About us

 

The Oratory of St. Bede the Venerable is a gathering of God's people in the classical Anglican tradition in Carroll County, Maryland, meeting for worship at the Chapel of Westminster United Methodist Church on Center Street. We are a community of Anglican Christians who seek to worship God the Father through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to make our Triune God known to others. We are orthodox and Biblical in our theology, dignified and reverent in our worship. and warm and friendly in our ethos!

 

We use The Book of Common Prayer 1928 for our services, occasionally elaborating or expanding upon the Prayer Book liturgy with appropriate and compatible resources (Service of Lessons and Carols, Liturgy of the Palms, etc.). We are a new "church plant," and very small; our minister is currently a deacon, so we utilize primarily the Order for Morning Prayer as our main Sunday service, with sermon, and Communion from the pre-consecrated elements, when available. Occasionally we are visited by a guest priest, who will celebrate Holy Communion (Holy Eucharist) for us.

 

We are sacramental and liturgical in our worship, Incarnational and devotional in our spirituality, and Biblical and orthodox in our theology. We adhere to traditional Christian standards of morality, not only with respect to human sexuality, but across the board -- but applied with love and compassion.

 

We seek to uphold the doctrine and teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and particularly of the ancient and undivided Church of the first millennium, as expressed through the classical Anglican tradition of Common Prayer. As Anglicans, we have a particular way of being what C.S. Lewis called “mere Christians,” most notably the use of the Book of Common Prayer in its various editions: not only as a manual of service, but as a rule of life. We also anchor our understanding of the faith in the classical Anglican formula of “Scripture, Tradition, and sanctified Reason.”

 

That is to say, we ground our faith in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as “God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) and “containing all things necessary to salvation” (Article VI); the Great Tradition of Christianity (with special attention to the first five centuries, known as the Patristic Era: the time of the Church Fathers) and the Common Prayer tradition of Anglicanism to guide our interpretation of those Scriptures; and in so doing make use of our God-given faculty of Reason, as formed within the context of both corporate, sacramental, liturgical worship and personal, private prayer and devotion.

 

We generally adhere to the Vincentian Canon, which states that, "we take the greatest care to hold that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all. That is truly and properly 'Catholic,' as is shown by the very force and meaning of the word, which comprehends everything almost universally. We shall hold to this rule if we follow universality [i.e. ecumenicity], antiquity, and consent. We shall follow universality if we acknowledge that one Faith to be true which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is clear that our ancestors and fathers proclaimed; consent, if in antiquity itself we keep following the definitions and opinions of all, or certainly nearly all, bishops and doctors alike."

 

Perhaps the best shorthand statement of our doctrinal position is the famous formula set forth by Lancelot Andrewes’ in defining the boundaries of faith and practice for the Church of England: "One canon reduced to writing by God himself, two testaments, three creeds, four general councils, five centuries, and the series of Fathers in that period – the centuries that is, before Constantine, and two after – determine the boundary of our faith."

 

We recommend, but do not require, that those seeking affiliation with the Oratory of St. Bede the Venerable will strive, God being their helper, to adopt a rule of life which includes at least the following elements:

 

1. Make our lives an offering of praise, thanksgiving, and intercession to God through the disciplined use of the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, or some other appropriate devotion, corporately and individually.

 

2. Receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion at least once each week, if possible, and on all major Holy Days (again, if possible), after adequate self-examination and repentance.

 

3. Spend time each day reading and reflecting on Holy Scripture in an orderly fashion. The Daily Office (either Morning or Evening Prayer, or both) fulfills the minimum requirement, but the disciplined practice of "lectio divina" (divine reading -- Google it!), perhaps based on the Office readings, is even better.

 

4. In honor of our patron, St. Bede the Venerable, who was a model of both devotion and learning, spend time each week reading in Christian theology, Church history, or a related discipline (see C.S. Lewis' excellent essay "On Old Books" for guidance on how to choose these), and also in the intellectual or academic discipline of your choice, whether it be in science or the humanities.

 

5. As your means allow, practice regular almsgiving: both in support of the Oratory, its mission and ministry, and also in direct support of those in need.

 

The rule of life outlined above is not essential to affiliation with St. Bede's, by any means! But many have found that such a rule of life helps to center them in their faith, and provide a secure mooring when the storms of life assail.

 

We are grateful to have the use of Westminster United Methodist Church's lovely Chapel! It is accessible from the Center Street parking lot through the door marked, conveniently, both "Handicapped Entrance" and "Chapel Entrance." Thus, it is handicapped-accessible, and has off-the-street parking; restrooms are just down the hall from the Chapel. Please join us for worship, and bring your friends!  :-)