This past Sunday, we gathered together under a big oak tree on our new property. As the leaves were gently falling around we offered prayers to bless and dedicate our newly acquired Parish House and the surrounding property. It was appropriate that this blessing happened on All Saints Sunday, as we we called to mind those who have gone before us. Our founders broke ground on Montgomery Road in 1990, after 10 years of worshipping at Sycamore High School. We stand on their shoulders and honor the dreams and hard work that allowed a new church to grow on Montgomery Road.
We are at a turning point as a parish. Through the faith and generosity of so many of you, our living saints, we have the opportunity to dream, and create and make room for new people and new ministry. Many of you have had questions about what we are doing with the new land and the house that is there.
The Parish House is a work in progress. It is not finished, and our needs will continue to evolve and change but we are grateful to have the space we need in this season to expand our ministry in new ways. We pray that this new land will be a place where we can gather together as God’s people to learn, to grow, and to serve our community. One of the things I most admire about St. Barnabas is that our community is willing to be a work in progress. We see beauty not just in perfection, but in the process of growing together. As this next generation of St. Barnabas we are called to do our part for those who will come after us. I wonder what stories will they tell of our contributions? We give thanks to God for those who came before us, those who are here today, and for all those who will be part of the future of St. Barnabas.
Here are some pictures of the blessing and celebration.
A Blessing for the Work of the Saints
In this season of restoration and renewal, we pray that God will bless the work of our community.
Gracious God, whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation: We give you thanks for the generous hearts of your saints, whose gifts are restoring the beauty of this house and land. Bless and protect all who labor in this work. We give you thanks for the offerings of your people, and for the work of many hands who are making this house ready for our community to gather in prayer, fellowship, learning and service. Accept and bless all our work, and grant that in these earthly things we may behold the order and beauty of things heavenly; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FAQ: A Word about The Parish House and the New Land
When did we acquire the property?
As many of you know, we purchased the property to the north of St. Barnabas in October 2025 following a successful capital campaign. We gained occupancy of the house in early September 2026 and have spent the last few weeks with contractors and a few dedicated volunteers putting in many hours of sweat equity both outside and inside the house.
What is the plan?
Many people want to know: Are we going to tear the house down someday? When does parking go in? How do we intend to use the property in both the short and long term? Our vestry has been working through these questions as well. Here is the current plan:
St. Barnabas is in need of additional space today - not only parking but space for our church programs, small groups, staff office space, and meeting space. Your vestry and leaders are working to develop a Campus Master Plan that will be a future use conceptual plan for the property.
Major construction or additions will take time and be expensive. We have been in conversations with the City of Montgomery to begin to talk through potential future projects, zoning questions, and parking needs. We are working on long term planning as well as short term ways to use the property well.
Some of the big plans we have may take 3-5 years, or potentially even longer to begin to see real movement. If we were to tear down the house, it would be quite expensive, and we would lose potential space that the house provides as flex space for the parish in the interim years.
We are investing in some improvements to the Parish House: We have decided that the best way to have both the space we need today and make plans for the future is to do some repairs to the Parish House over the next year, so that we might use it for up to 5 or more years.
We do want to be careful about not overspending on the house. Our goals are to make it safe, clean, and functional. Not perfect. No one will be living in the house. We hope that it can be a place where we can gather from time to time as needed. We know it needs work and is not as up to date as a new house. We do not intend to fix everything. We also welcome volunteers who have time and have done home renovations before to offer their sweat equity to help us make some minor improvements. Reach out to our new Operations Director John Batchelder if you are interested.
The Good News: St. Barnabas knows how to do this. We have been a church who has faithfully grown step by step over the years. We bought our current property and it took some time to break ground and design and build a church. The first services in the church building were in a construction zone with scaffolding and sawhorses all around. People in this parish hung drywall, painted, repaired pews, stained the beams, laid tile and so many other tasks. We know how to work side by side and let something develop over time. And sometimes plans change and evolve as we see what the parish needs. That will be true for the new land as well.
You are invited to join us on the journey! We want to invite you into the process, to see the house as it is today, to play in the back yard (we plan for an epic Easter Egg Hunt this year!), to share in parish gatherings in the Parish House, and to pray for what God might do in the years to come. We are so grateful for your trust, generosity and willingness to help us take the next faithful step together as a community. Our vestry leaders and I are happy to answer questions as they emerge. We don’t have all the answers yet, but we will be keeping you up to date as we have more information.