Anglicans have called southwestern Virginia home since the early 1700’s.  The Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, of which St. Barnabas Episcopal Church is a part, was established in 1919 when it was split off from the Diocese of Southern Virginia.  A brief history of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia can be found at http://www.dioswva.org/about-us/historical-sketch.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church had its beginnings in 1959 as a mission to serve the rapidly expanding Peakland-Bedford Hills area of Lynchburg.  Significant growth was expected there in the 1960’s, and the Diocese, under the leadership of Bishop Marmion, seized the opportunity to extend the Church’s outreach into this area of the city.  The Rev. John T. Cooper was called by Bishop Marmion to be the first Vicar of St. Barnabas Mission and the historic Trinity Church, serving from September 1959 through April 1963. The first service as an organized mission was held in September 1959 in the Langhorne Memorial Chapel of Virginia Episcopal School, with 66 adults and children present.

Approximately 5 acres of land on Mimosa Drive at Indian Hill Road were purchased in early 1960. Groundbreaking for the new church was held on June 27, 1962, with formal dedication of the completed church building held on February 1, 1963. 

The first annual congregational meeting held in the new church building took place on November 10, 1963, with the new vicar, Rev. J. Fletcher Lowe, Jr. officiating.  In 1965, the church building was enlarged to provide an over-all seating capacity of 300 people in addition to 3 additional classrooms in the undercroft.  Beginning in 1966, Radio Station WWOD, directly across the street from St. Barnabas, periodically carried our church services over the air. 

The Rev. Lowe was succeeded in March 1968 by the Rev. John O. von Hemert, previously Assistant Rector of St. Paul’s in Alexandria.  The Rev. von Hemert resigned in July 1971 to return to Alexandria as Rector of St. Paul’s. 

In September 1971, The Rev. C. Lloyd Lipscomb assumed the vicarship of St. Barnabas and Trinity Churches. In May 1982, St. Barnabas finally received the stamp of approval for parish status from the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, and in July of that year, the mortgage on the church building and vicarage was paid in full. In 1983, with the thought of future expansion, the Vestry approved the purchase of an additional 2.45 acres of land, including a small lake, adjacent to the present church property. 

The Rev. Lipscomb served both St. Barnabas and Trinity Churches as rector until he retired in December 1998. In April 2001, the title of Rector Emeritus was conferred on The Rev. Lipscomb, an acknowledgement of his more than 27 years of service, by the grateful members of St. Barnabas.

St. Barnabas was further blessed when The Rt. Rev. Frank Vest, retired Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, volunteered his services as interim rector of both parishes until a permanent rector could be found.  In January 2000, The Rev. John Charles Scott accepted the parish’s call to serve as rector. The Rev. Scott, who had previously served as rector of St. Nathaniel's in North Port, Florida, retired in 2003.

The Rev. Marion Kanour has served the yoked parishes of St. Barnabas and Trinity since November 2003, first as priest-in-charge, and since November 2007, as rector.  Marion, a native of Norfolk, Virginia, graduated from Oregon State University and earned her divinity degree from Yale. She has served as a Captain in the Marine Corps and later as chaplain at a hospice in Atlanta.  She was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1991 by The Rt. Rev. Frank Vest who continued to be her friend and mentor until his death in April 2008.  Marion brings a wealth of lifetime and pastoral experiences to her ministry, and St. Barnabas is indeed fortunate to have her as rector.  You may read or listen to a selection of her sermons on the Sermons page.

From the beginning of St. Barnabas and to the present day, Christian outreach has been of great importance to the parish.  Ministries currently supported by the members of St. Barnabas include Daily Bread, Meals on Wheels, Gateway, Camp Kum-Bah-Yah, Interfaith Outreach, Churches for Urban Ministry, and Habitat for Humanity.  In October 2007, the St. Barnabas vestry voted to help fund the first “green” Habitat home in Lynchburg.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church and its members are well described by this poem, written by Carl Dudley and entitled The Small Church:

In a big world, the small church

has remained intimate.

In a fast world, the small church

has remained steady.

In an expensive world, the small church

has remained plain.

In a complex world, the small church

has remained simple.

In a rational world, the small church

has been an anchor.

In an anonymous world, the small church

calls us by name.

We invite you and your family to join our church family in Sunday morning worship!  Come and grow with us.