 |
History:
635 - 1607 – 1963 – 2007 |
In
the year 635, an Irish
monk was appointed
Bishop of Lindesfarne,
on England’s
northern coast. Aidan
was known for a lifetime
of giving everything
he had to the poor.
He is our example,
namesake and one of
several historical
connections.
It
was April of 1607
when Captain John
Smith landed at Cape
Henry on the Virginia
coast. Among
those settlers who
paused for water at
Cape Henry that April,
was the Rev. Robert
Hunt, who declared
the Church of England
the “official” faith
of the new colony.
He planted a cross
in the sands of what
is now Virginia’s
largest city, Virginia
Beach, where the Atlantic
Ocean meets the Chesapeake
Bay . The colonist
moved up the James
River and established
Jamestown, the first
permanent English
colony in the New
World.
St.
Aidan’s
Episcopal Church began
in June of 1963, meeting
first in a elementary
school as a Parochial
Mission of the Episcopal
Diocese of Southern
Virginia. With
support from Eastern
Shore Chapel and other
area churches, the
diocese erected a “temporary,
portable chapel” in
time for 1964 Christmas
Service.
That “temporary,
portable chapel” is
still here, on Edinburgh
Drive in a neighborhood
that kept its first
name: King’s
Grant. St.
Aidan’s
Church is about five
miles from that cape
shore landing where
American began 400
years ago.
Priests:
Rev.
L.J. “Jay” Taylor
was with us at the
start in 1963, and
took us through mission
to full parish status
in 1967. He left the
following year to
pursue a doctorate
in theology at Duke
University.
In
December of 1968,
Rev. Robert Newland,
curate of Trinity
Church in Portsmouth,
became our second
rector. During
the nine years Rev.
Newland was with us,
the first large addition
was built, including
classrooms and offices,
a new kitchen and
sacristy. Mr.
Newland accepted a
call to St. Mark’s
in Augusta, Maine
and, in 1978, Rev.
Richard Bridgford
became our Interim
Rector.
In
June, 1979, Rev. Paul “Peter” Hogg
accepted our call
to become the third
Rector of St. Aidan’s. For
more than 26 years,
Peter was our leader,
mentor, builder, member
of our family and,
above all, our pastor.
Peter retired from
St. Aidan’s
in September of 2005.
In December, 2005,
Rev. Josephine “Jo” Taylor
accepted our call
as our Transition
Rector.
In
December of 2007,
The Rev. Mark D. Wilkinson
joined us as our fourth
rector. Mark comes
to us from The Church
of the Holy Spirit
in Orleans Massachusetts.
A graduate of Virginia
Theological Seminary,
Mark brings experience
as a teacher in his
previous career and
is leading a new focus
on Christian Formation
and Outreach at St.
Aidan's
The
Building and Property
St.
Aidan’s
Church is nestled
in one corner of a
3.7 acre block of
land on the Little
Neck Peninsula of
Virginia Beach. In
1964, the diocese
erected one of several
temporary, portable
chapels known as “The
Mission Church of
the 60’s.” A
small office and classroom
wing was built at
the same time. By
1970, inflation had
rendered the dismantling
and moving of the
structures impractical. None
of them was ever moved,
and most of them remain
in place, including
St. Aidan’s.
So,
the original sanctuary and nave
are still here, but over the years,
a lot has changed:
1970: A
4000 square-foot office
wing is added with
classrooms, restrooms
and the HeadStart
Center’s
Office and classroom. We
still house the first
HeadStart program
established in southeastern
Virginia.
1983: A
long-range planning
commission develops
a proposal for the
addition of a new
parish hall and parking
lot and major renovations.
1984-86: “This
is My Father’s
House, Phase I” included
the new parish hall,
a redesigned center
wing, encasing
in steel the beams
of the “temporary” nave,
new heating and AC
equipment and upgrades
to the office and
education wings.
1987-89: “This
is My Father’s
House, Phase II” provided
a paved and expanded
parking lot, and
a new roof and patio
for the parish hall.
1991-94: “This
is My Father’s
House, Phase III” saw
a complete renovation
and expansion (4 feet
in width) of the nave/sanctuary
and a major kitchen
upgrade.
1997: A
major outreach commitment:
The construction of
Seton House, a temporary
shelter for girls,
was built on the property,
on the corner opposite
from the nave, beyond
the outdoor chapel.
1998-2000: A
new expansion, the “chapel
wing,” included
a lovely small chapel,
a large room for the
choirs and a comfortable
multi-use room with
a fireplace, for meetings
and other gatherings,
such as weddings and
funerals. Nearby are
new restrooms including
a spacious ladies’ dressing
room.
2001: A
stone columbarium
was set in a lovely
garden.
Open
Doors
Some
part of the St. Aidan’s
Church complex is
in use seven days
a week. The church
staff is in the building
during the week, and
many meetings and
other parish activities
take place here during
the evenings.
The
doors are also open to a wide
variety of community organizations,
from scouts, AA, personal and
family counseling groups, bible
study and prayer groups and Head
Start’s
South Eastern Tidewater Opportunity
Project.
And
on certain Tuesday’s
in November, the St.
Aidan’s
parish hall hosts
a number of our neighbors
throughout the day. We
are proud to be at
the core of the American
democratic experiment:
we are a voting precinct.
|
