Bradwell St Barnabas – About Us
Welcome!
At St Barnabas we feel privileged that the church and its churchyard have been part of community life in Bradwell for many generations. We treasure our connections with the community, through traditional services such as Christmas and Remembrance, as well as through activities like Community Cafés, Ladies’ Fellowship Group and the popular St B’s Baby Group.
Whether you have just moved to the area, are a visitor to the village or have lived in Bradwell all your life, we hope you will feel welcome at St Barnabas. We meet most Sundays in church for worship, and share our Vicar, Louise, with St Peter’s, Hope and St Edmund’s in Castleton.
Our worship style is fairly traditional; most services include communion. However we have introduced a Worship Together service on the first Sunday of each month, that is short, relatively informal, and encourages interaction. This service is still evolving, and we’d love your feedback. We also have one service a month, on the fourth Sunday, that is a Benefice Celtic based service, which takes place outdoors from April to September and indoors in chilly months.
We seek to extend a warm welcome to all those who visit, whether joining us for worship or simply taking time to enjoy the peace and tranquility of St Barnabas during the week. We pray that all those who visit will find something of God in our church community, in the building itself or in its surrounding grounds. The church is open every day from 10am-4pm.
We feel strongly that St Barnabas belongs to everyone, as God welcomes all. If you have suggestions about how we could improve our service and witness to the community, or could better meet your needs, we would love to hear from you.
If you would like to receive our Benefice weekly newsletter via email, which contains details of services, news and notices, please email Jane (Churchwarden) on: churchwarden.stb@gmail.com or phone 01433 621172.
You can also use the links below to find out details of our service times and all our events.
Monthly letter from our Vicar.
Louise’s Monthly message. May 2026 Signs of summer
As I write this, the weather is looking like it is about to rain again, and for the last few weeks temperatures have been swinging from cold to hot to cold again. Yet, there are many signs that summer is definitely on the way. I wonder which signs of approaching summer you tend to notice?
For the last few weeks, Richard and I have been waiting eagerly to see our first swift of the season, and tracking news of their gradual migration northwards. But we’ve also been watching the gradual return of summer tourists. Before Easter, we begin to spot the return of Duke of Edinburgh groups, followed by steadily increasing numbers of visitors as the weather warms.
Although I understand that large numbers of tourists can bring challenges to any area, Richard and I really enjoy living in an area that is ‘touristy.’ Every time we stop to chat to walkers we meet, or simply watch tourists’ enjoyment of the place that has become home for us, it reminds me afresh of how fortunate I am to live in a place that people enjoy visiting. And each time, it reminds me afresh of how privileged I am to enjoy all year round what our visitors only get to enjoy briefly.
But as I see the number of visitors coming into our churches, sometimes very briefly, sometimes staying longer, I am also reminded of how privileged our churches are to have contact with so many people. I am sure that people visit our churches for many reasons, from simple curiosity, to a love of historical buildings, to seeking a moment’s quiet, or a respite from the rain. Some come to our services, some come to pray, some come with no faith connection at all. But to all of them, our churches have the opportunity to offer something of the love of God, though our welcome, through our hospitality, or simply though offering a space for people to pray or simply to ‘be’.
My prayer is that all who enter our church buildings will feel warmth and belonging. But my prayer too is that you will let us know what our churches feel like for you. What could we do better? What is missing? What are you seeing that we are not? And my prayer is that all who enter our churches, for whatever reason, will leave feeling blessed by their visit.
Yours in Christ,
Louise Petheram
rev.louise.p@gmail.com 01433 621918
If you would like to sign up to receive the regular newsletters from churches and Christian groups across Hope Valley, please go to
https://mailchi.mp/f29b1286b3df/2t1gk3uwy2
or email me and I can sign you up.
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