History of St. Barnabas Church

Established as a parochial mission of St. Luke’s Church in downtown Kalamazoo in January 1960, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church became a diocesan mission one year later, and was admitted to parochial status at the Diocesan Convention in January 1962. The initial service in our first sanctuary was on Good Friday in 1962. In 1987, a new sanctuary was built and air conditioning was added to make summer worship more comfortable.

“St. B’s” as it is affectionately known, is a generous and fun-loving parish committed to seeking Christ and making Christ known. Because of the diversity found in our parish membership, this Episcopalian community consciously works toward acceptance of differences and teaches tolerance and love for one another.

The Rev. Jess Taylor was our first priest and served from May 1960 to April 1963. The Rev. Glen Williams served from August 1963 to July 1970; The Rev. Richard Baker served from February 1971 to September 1976; The Rev. Eric Geib served from February 1971 to June 1993; and The Rev. Theodore Jones served from September 1995 to August 1996. Our current rector, The Rev. Kathleen Kingslight, has served our parish since November 1997.

About St. Barnabas
Barnabas was a Jew born in Cyrus. His parents named him Joseph (or Joses), but when he sold all his goods and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem, they gave him a new name: Barnabas, which means “son of consolation” or “man of encouragement.” Although Barnabas was not among the original Twelve, he is traditionally thought to have been among the 72 commissioned by Jesus to preach; thus, he is given the honorary title of Apostle. The Acts of the Apostles describes Barnabas as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.”

He was a successful preacher with a magnetic personality. Anyone tormented by the clash of creeds found solace and peace in his company. His eminence as a man who had been close to Jesus had made him a prominent member of the small group of disciples in Jerusalem who gathered together after the ascension of Jesus. They observed the Law of the Prophets, which Jesus had come, “not to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). They continued to live as Jews and practiced what Jesus had taught them. That this new sect called “The Way” could ever be regarded as a new religion did not occur to any of them. They were devout and practicing Jews distinguished from their neighbors only by their faith in the message of Jesus.

In the beginning they did not organize themselves as a separate sect and did not have a synagogue of their own. There was nothing in the message of Jesus, as they understood, to necessitate a break with Judaism. However, they incurred the enmity of the vested interests among the Jewish authorities.

The gulf between the Jews and these early Christians progressively began to widen. During the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the followers of Jesus left the city; and refused to take part in the Bar Coachaba rebellion in 132 AD These two events brought to the surface the difference between the newly named Christians and traditional Judaism.

Saint Barnabas was one of the first to welcome Saint Paul, a former persecutor of the early Church, and his former schoolmate. He persuaded the Christians of Jerusalem to accept Paul's claim that he was now a believer in Jesus. Barnabas was sent to Antioch, Syria, to investigate the community of non-Jewish believers there, and brought Paul there from Tarsus. It was in Antioch that the followers of The Way were first called Christians. With Paul he took the Antiochean donation to Jerusalem community during a famine.

Thereafter he, his cousin John Mark, and Paul returned to Antioch before setting out together on the first missionary journey of the Christian church. They went first to Cyprus, Barnabas's native land, and for this reason Barnabas is honored as the founder of the Cypriot church. Then they continued on to Perga (whence John Mark returned to Jerusalem), Antioch in Pisidia (where they were so violently opposed by the Jews that they decided to preach to the pagans instead), and Iconium (where they were stoned). At Lystra in Lycaonia, they were thought to be gods because of the miracles they worked, and because of the physical beauty of Barnabas. But after being taken as pagan gods, they were stoned out of the city, and fled back to Antioch in Syria.

When they returned to Antioch, Barnabas wanted Paul and John Mark to continue their travels with him, but Paul fell out with John Mark - perhaps because John Mark had abandoned them at Perga. In spite of Paul's extremely forceful character, Barnabas took Mark's side, demonstrating that he was a man of considerable determination and courage. Another possible reason that Paul and Barnabas had a falling out was because Paul wanted to give up the Commandments given through Moses about things to eat, and he wanted to give up the Commandment stating that non-Jews would have to be circumcised in order to be baptized. Barnabas and the other personal disciples disagreed.

The Acts of the Apostles says, “There arose a sharp contention between them. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.” (Acts 15:39). Paul chose a new ally, Silas, and went elsewhere to strengthen the churches. Little more is heard of Barnabas though it is believed that the rift with Paul was healed because we read about Barnabas later in 1 Corinthians 9:6. (Paul also discusses his relationship to Barnabas in his letter to the Galatians.)

The followers of Barnabas never developed a central organization. Yet due to the devotion of their leaders, their number increased very fast. The Barnabites incurred the wrath of the Church and systematic effort was made to destroy them and to obliterate all traces of their existence including books and churches. The lesson of history, however, is that it is very difficult to destroy faith by force.

Tradition says that Barnabas preached in Alexandria and Rome, and was stoned to death at Salamis about 61 AD, martyred holding the Gospel of Saint Matthew that he had copied by hand.

Top of Page