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ST. AUGUSTINE OF
CANTERBURY
MAY 26, 605 AD
Augustine, an Italian by birth, was prior of St. Andrew's Monastery in
Rome in 596 when Pope Gregory I sent him and a
company of 30 monks to England to re-found the
Church. They were to unify scattered pockets of
Christianity and convert the mass of Anglo-Saxon
peoples. By the time they reached Gaul, they had
heard such dreadful stories about the island they
were to evangelize that they wavered and, according
to Bede, sent Augustine back to Rome to plead with
Gregory, who encouraged them to go on.
Christianity had come to Britain with the Roman
occupation, but its adherents retreated to the west
and north following the Anglo-Saxon invasions. When
Augustine arrived, the faith flourished mainly in
isolated communities of monks who had developed a
theology and practices different from those of Rome,
particularly in the baptismal ritual and the
computation for Easter.
Augustine and his company landed in Kent in 597 and, carrying a silver
cross and the image of Jesus painted on a board, met
with King Ethelbert, a pagan. Queen Bertha was a
Christian, but she apparently had not tried to
convert her husband. Ethelbert, although
suspicious, accorded the group tolerance and
cooperation if not enthusiasm and Augustine promptly
reestablished a religious center in Canterbury at
the ancient Church of St. Martin where the queen
went to pray. After Ethelbert and a number of his
people were converted and baptized, Augustine was
allowed great freedom to preach. With his work
nicely begun, he went to Arles to be consecrated
archbishop for the English Church.
In his seven years as "Apostle to the English,"
Augustine labored at his mission. He founded the
Cathedral Church of Christ in Canterbury when he
repaired the ancient Church of Our Savior, and he
established the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul,
later to be known as St. Augustine's. He established
and consecrated bishops in London and Rochester.
Despite two conferences he held for the purpose, he
failed to bring the English Church into union with
Rome before his death in 605 AD. The union he so
desired did not take place for 200 more years.
THE NAME OF OUR CONGREGATION
The name of our congregation was given to us by our
former bishop, William A. Beckham, as a reminder
that we, like Augustine, are missionaries within our
community. We are called by God to reach out to
everyone with The Good News of Jesus Christ.
A SHORT HISTORY OF OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY
St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church was
established as a mission congregation of the Diocese
of Upper South Carolina on June 17 1990. The Rev.
Prescott E. Nead, III, (Scotty) arrived on Sunday,
September 9, 1990, as missioner and first priest of
the congregation. Worship services were held in the
Fermata Club, an old social club on Whiskey Road. On
February 1, 1991, at the Diocesan Convention, we
were officially recognized as an “organized
mission” with seat, voice and vote. On October
31, 1991, the Diocese purchased 10 acres of land on
Silver Bluff Road for $145,000, where the
congregation built their first House of the Church
for $220,000. The first Sunday service in our
building was held on Easter, April 7, 1996.
During our times of growth, we discovered our need
for additional space for an Education wing and a
Fellowship HaLL. Ground was broken for each in
February, 2005 and they were complete in 2006.
The Reverend Scot Nead retired on May 31, 2005 and
the search committee called The Reverend Nancy J.
Kenney as Deacon-in-Charge, following her ordination
to the Transitional Diaconate November 5, 2005. She
was ordained a Priest at St. Augustine’s on May 26,
2006 and is now our Priest-in-Charge.
OUR MISSION: Growing together with Christ through
WORSHIP, CARING and SERVICE to all.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, we at St. Augustine of
Canterbury Episcopal Church are passionate about:
Worshiping: We gather and unite with God and one
another to celebrate the joys of life through Jesus
Christ; Caring: We attend to the spiritual,
physical and emotional needs of our members and
those in the community; Serving: We are sent
forth in the name of Christ to love and serve our
neighbors in this community and the world;
Educating: We seek to grow in our love and
knowledge of God through Jesus Christ and our
ministry through teaching our children, youth and
adults; Growing: We strive to grow
spiritually and numerically as a Church family. |
