Last Sunday was the second week of our return to public worship. The previous week we had assembled in the church; this time we gathered on the lawn outside, under the shade of the trees. A dedicated team of volunteers had prepared everything for worship, including a sound system and chairs spaced carefully apart. It was a warm day and a gentle breeze provided relief from the heat. 

It was also my final service as interim rector. I had badly wanted to celebrate the Eucharist with members of the congregation before I departed, and so, God willing, it happened. For many, it was the first time they had attended a public act of worship in over four months. As I looked out on the congregation and recognized the faces behind the masks, I felt a mixture of joy and sorrow. We had all been on a journey, at first together and then separated by the coronavirus. Except, our separation was not absolute, because in the four months away we were held by the hand of God and united in one spirit: the spirit of love, which knows no distances or spans of time. ...  read more

How did D H Lawrence, the famous author of novels Women in Love and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, come to live in a homesteader’s cabin in the hills outside of Taos, New Mexico? In 1921 Lawrence and his wife Frieda had received an invitation from Mrs Mabel Dodge Luhan, a wealthy New York socialite and arts patron, to establish an artists’ colony in Taos. Lawrence accepted, and the couple left Europe for the USA, taking a route via Australia, before landing at San Francisco penniless. Graciously, Mrs Luhan funded the last leg of the journey, and the Lawrences arrived at Taos in September 1922. ...  read more

Dear friend,

I want to invite you to join us for a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at St Barnabas on Sunday, July 19 at 10 am. It may seem strange to receive an invitation to a church you regularly attend (or used to), but this is no ordinary occasion: we are returning to the church to worship together for the first time in over four months. Therefore, think of it as an invitation to a family reunion, where brothers and sisters meet again to celebrate in the Father’s home.  ...  read more

St Barnabas is open again for public worship on Sunday, July 19 at 10 am. Last week the diocese approved our plan for re-opening. This is exciting news for those who have waited patiently for the day when we would be free to gather again in God’s holy house. Churches are consecrated spaces where we can find peace, receive the sacraments, and encounter the reassuring presence of God. In times of crisis, it is natural for people of faith to seek the comfort of their beloved church. ...  read more

On Wednesday March 11, 2020, St Barnabas’ Episcopal Church was invited to lead worship and provide lunch at St Philip’s Lutheran Church. This was the second in a planned series of lunches to be offered throughout Lent, with different churches providing worship and hospitality each week. The following day – March 12 – Bishop Brown suspended all public worship services, in response to the state of emergency declared by Governor Carney. This was the sermon preached at St Philip’s… ...  read more