WHY A BOAT?
Why does St. Barnabas Church use a boat/ship for its logo?
The apostle Barnabas, for whom our congregation is named, was a leader in the first generation Christian church (30-60 A.D.) He was a native of the island of Cyprus and a companion of the apostle Paul. Together they traveled around the eastern Mediterranean Sea by ship, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and starting new Christian communities wherever they went.
A boat has also been used by the Christian community for centuries as a symbol of the church. It recalls the story of Noah and the ark. The ark was a large boat which saved Noah, his family, and the animals through the waters of the flood. The church is understood to be an “ark” for all who enter it, receiving salvation through the waters of baptism. In traditional church buildings, the area of the worship space where the congregation sits is called the “nave,” which comes from the same Latin word for boat we use for “navy.”
The fact that the ship is a sailboat reminds us that it has no source of power of its own, but relies on the wind. So, too, our congregation relies on the wind of God’s Spirit to power our ministries.