The Church of the Incarnation is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of the Diocese of Dallas of the Episcopal Church, located at 3966 McKinney Avenue in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The church was founded in 1879 by Bishop Alexander Garrett as the Cathedral Chapel of the Incarnation. It was originally built on the corner of McKinney and Harwood, to a considerable degree north of Dallas’s business and residential community. In 1897 the mission church became a full-fledged parish of the Diocese of Dallas. In 1902 a brick building was dedicated and used as the church for the next twenty-five years. In 1927 the church moved to a new building farther north on McKinney at Cambrick Avenue. Sixteen rectors have served the church since its founding and the modest brick chapel has become a close serving the Dallas community with a Christian volunteer force of 1,800 households. The church is one of 74 Episcopal churches and missions in the Diocese of Dallas, which is a member of Province VII of the Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) and a part of the worldwide

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. The current

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

is the Rev. Dr. Christopher Beeley. It is one of the largest parishes in the diocese.

Architecture & Worship Spaces

The Main Campus facility located at 3966 McKinney Ave, with the exception of the Great Hall and school building, was constructed in a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. The worship spaces contain traditional Anglican furnishings and stained glass.

Main Church

Church of the Incarnation Lessons & Carols

The main church is arranged in a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

layout. The nave and both

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

s are used for congregational seating, and the rear gallery is used as overflow seating when needed. The north transept faces the crossing, while the south transept faces forward (east) toward a second altar, allowing it to function as an attached chapel. The south transept also contains a large stained glass window depicting

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

as the "Good Shepherd". The Good Shepherd window backs up to the organ chamber, which prevents natural light from illuminating it, so it is lit artificially from behind. The cruciform layout of the church also serves as a symbol of the body of Christ. With the altar representing the head and the nave that contains the seating representing the body of Christ. The chancel is divided into three distinct sections. The first is where the pulpit, lectern, and seating for the clergy are found. The pulpit is on the left (north) side of the chancel, and the lectern on the right (south) side. The presider sits on the right side, but to the left of the pulpit, facing the center. The subdeacon and one assisting priest sit behind him on the other side of the pulpit. The acting deacon sits on the opposite (north) side with the preacher behind. All of the clergy sit facing across the chancel. The next section of the chancel contains the

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

. The stalls face the center and have three rows on either side of the chancel which increase in height moving out from the center. They can comfortably seat around 40 people and are outfitted with seated-height music racks. The third section of the chancel is the proper sanctuary. Its focal point is the carved wood

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

with its gold leafing and relief carvings. On the north side of the sanctuary sits the cathedra, along with two benches. In the north wall is the

aumbry An ambry (or ''almery'', ''aumbry''; from the medieval form ''almarium'', cf. Lat. ''armārium'', "a place for keeping tools"; cf. O. Fr. ''aumoire'' and mod. armoire) is a recessed cabinet in the wall of a Christian church for storing sacred vesse ...

, which is used for the reservation of the Sacrament. On the opposite wall are three more seats. Dividing the sanctuary from the chancel are wooden altar rails with red embroidered kneelers. Communion is distributed continuously, but kneeling is still expected for those who are able. Above the chancel on the north side is the organ loft. The large console of the Noack organ faces away from the chancel, requiring the use of either a television monitor or a series of mirrors for the organist to see the conductor below. Directly opposite the loft on the south wall is the organ itself. The Gothic facade speaks directly across the space, and the chamber extends straight back to the same depth as the south transept (obscuring the stained glass). The chamber takes up the entire square space on the southeast corner of the main church. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

has a single central aisle with pews on either side. The outside ambulatory aisles are separated from the nave by a row of Gothic pointed arches, so they do not bisect the pews. The last several pews are located beneath the gallery. Also under the gallery is the baptistry, which cuts a square area out of the pew space on the north side of the nave. There is a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

separating the nave from the west door. Staircases on either side of the narthex lead to the gallery. Outside and on the south side of the nave is a single

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

which connects the narthex with the hallway leading through the center of the church campus. The participants in the service (clergy, choir, etc.) gather for prayer prior to the celebration of the Eucharist in this space, weather permitting.

