All Saints & St Barnabas News

  It was wonderful to see so many at St Barnabas last Sunday (8th June 2025) for a poignant and moving final service, in which we said goodbye to the building of St Barnabas, on a site where we have worshipped together since 1911.  Here are a few photos of this special morning, which saw members of the congregation from across the decades come together in that church for one last time. This Sunday, 15th June 2025, we launch our new church of All Saints and St Barnabas, located out of All Saints Church, Kenley. There will be a new entrance into the building and other changes to signify this major change in our church life together. Here is a first glimpse of the side chapel at All Saints Kenley, furnished with the altar from St Barnabas, all ready for our first service as the new Church of All Saints and St Barnabas. All are welcome to our 10am service.

St Barnabas Festival, Sunday 9 th June 2024 St Barnabas, Purley Patronal Festival takes place on 9th June 2024. The Bishop of Southwark will be presiding at the 10am service and staying for the outdoor festival afterwards, with a ‘bring and share’ lunch.  We would love to see as many people as possible at the service and to stay for the fun afterwards.   This will be a poignant occasion for the community, as we have asked the Church Commissioners to carry out a consultation on the closure of St Barnabas church and this may be the last time we celebrate St Barnabas Day on this site. It is sure to be a joyous occasion and a celebration of over 100 happy years on Higher Drive.   We sincerely hope to see you at St Barnabas on the day. Please extend this invitation to friends and parishioners past and present, who may be keen to attend. We would love to see as many faces as possible.

    Mothering Sunday can be hard for many people.  Sometimes our relationship with our mum isn’t what we might have wanted it to be, or our Mum is no longer with us and a happy service isn’t right for us; or your Mum or Nana might be seriously ill and it all feels overwhelming. Maybe you have experienced miscarriages or the death of a child. Maybe the day makes you think of people you have lost and you want to remember them quietly. Maybe you long to have children but it just hasn’t happened. It can often feel like these thoughts and memories and feelings aren’t allowed. But that's not the case. They are just as important as everything that goes on all the cards and alongside the bunches of flowers and boxes of chocolates. You still might want to do something to mark Mothering Sunday but not with a celebration. Maybe you want to say 'I miss you’ or 'I know you tried your best’ or ‘I forgive you’. Maybe you want to cry for a child you never got to be a parent for as th...

Hello all, Please be aware of the following changes to our regular services over the Christmas period: Morning and Night Prayer: these will not happen between Christmas and New Year and will resume on the 2nd of January 8am Services: There will be NO 8am on 31st December 10am Services: 31st December will be at St Barnabas in the hall Zoom Services: There will be NO Zoom Communion on 2nd January. This service will resume on 16th January. Many thanks!

  "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing!" And here is the lovely church choir singing it, back in 2020, for our lockdown Christmas service. Pour yourself a little glass of mulled wine, sit back and enjoy! Hark The Herald Angels Sing might have been Top of the Pops, but the voting was tight and the others came very close runners up: At number 2 we had 'Silent Night';  At 3, we had 'In The Bleak Midwinter'; and at number 4, 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'. Other fantastic suggestions included:  It Came Upon The Midnight Clear;  Once in Royal David's City  and Ding Dong Merrily On High Whatever you're tapping your toes to this festive season, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.

  Christmas Carols are a time honoured tradition... but which is your favourite? The top four carols sung at All Saints and St Barnabas are: 1. Silent Night 2. In the bleak mid-winter 3. O little town of Bethlehem 4. Hark the herald angels sing We would love to know if you like these the best, or if you have others that you prefer. Perhaps 'Once in Royal David's City', or 'While Shepherds watched their flocks by night' bring back happy memories of childhood nativities. Here's a little history about the four popular carols listed above: Silent night ·          The music for this carol was written in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber with the words by Joseph Mohr, a local catholic priest.  They lived in the small town of Oberndorf bie Salzburg in Austria. ·          The story goes that the church organ was broken due to flooding and so Gruber and Mohr sang this at the frist Christmas Mass, with Mohr o...

Follow the Star and Join the Song as we follow Mary and Joseph (and the Donkey) around our parishes. Our Advent Calendar opens tomorrow, but here's a sneak preview. From the 1st of Dec, you can open a door each day and follow the Holy family's journey around our parishes. The link to the advent calendar is here: https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=nn9vkx867lpqr3586ht6eaa9ozpmrzhn    

  There is a frame of remembrance at All Saints Kenley, located in the church hall. Everyone is invited to add your notes this week, in tribute to someone you would like remembered, for this Sunday's Service of Remembrance (12th November). Thank you to the Beavers who have created this lovely frame.

