History

The Church of the Incarnation was born in 1949 when a group of laymen led by Mr. J. Hartman Taylor met with and persuaded the Rt. Rev’d Henry I. Louttit “to bring the Church to those who could not go to Church” by establishing an Episcopal mission in Liberty City. As a result, the first services were conducted by the first vicar, the Rev’d John J. Jarrett, Jr. a deacon, and were held at the Liberty Square Community Center on Whitsunday, June 5, 1949. On July 10, Bishop Louttit visited and formally organized the congregation as a diocesan mission and officially named “the Church of the Incarnation.”

The Diocese of the South Florida assisted in the process of the establishment of the Church of the Incarnation by acquiring deeds to properties in Liberty City for the congregation. Subsequently, on July 8, 1951, an abandoned one room wooden Baptist church building was purchased and moved to the site and the congregation moved from “the Liberty City Center” to its first permanent church home, located on the corner of Northwest 69th Street and 17th Avenue.

The Church of the Incarnation was officially chartered at Miami-Dade County, Florida, on November 11, 1953.  Meanwhile, the congregation outgrew its facilities and it was necessary to purchase and move to its current site, a larger Baptist church building located on Northwest 54th Street on February 2, 1958.   The next challenge was to pay-off an enormous debt including the mortgage on the newly acquired building purchased from Grace Baptist Church.  After years of struggle and sacrifice, the mortgage on the church edifice and grounds was burned on June 9, 1968 and the congregation was elevated to parish status on June 2, 1974.

The congregation further expanded its land holdings in 1979 when it purchased five lots west of and contiguous to the church site and in 1983 acquired the two remaining lots on the corner of Northwest 54th Street and 19th Avenue.  A local architect, Harold Seckinger, designed a new church large enough to seat five hundred worshippers, and a milestone was reached on October 28, 1995, when the present church building and administration annex were dedicated and consecrated.  In the ensuing years, the old church was converted into a beautiful parish hall with a full commercial kitchen.

Having originally been founded “to bring the church to those who could not go to church,” the Church of the Incarnation has been responsible, in turn, for taking its ministry to the poor and disadvantaged in the community.  Moreover, since the late 1960s, the parish has played a pivotal role in starting or aiding in the establishment of a number of community outreach programs and service projects, including the COPE School, a program for pregnant school-age girls that enables them to continue their education and prevent school drop-out; and the Belafonte Tacolcy Center, Inc., started as an after-care place for neighborhood “at-risk” youths to be helped, heard and involved.

Since its establishment, the following priests, each having made a contribution in their own way, have served the congregation:

The congregation also enjoyed the services of the two deacons who served as assistants, the Rev’d. Henry E. S. Reeves, who served from April 1954 until his death in December 1970, and the Rev’d. Louis N. F. Duty, who served from December 1979 until his death in May 1992.

Today, the Church of the Incarnation is a thriving congregation; a family parish of diverse ages and backgrounds which continues to serve our risen Lord in spiritual yet practical ways.  Thus, the parish faces a hopeful future of service fortified by accomplishments and work, all dedicated to the glory of God.