Buck Mountain is a warm, inclusive Christian community dedicated to living and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. When it was founded in 1747, Buck Mountain was on the edge of the American frontier.
Today, we are part of the greater Charlottesville/Albemarle County community as well as reaching into Greene County, but we retain some of that “frontier spirit” in our friendliness and dedication to helping our neighbors.
We invite you to get to know a little bit about us through this website, and the video short Why We Love Buck Mountain, filmed and produced by one of our own youth members, Claire W. (below). Better yet, join us for Sunday worship and experience the joy of Christian community in a beautiful and historic setting.
To learn more about our clergy, staff, and vestry, click here.
What We Believe
Our Mission
Buck Mountain is a Spirit-led, inclusive community of faith, living out God’s unconditional love with each other, our community, and the world through worship, outreach, spiritual development, youth formation, and fellowship.
Our Vision
Buck Mountain Episcopal Church is a vibrant and inclusive community of faith, committed to growth, spiritual development and fellowship while remaining rooted in our mission of sharing God’s unconditional love with each other, our community and the world. We emphasize our outreach to the poor in Christ’s name and extend hospitality to people of all ages and in all walks of life.
Theology
Buck Mountain is part of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America and, by extention, a part of the worldwide Anglican Community. We honor the Bible and include several readings from scripture in every worship service. We use the Book of Common Prayer for our worship services. This wonderful compendium of worship materials is a treasure for the church as a whole and for individual members. We treasure the open-minded nature of our Anglican heritage and we value inquiry and the use of the intellect in the life of faith.
History
We acknowledge that Buck Mountain Episcopal Church sits on Monacan Land. Our buildings, including our historic sanctuary and parish hall, were very likely built by enslaved people of African descent. In our worship, spiritual education, and outreach, we aim to continue to bring these truths to light in order to honor the dignity of all people and engage in continued reflection, repentance, and reconciliation.
Buck Mountain Church is a rare surviving example of the simple wooden Anglican parish churches that were scattered throughout Virginia in the Colonial period. It is reported to be the oldest church building in the Piedmont.
Buck Mountain Church was erected to serve Fredericksville Parish. Its construction began in 1747, five years after the parish was formed. Services were first held on the site in July 1748 but the completed structure was not formally accepted until 1750. The church was abandoned after the disestablishment of the Anglican church at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War….
The church was rebuilt at its current location in the 1860s.
Some of our parishioners have written an extensively researched history of our parish. You can read it in full by clicking the button below.
Historic Cemetery
The cemetery at Buck Mountain Episcopal Church is still in use, and contains graves dating from the early 1900s. Cemetery records and photos are available at: