Church of the Incarnation Vision, Values & Mission

We are an inclusive community of faith following Jesus Christ in the Anglican way as part of the Episcopal Church in a downtown, urban environment. We recognize that Christ has no body now on earth but ours, and we are committed to carrying out Christ’s charge to love one another through service. While we are partners with God in God’s work throughout the world, we are called in particular to recognize the needs of the community where we live, work and worship and to provide significant ministry inside and outside our congregation to address those needs.

Specifically, we are a community of faith that:

• Actively reaches out and invites all those who seek Christ to join us in worship and to provide worship that is vibrant and meaningful;
• Provides services to those most vulnerable and most in need in our community -- the homeless, the elderly, and children -- and actively works with other churches and community groups to facilitate the delivery of service programs;
• Sees our church as a cultural center for our downtown community that provides music and cultural programs that enhance our worship services, as well as programs which are open to all that use the beauty and assets of our church to combine the arts and spirituality;
• Takes seriously the formation of lay ministry, with emphasis on spiritual formation, biblical education and prayer, and fosters empowerment of ministry utilizing knowledge of persons’ spiritual gifts, interests and passion for service;
• Seeks to build, strengthen and sustain community among church members and others through the development of a strong and diverse small groups ministry;
• Generates effective communication inside our church and outside to the community;
• Manages conflict with practices/processes that foster direct communication and respect and acceptance of differing opinions, and that reflect a theology of reconciliation.

Our abiding values are the values expressed in our Baptismal Covenant with Jesus Christ, and this is how we intend to live our lives as members of the community of faith at Church of the Incarnation. Specifically, we are committed to:

• Continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers, by providing for worship that is as beautiful and meaningful as possible for all those called to Christ;
• Develop and foster a sense of spiritual community grounded in our love for God and for one another, and to invite all those called to Christ to join in that community;
• Be a completely inclusive church and to proclaim by our word and example the Good News of God in Christ to all people in order to help them grow spiritually and to be fully equipped to live a Christian life;
• Seek and serve Christ in all persons -- regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical or mental limitation, economic status or religious background – and so truly love our neighbors as ourselves;
• Strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being.
• Maintain a church which inspires faith through the beauty of its architecture and programs which combine spirituality and the arts.

In keeping with the established core values and vision of the Church of the Incarnation, it is the mission of this community of faith to:

1. Strive always to understand and define ourselves within the context of our expressed values, vision and purpose and move forward in a culture of movement and transformation, always seeking God’s will for our future. In keeping with this, we are committed to evolving as a parish according to God’s call;
2. Actively reach out to all who seek Christ to join us in worship, including those not attracted to our traditional Sunday services. In so doing, we will strive to provide worship within our Episcopal tradition that is vibrant and meaningful to all. This will include, but not be limited to, initiating services which make use of alternative or contemporary music programs and/or alternative days or times, e.g. a Saturday evening service;
3. Seek to serve others as Christ commands and make a positive impact, both as individuals and as a church, on the needs we see in the community in which we live. We will do so by directly providing or supporting programs which serve those most vulnerable – the homeless, the elderly and children;
4. Establish our church as a downtown cultural center, utilizing the beauty and assets of our church building. We will do this both by providing music and cultural programs that enhance our worship and by establishing and supporting such programs as Numina, which provide events that combine spirituality and the arts and which are open to all;
5. Actively involve and engage our church in the community in which we live by speaking and acting publicly on issues that affect peace and justice and by supporting the dignity of every human being;
6. Deepen relationships by building, strengthening and sustaining a sense of community among parishioners and others through the development and implementation of a strong small groups program;
7. Affirm and adhere to our established Principles of Healthy Community, based on a theology of reconciliation, in order to manage conflict and foster direct communication, respect and acceptance of differing opinions within our parish.