St. Bede's Anglican Church

Who We Are:

Saint Bede (pronounced "bead") was born in A.D. 673, near the far northeastern seaboard town of Newcastle and Durham, England.  The Counties of Northumberland and York you will know are near the border of Scotland.   Church Historians often refer to him as "The Venerable Bede".  Bede was a devout Christian whose lifelong faithful service puts a human face on a way to act in the face of adversity: dire poverty, tending the sick and dying, fear of the lawlessness and plague.  

 For Christian Homes

Visit we beseech thee, O Lord, our homes, and drive from them all the snares of the enemy; let thy holy Angels dwell therein to preserve us in peace, and let thy blessing be ever upon us ; through Jesus Christ  our Lord. AMEN

Looking for "tradition", come be a part of a rich Christian tradition...

What we are doing at St. Bede's is worshiping God the Father in the way our forefathers worshiped for over 600 hundred years.  This is the worship as originally agreed upon by Christians everywhere.   Every seven days this worship prepares Christians to cope with a fallen world and "to go forth in peace, to love and serve the Lord."    Most agree, St. Bede's Anglican (SBA) is the longest continuously operating and the oldest Anglican Church in Alabama.  The Anglican movement traces its roots to in Alabama to the founding of St. Bede's Church in 1977.

How is this church different...

  St. Bede's Church is the oldest, continuing, traditional Anglican Church in Alabama.  In England, The Anglican (means 'English') Church roots stretch back to before 599 A.D.  Some purport the Anglican Churhc developed separately from Rome since there was limited contact at the time.  (Of course, Prince Charles and Lady Di, William and Kate, were married at Westminster Abbey in the Anglican Church of England, the couple selected Wedding Rite from The 1928 Book of Common Prayer)   Our worship is according to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We use the 1940 Hymnal.

Like reading? Interested in Theology? Check out Richard Hooker, John Donne, Lancelot Andrewes, George Herbert, Nicholas Ferrar, C.S. Lewis, and T.S. Eliot, among others who were Anglicans.

The written word is important to Anglicans.  Anglicans gave the world The Book of Common Prayer (Thomas Cranmer).  Anglicanism gave to the Christian world the Authorized King James Version (AKJV) of the Bible.  Several reasons exist for using The King James.  One of the most interesting: most people's test scores are higher.  If you heard the other reasons, you may understand and you might see how in the context of our faith the AKJV could improve your understanding of God.  St. Bede (pronounced "bead") was born in A.D. 672, near the eastern seaboard town of Newcastle, England.  He was a monk his entire adult life and learned several laguages.  He compiled and wrote the first History of the English People.   (We love History at SBA!)  You may find the service and the prayers both focused and sublime.  The service ("Liturgy") organizes worship of God the Father Almighty based on more than 2000 years of traditions.  You will find it is less about the preacher talking subjectively and more about objective, learning, prayers - both priest-lead and in unison to God, and preparing us for Holy Communion, a new begining for the week, not completely without parrallel to God's instructions to the Jews.

Many of us would like to find a church,

• which believes and operates according to absolute doctrinal and moral authority of Holy Scripture,
• that follows the interpretation of the consensus of the Ancient Church on scripture, not pop-theology
• where you and your family can grow in the Spirit of Christ, safely apart from "the maddening crowd's ignoble strife"
• where the members are sincere, warm, fun, and welcome you
• which possesses a certain "je ne sais quoi",  making your Sunday Sacrament "not conformed to this world: but... transformed by the renewing of your mind" 
• St. Bede's has something you need to see.  Visit us! 

Resources:

https://www.stbedesanglican.org/   Home page for SBA activities

https://www.facebook.com/stbedesbirmingham/?fref=ts  Visit our Facebook page.  We invite you to "Like" us on Facebook.

fifna.org Our parish unites with other Anglicans in America to work on initiatives.  Forward in Faith organizes the efforts of hundreds of parishes, priests, and bishops.

www.pbsusa.org  Click see one book designed to work with the Holy Bible exceedingly well.   "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer" will help you and your family throughout life.   It guides.  It exposes.  It gives us structure.  It takes the focus off the preacher and puts it back where it should be - on God.  Only when you understand how, will you understand why.   The Prayer Book has been handed down for more than 500 years and it is deserving of its heritage.  (Wherever you are now, it is likely, back across the oceans of time your ancestors worshiped with The Book of Common Prayer.  Visit St. Bede's to hear what your ancestor heard.  Understand, it is possible using The Book of Common Prayer has the potential to make your Christian life as good, and potentially better than that of your ancestor.) 

www.dioceseoftheholycross.org  Click here for a link to our Diocese.  Our parishes are organized under a "Bishop", in grouping call "The Diocese of the Holy Cross".   Our Bishop has valid orders and was ordained by "Apostolic Succession" (If you believe in the Holy Spirit, this is important).

www.commonprayer.org  Click here to see great examples of The 1928 Prayerbook prayers and a great "Daily Offices" website.

Recently we noticed where St. Bede's members are saying prayers that are more than 2700 years old!

I’ll be gobsmacked:

A 2016 academic study found that churches that embrace conservative theology tend to draw more adherents than those that have fallen into liberalism……The Canadian study, published in the Review of Religious Research, found that successful churches “held more firmly to the traditional beliefs of Christianity and were more diligent in things like prayer and Bible reading”.  THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.3 Jan 2018

Where We Are

Address:  2350 Grants Mill Road; Birmingham, AL. 35210 

From I-459: Take Exit 27, travel southeast about 1.5 miles on Grants Mill Road, just past the Cahaba River bridge.  Our driveway is on your right opposite the Church sign.

From US-119/Cahaba Valley Rd.: take Grants Mill Road at the far northwest end of Lake Purdy.  Cross Lake Purdy and proceed to the intersection of Sicard Hollow Road and Grants Mill Road.  Continue northeast on Grants Mill Rd.(Co.Rd. 143) for about 2.2 miles.  Our drive is on the left.

See us from lower SPACE!!!  Notice how the Cahaba River, our longest free-flowing river, snakes around SBA. (some parishioners who love the beauty, canoe the River - Canoe trip for April is being planned!)   Google Earth us!!   Yes, we are there, and Alabama topographers have 'put us on the map' for almost 4 decades!  Take one Sunday to observe the dignity and beauty of our style of worship of God and the lovely setting God has afforded us.  If you use Google Earth often, you are the adventurous type - an explorer. Is it time to explore Anglicanism?