Welcome, Friend!
I (Fr. Josh Bales) have learned that there are a few things people want to know about Incarnation Oviedo when they visit. So, let me take a moment to address a few of the most frequently asked questions and if you have more, contact me!
There aren’t many “young” Episcopal churches out there! But we are proud to exist as a gospel ministry that combines the evangelistic drive of the Gospel with the rootedness of the Anglican tradition. Incarnation Oviedo was planted by the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida in 2007. For a number of years we met in the Chapel of Canterbury Retreat and Conference Center. Currently, we meet in the Chapel of Reformed Theological Seminary (where we started in 2007!).
Our parishioners are a mixture of people from all walks of life: individuals and families, young and old, local professionals, UCF students, stay at home moms and dads, and retirees! Some are “cradle” Episcopalians and some are brand new to the beauty of the Anglican tradition.
Our worship services are liturgical (according to The Book of Common Prayer) as well as warm and alive, hospitable and welcoming. Our music often features traditional hymns played on the organ combined with folk-style singer-songwriter led modern worship pieces. Sometimes we chant. Sometimes we have incense. And sometimes we strip everything down to an acoustic guitar, a preaching pulpit, and an altar. We are particularly invested in finding and using the best of the arts (from any and all centuries) to worship God!
Something you won’t find at our church is political polarization and/or heated theological debate. That’s NOT to say we are a homogenous group in these respects. On the contrary. I have never been a part of a church with parishioners who had such widely varying views on SO MANY theological/cultural/political questions! And when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is core (as spelled out in, for instance, The Apostle’s Creed), I believe that kind of diversity is a strength and sign of spiritual and psychological maturity for any church. While we certainly encourage our parishioners to study the scriptures, and know and enact their faith, we recognize that Incarnation’s primary identity and task as the body of Christ is to worship God in Word and Sacrament, to nurture his people in their faith, and to bear witness to Jesus Christ in the world.
I hope you will join us on a Sunday for Holy Eucharist! If you do, you’ll find a genuine, authentic, and devoted group of people who will welcome you into God’s family as we follow our Lord Jesus Christ together.
The Rev. Josh Bales
“As Anglican Christians we hold to ‘what has been believed by Christians everywhere, always, and by all.”
As a Christian community we seek to be 1)Biblically Orthodox, 2)Historically Rooted, and 3)Relationally Hospitable. And we think the good news of Jesus Christ is, in the words of St. Augustine, “beauty…ever ancient, ever new.” Globally, we are affiliated with the Anglican Communion. Locally, we are one of the 80+ churches in The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. Church of the Incarnation was planted in 2006 in Oviedo.
“One canon reduced to writing by God himself, two testaments, three creeds, four general councils, five centuries, and the series of Fathers in that period—the centuries, that is, before Constantine, and two after, determine the boundary of our faith.”