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 "offical" 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 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 build 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 constuction 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 rooom for the choirs and a comfortable multi-use room with a fireplace, for meetings and other gatherings, such as weddings funerals. Nearby are new restrooms including a spacious ladies' dressingroom.

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 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 stude and prayer groups and Head Start's. On certain Tuesday's in November, the St. Aidan's parish hall host 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.