Rev’d Deborah Moorgas
As promised, each month we will share stories from the pews about how people came to be at St Barnabas and why they chose to stay.
This is Jyette’s story:
“A Danish woman introduced me to the Church years ago, when I had just moved to Cyprus from Denmark. At the beginning I didn’t really feel at home there as I came from a free Church in Denmark and in the Faroe Islands, where I grew up, and all the We have just about got over Christmas and we find ourselves in Lent. Lent, for us Anglicans is a time to fast, repent, pray and to give to the poor. A very good time to pause and to reflect, reflect on where we are in the now, where we have been and to where we believe God is taking us. A time to repent of our wrong-doings, to ask for forgiveness and to offer forgiveness, to turn away from our sins and to live better lives. Rituals seemed so unfamiliar to me and the sermons were not personal to the Churchgoers, but more like a teaching about Christianity. Many beautiful words come from the pulpit, but I didn’t feel they reached me, so my Church attendance was very much on and off but still I prayed for a revival in this Church and in May last year these prayers were answered. Everything changed, when our new Vicar, Deborah Moorgas, came to serve in the Church. God called her from South Africa here to Limassol and has blessed her and equipped her for this work. Her sermons go right into our hearts, and I think, we all feel that God’s Kingdom has come to the Church. The reason for me to visit a Church, is to build up my faith, as it is my nature to often doubt and like Thomas I like facts, so often I feel that my faith is to little, therefore I love to hear when she invites us to Communion with these words, “come you who have little faith, and wants to have more.” I want to have more. Now I look forward to spending every Sunday morning in Church, where God’s Spirit is moving and yesterday a thought came to me, which I have never had before, I felt that St Barnabas is Church is now my Church.”
This is Samuel’s story:
”I was born into a Pentecostal Christian family and from a child I was raised to be a student of the Bible by my parents. As I grew older, I embraced Christianity as a religion, a set of rules, laws and obligations through which I could prove my worth to God. In my mid-teen years, I began to struggle and entered what may be referred to as a religious identity crisis. “Is there truly a God? If there is, is he the God of the Christians? What if he wasn’t even the ‘author’ of the Bible, and all this was just a cooked-up story made by men to keep the rest of us in line? Perhaps the true God was the God of the other religion. What then would be my fate on the day of judgement?” To make things worse, my moral soul where the knowledge of good and wrong dwells, was seldom too weak to defend itself from the guilt of the actions done in the body. This potential ‘weaknesses of mine plunged me into deeper misery. At the depth of my misery, the height of the crisis, I encountered God. The true God. Christianity took a new turn for me; it was no longer a religion but a way of life. I did not need to prove my worth to God; He already proved His love to me. I was never going to be justified by morality; my justification came from my acknowledgement of my immorality and the consequent substitution therefore with Christ’s sanctity.
So, you can imagine how destitute I felt when I arrived in Cyprus and was faced with the challenge of finding a Christian fellowship where Christianity wasn’t practised as a mere religion and God wasn’t revered simply as a judge and taskmaster or on the hand, where the grace of Christ wasn’t abused and considered a thing of less effect. But God was mindful of me – He made me cross paths with a beloved brother and friend, Bola, who invited me to try out St. Barnabas Anglican Church if perhaps it would be to my liking, and boy has it been! I sat through my first service gauging whether or not this was a place for me. I wasn’t used to the style of worship or the brevity of the sermon which was no longer than 12 minutes (the shortest sermon I had sat under in my home church lasted at least an hour!) At the end of the service, I was met with outstretched arms of welcome and embraces of love. Did not Christ say of us loving one another that by that shall all men know we are His disciples? I was near the point of decision. Then a wonderful member whose name I would not disclose walked up to me, and asked my name and where I come from to which I answered. Our brief exchange of pleasantries was closed off with this person looking me in the eyes and uttering two words – welcome home. “Welcome home”. The scroll was sealed and my decision was made. I was at home with a new family in Christ. A new home away from home. Inquisition brought me to them; love kept me with them, and there’s been no turning back since.”
Come join us, we look forward to welcoming you to the family.
TABLETOP SALES at St Barnabas Church will continue to be held throughout 2025. Cost is €12.50 for a pitch the length of one long table. A limited number of tables are available for hire at an additional cost of €5 per table. These must be pre-booked. The next sales are on 1 February, 1 March, 5 April, 3 May, 7 June, 5 July. This is always an enjoyable day out for the family, you will find free car parking in various locations around the church grounds. Hot & cold refreshments available on site. Contact Nora 99356451 or email [email protected] if you would like to reserve a pitch.
Cans for kids -please remember to put your empty drinks cans in the cage by the kitchen in the church grounds. The cans are collected regularly and the money generated goes towards helping children in need.
Spectacles –A yellow box is at the back of the church for used spectacles, sunglasses, lenses and cases. The Limassol Lions collect them for refurbishment before sending them off to countries in need.
Regular Events at St Barnabas Church Limassol
Tuesday Prayer Meeting 9.30am
Wednesday Communion 9.30am
Ladies Wednesday Craft Group 10-12 noon
Friday coffee time via ZOOM 3.00pm
Sunday Eucharist 10.00am – also available via YouTube
If you are visiting us for the first time, please make yourself known to our Chaplain or sides persons.
Refreshments will be available in the church hall after the service.
Rev Deborah Moorgas [email protected]
www.stbarnabas-cyprus.com
www.facebook.com/StBarnabasAnglicanChurchLimassol/
www.youtube.com/@StBarnabasChurchLimassol
Rev John Attenborough MTS – 99 539144
[email protected]
Regional Director, Middle East, and South Asia & Chaplain to the Cyprus Ports
