Saint Aidan’s Episcopal Church was started in my home on September 11, 2002. It was a Wednesday evening of remembrance from the tragedy of the year before and an evening of new beginnings. The gathered congregation loved the service enough to want to return the next week.
By February of 2003, we had outgrown my home, so we moved our worship to Lamkin Elementary School. This made it possible to accommodate more people for worship and have a place for our Children’s Chapel. During that same month and year, we were accepted as a Fellowship in the Diocese of Texas by Diocesan Council and a year later, in February of 2004, we were made a Mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. In 2006, we moved to Arnold Middle School and in January of 2008, we moved into our facility on Fry Road.
Our church is named after Aidan who was a gentle monk of Iona and who was consecrated in 635 as the First Bishop of Lindisfarne, an island off the northeast coast of England. Aidan was immersed in the community, giving to the poor all things that were given to him. He genuinely cared for all people, rich and poor, churched and those who had no church home. He invited all people to embrace Jesus Christ: as the believer, in order that they might strengthen their faith; and, for those who did not yet know Christ, to embrace the mystery of faith.
As a bishop, Aidan became known for planting new missionary outposts while strengthening the existing Christian communities. He was a gentle, simple, and loving servant of God who died on August 31, 651, which is now his feast day. Our church celebrates this day, Saint Aidan’s Day, with special recognitions within our church.
Over the past six years our community has grown in numerous ways. We are an influential part of the greater Cy-Fair community. The Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce named us as the Business of the Year in 2004. We are active with the Cy-Fair Independent School District, Cypress Assistance Ministries, the YMCA, Rotary, the Cypress-Fairbanks Educational Foundation, as well as other area churches. We are a place where people come together.
Saint Aidan’s is a church that encourages members to be disciples of Christ. We support and encourage each other to reach out into the community! The people of Saint Aidan’s are committed to a journey of deepening their faith in Christ and caring for all people. We are a place where people come together for a relationship with God in Christ and each other.
In the coming years, Saint Aidan’s plans to grow. In the spirit of Saint Aidan himself, we have provided many opportunities for people to grow in their faith and travel this journey of the Christian life together in mutual ministry and support. Our numerous ministries are avenues for you to connect the pieces of your life with God and with others. Our ministry together is a ministry of connection: connecting to God, self, and others through a relationship with Christ and others; through God transforming our lives; through learning how to be a disciple of Christ in the world; and through reaching out to others throughout our community.
You are invited to join this journey of connections! Life is a puzzle at times, and we hope to help you connect the pieces. Together with you and the rest of the Saint Aidan’s Episcopal Church community, as we mature in our faith, we can look to the future in prayer and thanksgiving, and seek to continue to do God’s Will, knowing God provides the process by which the pieces are connected and the picture of the puzzle is revealed.
The Rev. Justin Alan Lindstrom
Founding Vicar
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