If you are resident in either Joydens Wood, or Bexley Park, you live in the Parish of St Barnabas, Joydens Wood.
In 1970 a multi-purpose building called St Mary’s Church Centre was erected on a site at the Baldwyns Park end of Tile Kiln Lane, a site which had previously belonged to Bexley Hospital. Church services were held there from July 1971 onwards, under the overall leadership of the then vicar of St Mary’s, Bexley. At that time some of the estate was still within the parish of St Michael’s Wilmington, with a group from that church meeting in the Community Centre in Birchwood Drive.
On 14 January 1979 the two church congregations agreed to merge, and from then on worshipped at the St Mary’s Church Centre. To simplify things, the Diocese of Rochester changed the parish boundaries, so that the whole area came into St Mary’s parish, rather than being split between St Mary’s, Bexley and St Michael’s, Wilmington. Then in March 1991 the Annual Parish Church Meeting unanimously voted to apply for Joydens Wood to have full parish status. In 1993, after all the legal formalities had been dealt with, Reverend David Horton was collated and inducted as the first vicar of The Parish of St Barnabas, Joydens Wood. The area was now formally designated as an independent parish, with the boundaries as they are at present and included Baldwyns Park and the Bexley Hospital area, now called Bexley Park, (and a large part of the actual Joydens Wood!).
The parish church of St Barnabas continues to thrive and is proud to serve the community as a Christian presence and a focal point for local groups. We seek to serve our local community and want to share the love of God with all we meet.
Our parish priest retired in August 2022, and we are currently in a period of vacancy whilst we seek to appoint a new Team Recotr for the Bexle Team. The day to day running of the church is being led by our Curate, Rev Matt Hodder.