The Full Story
Welcome to the Church of the Incarnation
We have been a Spiritual Presence in North York for the past sixty years faithfully preaching the good news of God’s unfailing love for us. In 2005, two Churches joined together to form the Church of the Incarnation. Together we have become a welcoming, friendly and caring community of faith in our neighbourhood.
Church of the Incarnation is a multi-cultural church located in Willowdale, North York, City of Toronto. On February 1st, 2005, the parishes of All Souls, Lansing and Church of the Annunciation amalgamated and became Church of the Incarnation at 15 Clairtrell Road. Incarnation offers two Sunday services and has an average Sunday attendance of 90 parishioners. Our Parish Profile shares with you the highlights of our current ministries, structures, practices, activities and finances. Our Parish ministries are guided by the Anglican Five Marks of Mission expressing our common commitment to, and understanding of, God's mission. While the composition and size of our congregation has changed significantly since its beginning in 1952, we remain committed to spreading the gospel in our post-modern, digital world. We want to continue to be a faith community that deeply cares for one another and responds to contemporary opportunities and challenges that await us. We are a congregation committed to loving God and loving our neighbour as ourselves. We welcome those who are seeking God.
History In 1949, families from St. George’s Anglican Church at Yonge and Churchill Streets, along with other interested people founded the Church of the Annunciation to effectively meet the spiritual needs of the growing number of young families settling in the neighbourhood known as Lansing. In 1951, the Annunciation’s church building opened. Within a short period of time, the parish of All Souls, Lansing, was formed by families living east of Yonge Street. Land was purchased at Bayview and Sheppard and a Parish Hall was built on the property with a view to building a church at a future date. The church was never built and the Parish Hall became a Sanctuary. Subsequent decades brought great changes to the neighbourhood. There was a sense that both parishes could minister more effectively together rather than separately. After a lengthy process, both parishes agreed to amalgamate and a new name was chosen. The amalgamation was made official by the Diocese on February 1, 2005, and this new parish became known as Church of the Incarnation. The integration process took a great deal of time and energy and has been extremely successful. We continue to seek to be more effective in meeting the needs of our own parishioners as well as in reaching out to our new neighbours.
Mirrored crucifix reflects the church, safely held in the Saviour's physical outline as worshipers come and go, groping their way through an age-old wilderness challenge to survival with no known exit and not knowing how to get there
But Jesus knew where he was going and how he would get there - inconceivable to those who followed - a pathway dreaded yet willingly embraced to hold in his care those willing to trust.
A poetic reflection from Incarnation parishioner, Olivia Lee, on Philippians 2:5-13: