Incarnation Anglican Church (Williamsburg, Virginia)

Last updated

Incarnation Anglican Church
Location 4900 Mooretown Rd, Williamsburg, Virginia 23188 USA
Country United States
Denomination Anglican Church in North America
Weekly attendance108 (as of March 1, 2025)
Website
History
StatusCongregation
Founded2013
FounderThe Rev. James Swynford
Administration
Diocese Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic
Clergy
Bishop The Rt. Rev. Christopher Warner
Priest The Rev. Tom Hample

Incarnation Anglican Church is an Anglican church in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.

Contents

History

Incarnation Church was planted by former parishioners from The Falls Church Anglican as a mission of the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic of the Anglican Church in North America in 2013. The church emerged out of private worship and prayer groups held in homes and neighboorhood clubhouses. The congregation began holding worship at the Williamsburg Regional Library before moving to its current location at the Williamsburg Hellenic Center. The church has occasionally held services in Wren Chapel on the campus of William & Mary. [1]

In 2018, a parishioner at Incarnation, Peter Vlaming, was fired from his teaching job for refusing to use the preferred gender pronouns of a student who identified as a transgender person. [2]

On August 9, 2020, the Rev. Drew Thomas was instituted as vicar of Incarnation Church. [3] The founding planter, the Rev. James Swynford, moved to Philadelphia to form a new church plant. [1] By December 2022, Incarnation had reached a regular attendance of about 100 congregants. Thomas shared: "I'm simply building on what the previous pastor, who did a great job, did with his church. Our vision as a church is to restore a vibrant and Orthodox Anglicanism to the Historic Triangle." [4]

Incarnation Church changed its name to Incarnation Anglican Church in 2023, adding the word "Anglican" to reflect its Anglican identity. [5] By August 2023, Incarnation had become a congregation and was being pastored by the Rev. Canon Justin Murff, [6] the Executive Director of the Anglican Office for Government and International Affairs. [7]

In 2025, Incarnation experienced a crisis involving a request by its vestry for a formal inquiry into its bishop, Christopher Warner, over allegations of abuse of ecclesiastical power and imposition of religious beliefs concerning the ordination of women. The Standing Committee of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic responded to the allegations by issuing a statement assuring that Warner was not the subject of any disciplinary actions or investigation by the Provincial Office of the ACNA. [8] [9] [10]

Incarnation is currently being led by the Rev. Tom Hample of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. [11]

Partnerships

Incarnation is a mission partner of Cambridge House, a Christian Study Center serving the College of William & Mary. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 Walton, Jeffrey (23 August 2023). "Anglican Church Planting Success". Juicy Ecumenism. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Walton, Jeffrey (2 October 2024). "Virginia Anglican Wrongly Fired Over Pronouns Vindicated in Settlement". Juicy Ecumenism. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "Institutions in the Diocese". Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Flynn, Bob (December 2022). "Serving Williamsburg". Williamsburg's Next Door Neighbors. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Walton, Jeffrey (5 June 2024). "Is Anglican Brand Growing Even as Denominationalism Recedes?". Juicy Ecumenism. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  6. ↑ Walton, Jeffrey (23 August 2023). "Anglican Church Planting Success". Juicy Ecumenism. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "ANCA joins Congressional leaders, coalition partners at Capitol Hill press conference condemning Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh". Armenian Weekly. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Misconduct investigation requested of the Bishop of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic". Anglican Ink. July 27, 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  9. ↑ "Uproar continues at Incarnation Anglican Church Williamsburg (ACNA) over the ordination of women and more". Anglican Watch. September 6, 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  10. ↑ Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (August 29, 2025). "Statement from the standing committee of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic on compelling acceptance of women clergy". Anglican Ink. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Our Clergy and Staff". Incarnation Anglican Church. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Missions". Incarnation Anglican Church. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.