a cup of tea or coffee is available afterwards if you want to stop and chat a bit. You’ll normally find around 100 people there, of all ages – so it’s possible to come and join us without feeling too conspicuous at first.

On the second Sunday of the month there is a Traidcraft stall after the 10am service where you can buy fairly  traded goods.

In the evening we have a monthly pattern of worship at 6:30pm:

All our services are advertised on our weekly notice sheet.

Are there other times when you hold services?

Yes. Everyday we have services in either of the two churches.
 

If I come to a communion service, can I receive communion?

Everyone is welcome to come up either for communion if that is your custom, or a blessing.

If you wish to come to the altar to be blessed, just join the others there and bow your head. The vicar will bless you when he comes to you. But if you wish, you can remain in your seat while the others go forward. Others do that, and there is no need to think you are the odd one out.


Can I bring my children to church?

Yes!

We have a Sunday School (Barney's Bunch) for those who are old enough and teenagers have their own group but all come together for the time of Communion.
 

I want to explore Christianity further?

Then come and join us! We are all on a journey of faith and from time to time have discussion groups and shorts courses which would be all the richer for having you there.

There is a regular Bible study and Fellowship group which meets alternate Wednesday evenings. See the notice sheet for more details. All are welcome.

What if I don't want to go to Church?

That’s understandable. Lots don’t.

 Not everybody’s cup of tea. And when you walk in, it feels strange.

But it’s just possible you ask the question because you suspect there’s something in it after all. And the way to discover is to make contact and talk about it.


 

Try these prayers to get you going and keep you going

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done;
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen

A prayer for St Barnabas Church

Bountiful God, giver of all gifts,

who poured your Spirit upon your servant Barnabas

and gave him grace to encourage others:

help us, by his example, to be generous in our judgements

and unselfish in our service;

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 forever. Amen.

A prayer for Christ Church

Almighty God,

who in the passion of your blessed Son

made an instrument of painful death

to be for us the means of life and peace:

grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ

that we may gladly suffer for his sake;

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, now and forever. Amen.

To start your day

Lord God,
thank you for bringing me safely
to the beginning of this day.
keep me from falling into sin
or running into danger;
order me in all my doings,
and guide me to do always
what is righteous in your eyes,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer on waking

O Lord, thou knowest how busy I must be this day:

if I forget thee, do not thou forget me: for Christ’s sake Amen
(General Lord Astley)

To end your day
Lighten our darkness,
Lord, we pray;
and in your mercy defend us
from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of your only Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
 Amen.


 

Some passages from the Bible.
 

Food for thought

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing.
He shall feed me in a green pasture: and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
He shall convert my soul: and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his  Name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me:
thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.
But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
 

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills -
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip –
he who watches over you will not slumber:
indeed he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you –
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm –
He will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and for evermore.
 

Excerpts from Isaiah

I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand.

I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you: I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by your name and you are mine.... You are precious, honoured in my sight Do not be afraid. I am with you.
 

The Beatitudes
[From Matthew chapter 5]

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His  disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
 

John 14: 14

Jesus said: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going  there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.
 

Ephesians 3: 14-18

For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in       heaven and on earth receives his true name. I ask God from the wealth of his glory          to give you power through his spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that  Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your   roots and foundations in love, so that you, together with all God's people, may have       the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love.      Yes, may you come to know his love - although it can never be fully known - and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.

 

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