Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Winnipeg, St Aidan
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
St Aidan's Parish, named for the seventh century apostle in north England known as the saint of surprising gentleness, was originally established as a mission of St James Parish. On 3 May 1929, St Aidan's Parish was officially created. In that same year the parish received $500 in loans and grants from the extension committee to secure property for a church. The basement was completed by the end of the year. The church opened for worship on 17 Dec 1939. The church was still served by St James' Reverend G.W. Findlay until 1934 when Reverend W.H.H. Crump was appointed as St Aidan's first rector. The church was consecrated 4 Jan 1948. The Chapel of Christ the King was added and completed in November of 1953. The church was also enlarged in 1996. In 1995, St Aidan founded a Christian school. Space was initially leased from the Immanuel Pentecostal Church. The school began with a small Kindergarten class. In 1997, the school moved to Christ Church and expanded to teach Kindergarten and grades 1-5. After receiving government funding in 1999/2000, the school began to search for larger facilities. Unable to do so, however, almost led to the school's permanent closure. The school was able to gain a two-year variance from the city to rezone St Aidan's and so classes moved there. Attempts were made to purchase a building on Ness Avenue but St Aidan's vestry could not support the cost. A number of teachers resigned and with no other options, the school closed in 2002. The Manitoba government gave the school a year of reprieve to find a new location without losing it's status for funding. In it's year off the school board made contact with Inner City Youth Alive, an outreach in Winnipeg's North End. Plans for a school for inner city youth were quickly developed and in the fall of 2003, St Aidan's Christian School had seventeen inner city youth enrolled in grades 5-8. The school is now located at 418 Aberdeen Avenue. The parish continues to provide volunteers for the school's breakfast and lunch programs.