Today saw the reopening of St Barnabas Church, 5 years since it was burnt down by vandals. A special re-dedication service was held to bless the rebuilt church and officially open it to the local community again. The service was led by the Rt Revd. David Urquhart, the Bishop of Birmingham. The service, a packed house, was attended by local residents, our hardworking local Cllrs Robert Alden, Bob Beauchamp and Gareth Moore, many of the workmen from the restoration and of course our local vicar Revd. Freda Evans.

The rebuilt church has a new community cafe as part of it which will be open during the week for shoppers in the High Street to use. The whole Church has a welcoming warm light glow to it.

Robert said "the newly restored church is a real beacon for the High Street. A wonderful balance of the old original church and the new modern restoration has been accomplished in this restoration. It was wonderful to see so many people there to enjoy the service and the refreshments afterwards".