St Barnabas Church, Warrington

St Barnabas Church viewed from north.
German stained-glass windows at the 'west' end of the church
Wooden interior of St Barnabas Church.

St Barnabas Church is a small wooden Anglican church in Warrington, New Zealand. It was built in 1872.[1]

History

Anglicans met at the Pitt residence in Warrington until Mrs Pitt donated 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land for a church. The building was built by Benjamin Smith, opening on 11 November 1872.[1]

The church building and its community are named after St Barnabas, one of the first prophets and teachers of the Christian Church at Antioch. St Barnabas Church is now (2012) Warrington-Waitati Parish of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin.[2]

St Barnabas in 2015

In 2015 St Barnabas is the centre of the Anglican Parish of Warrington Waitati and the only living church in the Blueskin Bay area. A service is held every Sunday at 9:30 am. Our grounds and graveyard are well maintained, the outside of the church is being painted. Plans are being made to expand the hall & improve our toilets. The event of 2014 must be the unexpected visit by the Archbishop of York, John Sentanau, on March 16 when he was in Dunedin to speak at the University of Otago.

A revised history of St Barnabas and it's people is being researched and written by Roger, Jean and Stuart.

Building

The church is set in woodland and is surrounded by a cemetery. Otago's first Anglican Bishop, Samuel Tarratt Nevill was buried here in 1921.[1] A traditional lych gate marks the entrance from Coast Road. The church is built in board and batten with a wooden shingle roof and a small copper-tipped tower, fitted with a bell inside. The stained glass windows are unusually elaborate for such a small building. They depict among others St. Joan of Arc and Christ the Redeemer. They have been said to have been ordered for a Roman Catholic church in Brisbane but diverted to Dunedin following a waterfront dispute.[1] However recent research has found this to be mythical, and the real story of their original destination is even more complicated and interesting. The building is listed as a Category II Historic Place.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ian Church Blueskin Days, Waitati 2007
  2. ↑ Dunedin diocese website
  3. ↑ "St Barnabas Anglican Church". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 2009-09-30.

Coordinates: 45°42′24″S 170°35′40″E / 45.706643°S 170.594310°E / -45.706643; 170.594310

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