Ascension Chapel

The Ascension Chapel was completed in 2015 as the worship space for the Uptown Contemporary Service. In 2017, a new stained glass window was installed above the altar, created in collaboration with Canterbury Cathedral Studios in 13th-century style artistic design and craftwork. ore description needed.

Memorial Chapel

The memorial chapel was the original worship space on the current church site. Although the traditional services have long since outgrown it, daily office services are held in it, in addition to wedding, funerals, and the like. The layout is traditional, but not cruciform as it has no transepts. The furnishings are similar to those in the main church, simply on a slightly smaller scale. Also, the altar is not attached to the east wall, so the presider performs the Eucharistic rite standing behind it and facing the congregation. The chancel area is separated from the nave by a large Gothic arch, behind which is a set of curtains which can block off that space when the chapel is being used for functions other than worship, though they are rarely used as such. The organ is situated on the back wall, with the largest pipes of the pedal division flanking the west door. The swell shades can be seen behind the acoustic fabric panels hung in front of them. The console is on the north side of the gallery, which runs the length of the nave along both sides. The console, as in the main church, faces the wall. A small space for a choir of about 12-16 voices is available around the console. The baptistry in the chapel is located adjacent to the entrance from the main hallway on the north side of the nave. On the opposite side of the nave and set off by a wood slat wall is a small chapel containing one of the two columbaria of the church (the other being outside), after which the chapel takes its name since it is not named for a particular person. The chapel also has a narthex which provides access to the upper gallery, as well as to some of the audio-visual equipment that is utilized by the contemporary services held in the chapel. Stained glass can be found surrounding the chapel, the finest of which is in the small columbarium chapel.

Liturgy

The Church of the Incarnation, being a parish of the Episcopal Church, uses the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) as its standard for worship. Each Sunday the Eucharist is celebrated seven times, in addition to six times during the week. Both of the rites provided in the Book of Common Prayer are used. The traditional services use Rite I while the contemporary services use Rite II. One exception to the use of the 1979 BCP is for

Choral Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which beca ...

. Earlier versions of the BCP included rites for this service, but the closest thing to be found in the most recent edition is a rite for evening prayer. Therefore, the rite used had to be taken from a different edition. The rite used is found in the 1662 BCP, which remains the primary edition in the Church of England.

Anglo-Catholicism

The Church of the Incarnation is one of the few parishes in the Diocese of Dallas to be considered

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

. This applies primarily to the traditional liturgies only, but also impacts the theology and practices of the parish outside of the liturgy. A few of the identifying practices seen in the parish include the celebration of Choral Evensong (including the use of incense), the hearing of private confessions, the invocation of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and other saints for the purpose of intercession, a limited Marian devotion, a great deal of pomp in processional practices, and the "high-church" liturgy used in the traditional services. This high-church style is reflected most obviously in the vestments and other liturgical clothing used by participants in the Mass. The choir and lay servers wear black cassocks and full-length surplices , the vergers (of which there are nearly always two for Eucharists on Sundays) wear cassocks and blue/gray vergers' gowns, and the assisting clergy vest as the choir with the addition of a stole (or tippet for the priest who is preaching to be exchanged at the start of the Eucharistic liturgy for a stole). The participating clergy wear eucharistic vestments. The three participating clerics wear

amice The amice is a liturgical vestment used mainly in the Roman Catholic church, Western Orthodox church, Lutheran church, some Anglican, Armenian and Polish National Catholic churches. Description The amice consists of a white cloth connected to t ...

s and maniples, the presider wears a chasuble, the deacons a dalmatic, and the subdeacon (an uncommon office outside of Anglo-Catholicism) a tunicle. Because he is also a bishop, the rector from 2008 to 2022, Anthony Burton, sometimes wore a

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

in addition to the chasuble. At other times, he sometimes wore a scarlet

chimere A chimere ( , or ) is a garment worn by Anglican bishops in choir dress, and, formally as part of academic dress. A descendant of a riding cloak, the chimere resembles an academic gown but without sleeves, and is usually made of scarlet or black ...

over his

rochet A rochet () is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern churches. The rochet in its Roman form is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower. In its Angl ...