We have a number of special services planned for the season of Advent and Christmas.  Everyone is very welcome, whether you're a regular visitor to our churches,  or you've never been before.  Bring friends, family and come and celebrate this most wonderful of seasons with us. Sunday 3rd December:   Remembering Service  3pm at All Saints, Kenley - A Service to Remember Loved Ones  Saturday 9th December:   Carol singing in the local care homes and around the parishes  Further details of the time we’ll meet and our route will follow.  Sunday 10th December: Parade Christingle Service for the Scouting and Guiding Units  4pm at All Saints, Kenley  Sunday 17th December: Candlelit Carols  6.30pm at All Saints, Kenley  Monday 18th December: Christmas Party & Games afternoon  1.45pm – 3pm at All Saints, Kenley  Sunday 24th December: Christmas Eve 2pm, All Saints, Kenley – Crib & Christingle Service...

  In this troubling time, we offer a prayer for peace from The Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell of Saint George's College, Jerusalem:  O God of all justice and peace, we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land. Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths - Jews, Muslims and Christians, for all people of the land. While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace, we also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples. Guide us into your kingdom where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children, for to all of us, you are our Heavenly Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would like to donate funds to the Anglican Al Ahli Hospital, to help those being treated there in Gaza, you can do so via The Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association  

  The Animal Blessing Service at St Barnabas on Sunday was packed with a menagerie of animals.  We saw dogs, cats, snails, worms and even a chicken! What a celebration of all God's creatures, great and small.  Rev Elizabeth gave a wonderful sermon on endangered animals, both worldwide and at home.  We learnt lots about our resident hedgehogs and what we can do to protect them. It was wonderful to see the church so full of humans and animals, of all ages, joining together to celebrate the wonderful creatures of our world.

  It was great to be able to sit down with Sue Myers today over a coffee and talk about her ministry and role as a Pastoral Assistant. Sue does so much, both behind the scenes and visibly, to help our parishes learn and grow together as one. It was great to hear about how training to be a Pastoral Assistant has helped her to grow personally and in her faith. I know I can share many of those feelings. I wonder what God might be calling you to do? For more information on exploring future ministries talk to Sue, Justine or Elizabeth or have a look at https://southwark.anglican.org/exploring-your-call/ Rev Justine

We celebrated Harvest Festival at St Barnabas on Sunday. We donated money to the Purley Food Stop; food to the Purley Food Hub; birdseed for our feeders at All Saints and sold home-produced goods to raise money for Foxley Woods! It was one of those special 'giving' days that we love at our churches. Special thanks to the uniformed organisations who decorated the church's windowsills marvellously!  

  We are planning a special animal service on 8th October at St Barnabas, where children and adults are encouraged to bring along their pets and also learn about endangered animals around the world. In this season of Caring for our World, it seems so appropriate for us to learn more about those wonderful creatures with whom we share our world. All are most welcome - all creatures great and small.

  On Saturday, a number of our congregation visited Wychcroft for a day retreat. During the day they imagined their perfect dinner party, complete with the perfect selection of guests, food and drink, while recognising that we have all been invited by the Great Host, God, to the ultimate dinner party – the Banquet of the Kingdom. The group explored  what it means to hear and accept God’s invitation - what it means to us as individuals and what it means in our relationship with the world around us – with the billions of others who have also been invited whether we fancy the idea of sharing a table with them or not. They thought about some of the meals that were shared in the Bible – from Abraham and Sarah getting an unplanned feast together for their surprise visitors, to the great feast of the Passover, to Martha and Mary in their house in Bethany as they hosted Jesus and his disciples and finally leading us to the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his friends.  By e...

  Today, I covered a Communion service at St Philip’s, whilst their priest was on holiday.  It was really good to be in a church that does things differently (but also the same).  You might have heard of their boys choir, Libera, who look and sound angelic but were   still running around playing football between the service and their second rehearsal of the day! Rev Justine

Our rocks are back in the local community... have you spotted any yet? If you do, please take a photo and let us know. Either via Facebook or email us directly. You can then re-hide it for someone else to find or take it home to enjoy. #GodRocks