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St.Barnabas Episcopal Church

7609 Main Street
410-795-0767

St. Barnabas Church, Holy Trinity Parish is located on a hill in Howard County, Maryland overlooking the South Branch of the Patapsco River and the quiet and historic town of Sykesville.

Holy Trinity Parish originated on March 8, 1771 when John Welsh entered into a bond of two hundred pounds, English Sterling, to convey to Abel Brown, Robert Tivis, Edward Dorsey and John Elder two acres of land in the town of Eldersburg to build a "Chapel of Ease." A small stone church was built and flourished until the time of the American Revolution, when the mother Church of England no longer had authority to collect taxes for its support and Holy Trinity began to fall into decline.

Holy Trinity Church at Eldersburg continued to flourish until about 1870. By that time, St. Barnabas Chapel had grown into prominence and Holy Trinity began to decline. In the early 1900 the Holy Trinity Church fell into disrepair and was closed in 1924. During WWII it was demolished, leaving St. Barnabas the only Episcopal Church in the Holy Trinity Parish. The graveyard at Holy Trinity still exists and members of the Parish led by our former Rector, Jim Purman, lovingly care for this Holy ground.

St. Barnabas has been in continuous use since 1850, serving South Carroll and Howard Counties. In 1981, under the guidance of the vestry and former rector Joe Burroughs, the church was restored, preserving the original architecture. The stonework, pews, altar and windows are all original, as well as most of the woodwork and hardware.

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