St Barnabas and the Community

   Father le Sueur was in the Chair at a special meeting held after Evensong on 6th March 1949, to elect a Churchwarden in place of Mr. Hook who had resigned. Mrs. Lightfoot was nominated and seconded, as were Mr. Bowles and Mr. C. Chapman. Before putting the matter to the vote, the Chairman intimated that he would not give his assent to a lady, whoever she might be, being elected as Churchwarden, when the names of two gentle­ men had also been put forward. He considered that it was against the present constitution of the C.P.S.A., which still required only male candidates as Lay Representatives to Synod and, moreover, he thought it wise to remember that ladies had more opportunities for other church work than men did. It would therefore be unwise to pass over the male candidates for the office of Churchwarden. Mrs. Lightfoot, in reply, said that when she had been approached to stand, she had consulted Bishop Lavis, who had asked her to allow her name to go forward. Mr. Bowles was elected by a clear majority.   

 During Father Collins's incumbency, he was appointed Archdeacon of Cape Town in succession to Canon van der Byl. He was also Chaplain to the Mayor of Cape Town, and many remember how the mayor would lend him the official Mayor's Box in the City Hall for concerts and how Canon Collins would take parishioners, who shared his love of music, to enjoy the best view of the orchestra.  

 In 1977, Canon Collins was instrumental in asking the archbishop to license the first woman Lay Minister in the parish, Mrs. Anne Kotze, some 28 years later.

Today, during 2024, St Barnabas has two male Churchwardens, four women parish councillors and two male parish councillors.

    During the incumbency of Dr Booth, his curate, the Rev. Horace J. Coles was given oversight of St Augustine's Mission Chapel. This had been started by the first rector of St Barnabas, when the area of Upper Kloof Street was known as Germantown, and the chapel was used by parishioners living in that area. It was also used in the early days as a school for Coloured children and was run by the Parish Chapel Wardens and Sidesmen who were elected annually at the Vestry Meeting.  

 With the promulgation of the Group Areas Act in 1960, many of the parishioners had to move out of the district and Father Davies closed St Augustine Chapel for Sunday Services and the school for Coloured children also had to be shut.  

  Joost de Blank (14 November 1908 – 1 January 1968) was a Dutch-born British Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa from 1957 to 1963 and was known as the "scourge of apartheid" for his ardent opposition to the whites-only policies of the South African government. 

 Mark Nye (1909–1993) was an Anglican bishop and political prisoner in South Africa during the apartheid era. 

 During the 1956 Treason Trial Nye and his family were living in the priest's house of St Augustine's Church, the house was diagonally opposite the Supreme Court (Old Synagogue). The Treason Trialists would take their meals at the family home.

Following the Sharpeville massacre Nye was detained without trial under the Public Safety Act, 1953, he was arrested on 28 March 1960 (along with Colin Lang, John Brink and Leon Levy, Vuyisile Mini); he was held in solitary confinement for three weeks, Nye was released on 31 May 1960.

 11 Years later, in 1971, Mr. E.R.D. Hogwood, a prominent educationalist and former Principal of the Dr Bennie Hewat College, Athlone, served as a Sub-deacon in the time of Canon van der Byl and lived at Gatehouse, St John's Hostel. Towards the end of his stay, he was asked by the Most Rev. Robert Selby-Taylor to instruct Coloured students who wished to prepare for the Ministry. 

We are grateful to live in a multicultural world. We are all unique and beautifully made in the image of God.

     We support abused women and children, the homeless, the elderly, and girls without access to sanitary pads.

If you would like to get involved and donate to these causes please feel free to contact us via email at church@stbarnabas.org.za on how you can donate sanitary pads, clothing, shoes, or engage in visiting the elderly living in our community.

      In 1978 Reverend Mark Nye was also in charge of St Paul's, Bree Street, our 'next-door-neighbour' parish, during an interregnum and together these two churches formed an Action Committee which has run a Community Kitchen for feeding vagrants on Sundays and a Homestead has been started as a night shelter for vagrant boys.