Parish History
The idea of establishing a mission in the "village" (of Morrisville) was initially questioned around 1907 or 1908, when it was discussed between Mr. Thomas Stockham and the Rev. Mr. Williams, the representative of the Germantown Convocation, and although they conversed at length, it was decided that it was not viable at the time.
Later Mr. Stockham attended a meeting with the Convocation at the Church House. It was announced that there was a bequest made by Susan Allibone to establish a church in Bucks County. The proposed site, which had been donated by the Stockham family, was located on the corner of Pennsylvania and Palmer Sts. in Morrisville and was approved by the Dean of the Convocation as there were a number of Episcopalians in the area.
The first service was held in the rented Chambers Street Hall upper room on April 2, 1911. The service was held at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday school at 2 p.m. It was noted that the clergy were particularly devoted as they had the customary parish tasks, then, traveled on a hot dirty train to attend the service.
The church name, Church of the Incarnation, was suggested by a supply minister, The Rev. Horace Fuller, and after long discussions was finally approved.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 12, 1911; the cornerstone was laid on September 19th, and the first official priest in charge of the mission, Rev John Carr, was obtained. Fundraisers were held to raise $3000 for the construction of the new church, and in the winter of 1911 services were held. The church building was completed, all expenses paid, with the money raised, along with the Allibone bequest at the cost of about $9000. It was through the efforts, donations and business resources of the parishioners that kept the costs to a minimum.
The consecration was held on November 10, 1912 by The Rt. Rev. Thomas Garland, then Suffragan Bishop. It was at his suggestion to utilize the Allibone bequest to construct the mission.
The Rev. T. Leslie Gosling arrived and remained until May 1914. The Rectory was built during his tenure, and unlike the church building, was owned by the Church Foundation, until the status of a self-supporting parish was achieved.
The church was thriving by January 1914 and the services being held were Holy Communion celebrated weekly at the 8 a.m. service, but only on the first Sunday of the month at the 10:30 service.
Rev. Gosling left in 1914, and after a two year interim, The Rev. D.L. Sanford served as Vicar, from early 1916 to 1917. Rev. Paul Atkins succeeded him and was the first priest to bring a young family with him. The church was affected, as the rest of the nation, with the influenza epidemic from 1918-1919, although actual numbers are not known. Rev. Atkins was replaced by Rev. Seaver Holden who served for 15 years until his retirement in December 1933.
Mr. Holden built the Parish House that would also be used by the community; but specified that when it was no longer needed, it would revert back to the church as a Parish House. The construction was done with contributions from the Stockham family, donations by the townspeople, and the balance was paid for by the Convocation. The building was completed in 1923.
The mission was hit hard by the depression and during this time the vicar often forgot his salary, and everyone helped those less fortunate. Prices were low, but incomes were low and the average collection was about $120 monthly for many years. It was impossible to maintain the buildings during this time.
The mission acquired Rev. Oliver Newton as Vicar in January of 1934. The church was in disrepair, but it was in debt so a sinking fund was set up to help finance major repairs. This was during WWII when restrictions made it difficult for everyone, especially with the shortage of fuel. Mr. Newton served until 1946 when he retired. He was followed by a supply priest, Rev. Wickersham, and served until the arrival of Rev. William Warren January 1947. It was with his leadership that Incarnation became a parish on May 6, 1952.
Mr. Warren left in 1959 and was replaced by Rev. Robert Lenhard who stayed until 1961 and the arrival of Rev. William E. Mills and his family. It was during his tenure that the church enjoyed a time of growth, but population growth was greatest in the outlying areas due to new homes being built. So, the new church, our current location, was completed in 1966 and the narthex was added in 1987. The church grew to new heights, in spite of the turmoil of the 60's, under the leadership of Fr. Mills. Fr. Mills retired in 1992 and after an interim was succeeded by Fr. Bill Dornemann who arrived in 1993.
It was Fr. Dornemann who began the work to improve, or replace, the building which was showing signs of age. However, Fr. Dornemann became terminally ill with leukemia and passed away in January of 2001.
After a lengthy search, Fr. Joshua Aalan joined Incarnation in December of 2003. It has been with his vision and energy to modernize the building that we are now celebrating the renovations of our beloved church.
Father Aalan left in February 2009 and Father Kyle St. Claire has taken over as our Interim Rector.