We changed our name
St. Aidan's was founded in 2009 as Christ Anglican Church of O'Fallon. On December 1, 2019, we changed our name to more closely align with our mission.
Who is St. Aidan?
Aidan of Lindisfarne was an Irish monk and missionary credited with restoring Christianity to Northern England. He founded a monastic cathedral on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, served as its first bishop, and travelled ceaselessly throughout the countryside, spreading the gospel to both the Anglo-Saxon nobility and to the socially disenfranchised (including children and slaves).
In the years prior to Aidan's mission, Christianity, which had been propagated throughout Britain by the Roman Empire, was being largely displaced by Anglo-Saxon paganism.
The Christian king of Northumbria requested that missionaries be sent from the Irish monastery of Iona. Allying himself with the pious king, Aidan chose the island of Lindisfarne, which was close to the royal castle at Bamburgh, as the seat of his diocese. An inspired missionary, Aidan would walk from one village to another, politely conversing with the people he saw and slowly interesting them in Christianity. By patiently talking to the people on their own level (and by taking an active interest in their lives and communities), Aidan and his monks slowly restored Christianity to the Northumbrian countryside.
In the years prior to Aidan's mission, Christianity, which had been propagated throughout Britain by the Roman Empire, was being largely displaced by Anglo-Saxon paganism.
The Christian king of Northumbria requested that missionaries be sent from the Irish monastery of Iona. Allying himself with the pious king, Aidan chose the island of Lindisfarne, which was close to the royal castle at Bamburgh, as the seat of his diocese. An inspired missionary, Aidan would walk from one village to another, politely conversing with the people he saw and slowly interesting them in Christianity. By patiently talking to the people on their own level (and by taking an active interest in their lives and communities), Aidan and his monks slowly restored Christianity to the Northumbrian countryside.
St. Aidan's mission is our mission
We live in a post-Christian society. We, like humble Aidan, are called to restore Christianity in a largely pagan land. Following his example, we are to go out into our villages, gently establishing relationships, and by the example of our love, show them the light which is so beautiful they will want to be part of it. That light, of course, is the light of Christ. It was St. Aidan’s beacon, and it is ours.
“We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” - Madeleine L'Engle
“We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” - Madeleine L'Engle
St. Aidan's Anglican Church
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5600 Old Collinsville Rd
Fairview Heights, IL 62208 phone: 618-628-4402 Sunday Fellowship: 9:30 AM
Sunday Worship/Holy Communion: 11:00 AM |
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Diocese of Quincy
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