Celebrating 100 years of service, Jersey City’s Episcopal Church of the Incarnation will welcome The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the 26th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church (USA). The Presiding Bishop will celebrate and preach at the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, December 11, at the church which is located at 68 Storms Ave., Jersey City, NJ 07306.
The service is open to the public. All are invited and encouraged to attend.
"Incarnation Church has been a beacon of hope for 100 years, and we are honored to welcome the Presiding Bishop to celebrate with us," Sidney King, Jr., Sr. Warden said. "This parish began as a primarily black congregation at a time of profound racism in the church. We now serve as a model of diversity for the entire community, and we will continue our work to serve Christ in all people over the next century."
Dr. Jefferts Schori is the first woman to hold the office of Presiding Bishop and Primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion. She is chief pastor to the Episcopal Church's 2.4 million members in 16 countries and 110 dioceses, joining leaders of the other 38 Anglican Provinces in consultation for global good and reconciliation.
The Church of the Incarnation is concluding its yearlong centennial celebration. Founded in 1910, the congregation first worshiped in the Women’s Auxiliary Hall on Harrison Avenue in Jersey City. A few years later, with help from its members and neighbors on Storms Avenue, the congregation purchased property at its present location. In addition to a house of worship, Incarnation continues to serve as a powerful social and political center for Jersey City’s black community.
Other centennial activities include Broadway Night on Saturday, December 10 at 6 p.m. in the church. This evening of music is also open to the public, as the church rolls out the red carpet to welcome various Broadway performers and to showcase the talent of its own successful music ministry.
“Our ministries have experienced resurgence in recent years,” Carol Harrison-Arnold, Jr. Warden said. “We offer a number of community programs, including a well-attended summer day camp and a creative, after-school music enrichment curriculum.”
Through its partnership with the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation the church hosts a drop-in center for the homeless, including a needle exchange program. The Welcome Table ministry provides a Saturday food pantry and Fourth Monday nutritious community dinner that feeds over a hundred individuals and families each month. For the past two years Incarnation has hosted the annual interfaith Homeless Memorial Service in Hudson County. It also provides office space for Habitat for Humanity of Hudson County.
The Church of the Incarnation is a vibrant Christ-centered community of radical hospitality and radical welcome, offering enthusiastic worship, engaging community outreach and empowering spiritual learning to anyone seeking a deeper relationship with God and one another through Jesus Christ. It looks forward to reshaping its ministry for the twenty-first century with an emphasis on its feeding and music ministries.