. All of the eucharistic vestments were replaced in 2013 by

Watts & Co Watts & Co. is a prominent architecture and interior design company established in England in 1874. It is a survivor from the Gothic Revival of the nineteenth century: a firm founded in 1874 by three leading late-Victorian church architects � ...

. of London. For Evensong, the presiding priest vests in a

cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

Music

The Church of the Incarnation is well known throughout

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

as a center for musical excellence. The program is divided into two segments, one traditional and the other contemporary. Together they provide the music for seven of the eight worship services held each Sunday throughout the academic year.

Traditional

The traditional component of the church's music program was until October 2022 under the direction of

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

/choirmaster Scott Dettra. Dettra assumed the position in August 2012 after serving as organist of

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

. Prior to Dettra's arrival, the position was held by

Richard Sparks Richard Andrew Sparks (born August 29, 1950) is an American choral conductor. He is one of the leading figures in choral music in the Pacific Northwest and in Scandinavian, especially Swedish a cappella, choral music. Early life and education Sp ...

(interim). Monica Awbrey, succeeding former associate organist Graham Schultz, currently serves as interim director of music, assisted by interim organist Trevor Carolan and organ scholar Charlie Eidelman. For choral evensong, which is held each Sunday from September through May, the choir takes after the English cathedral and collegiate tradition in following the rite set forth in the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer''. The choirs use one setting of the

Preces and Responses In Christian liturgical worship, preces ( ; ), also known in the Anglican prayer book tradition as the suffrages, are short petitions that are said or sung as versicles and responses by the officiant and congregation respectively. It is one of th ...

throughout the month, many settings of the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

and

Nunc Dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 through 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate ...

are used in rotation, and the remaining music is determined by the

propers The proper (Latin: ''proprium'') is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event. The term is used in contrast to the ...

for the day. The choir has developed their own book of Anglican chant psalms, as pointed by Scott Dettra. In December 2012 the ensemble was heard in a nationwide broadcast of their annual Service of Lessons & Carols; the broadcast was carried by Public Radio International.

Tours and concerts

The choir has made several pilgrimages to the United Kingdom, a practice which began in 1998 with a residency at

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

. During these tours, the choir establishes week-long residencies at various churches and cathedrals throughout the country. The first week is spent in a different venue each year. The most recent UK trip, in July 2019, was to

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

; previously, in July 2011, the choir went to

St. George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

and Canterbury Cathedral. The second week has then usually consisted of a residency at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

.http://incarnation.org/england-pilgrimage/
In July 2014 the choir sang services at the

National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

in Washington and at Saint Thomas Church and the

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood ...

in New York City.

Organ

The main worship space of the church which is used for the traditional liturgies has a substantial pipe organ redesigned, enlarged and rebuilt from the original

Aeolian-Skinner Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866–1 ...

by the Noack Organ Company in 1994. The organ has four manuals (keyboards) and 65 stops spread over 80 ranks.

Other organs

The chapel contains a two manual Wicks organ. The church's previous location at McKinney and Harwood contained a two manual, 19 stop organ built in 1910 by the Pilcher Organ Co. of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Contemporary music

The church's contemporary music program consists of a praise band-style group of instrumentalists. The Uptown Contemporary services are held simultaneously with their traditional counterparts at 9 am, 11:15 am, and 5 pm on Sundays and are held in Ascension Chapel, part of a substantial building project completed in 2015. The North Campus location, which opened in August 2019 at 12727 Hillcrest Rd., also features a contemporary music program for its Sunday service at 10:30 am.

Outreach

The parish is known for its commitment to outreach and community service. A mentorship program with neighboring

North Dallas High School North Dallas High School is a public secondary school located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. As of 2017, the principal adminis ...

has been very successful, and similar programs have begun at other area schools as a response. Also popular among parishioners are the mission trips to Belize and Honduras. In total, the parish has dozens of different outreach ministries, and there are two permanent staff positions exclusive to the department.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Church of the Incarnation website
Episcopal churches in Texas Churches in Dallas Churches completed in 1879 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the United States