The Episcopal Church in West Point began in 1870 when the Rev. Henry Harris conducted monthly services for a group in the Union Church building on Court Street. At that time, there were seven members on the church roll. Florence Peugh organized a Sunday School with classes conducted weekly in her room at the Henley House.
On October 14, 1872, a small group of Episcopalians in West Point organized a mission called St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church. The members raised $500.00 to purchase a lot and eventually to erect a building. By 1873, the number of communicants had increased to sixty with services twice monthly. But no church was built at that time, and membership dropped somewhat until the arrival of the Rev. W. P. Browne in 1886. He held monthly services in the Court House and, at this time, St. Joseph’s was renamed Church of the Incarnation. The Rev. Browne was very dedicated to his duties in the mission field, and with only one assistant, he erected the church building. Benches were constructed of plain boards, and the Altar was a kitchen table covered in green felt. The warmth, spiritual love, and devotion to each other that was contained in that little frame structure has continued throughout more than one hundred and thirty years of the church’s existence.
In the early 1900’s, Church of the Incarnation made plans to erect a more modern building. The little board-and-batten church Rev. Browne had built was moved to an adjacent lot, and the new brick foundation rose about sixteen feet. Shortly thereafter, the church suffered a setback when the priest who had encouraged the new building was called away. World War I began, and membership and finances again declined. A local lawyer and member of First Methodist Church served as a lay reader, and the Eucharist was celebrated by a visiting priest once a month.
Members struggled faithfully to keep the church together until the early thirties. In the midst of the Depression, a young member who was a recent graduate in architecture proposed using the bricks in the abandoned foundation to veneer the little frame building of Rev. Browne. This project was the “boost” that Incarnation needed. Over the next two decades, a parish hall was added, and a rectory was built. For the first time in many years, Incarnation had a resident priest and continued to prosper.
In 1980, a second addition consisting of a larger parish hall, choir room, office, and new kitchen was added, all of which have been thoroughly updated throughout the years, with the latest project being the remodel of the choir room in 2018. The first parish hall was converted to much-needed Sunday School rooms in 1980. These received a fresh coat of paint and
new flooring in 2015. In 1997, the small rectory on Jordan Ave. was sold and a larger rectory purchased. When the home next door to the church became available in 2006, the church sold the second rectory and purchased the house next door. A small house located behind the church was generously donated to the church in the mid-2000s, was renovated and is used for youth and outreach.
Church of the Incarnation achieved Parish status in 1999 at the 172nd Annual Council of the Diocese of Mississippi meeting in Hattiesburg. It was a wonderful culmination of the love, faithfulness, and dedication of many loyal church members and leaders throughout the years.
Among the many gifted clergy who have served Incarnation over the years, three went on to become bishops. The Rev. R. Bland Mitchell, who served Incarnation as a deacon assistant from 1912-1915, later became Bishop of Arkansas, the Rev. C. Brinkley Morton, who served as vicar from July 1, 1959 to May 31, 1962, became Bishop of San Diego, and the Rev. John McKee Sloan, who served as vicar from March 15, 1983-December 28,1986, is the 11th and current Bishop of the Diocese of Alabama.
Church of the Incarnation continues to provide beautiful, dignified worship in the Anglican tradition. We also serve the community by hosting several weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, meetings of Project Homestead (a non-profit organization that operates the local Food Pantry and serves needy children and families in Clay County), as well as participating in the yearly Adopt-A-Family program at Christmas time, the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child, Christ at Home Meal Ministry and others. As a church family, we are committed to growing in the love of God and neighbor, and we look forward to continuing that tradition for many years to come.
Adapted from “A History and Background of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation” by Rufus Ward, Parish Archivist and Licensed Diocesan Lay Reader.
Roster of Priests
St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church 1872 – 1877
Episcopal Church of the Incarnation 1877 – Present
Henry C. Harris: 1870-1871*
Joesph Emmart Brown: 1871-1872*
William A. W. Maybin: 1872-1874
Heber O. Crane: 1874-1875
G. W. Sinclair Ayres: 1883-1885*
William P. Browne: April 8, 1886-April 12, 1889
George H. Edwards: 1889-1891*
James M. Magruder: 1893-1896
Walter R. Dye: 1897-1901*
R. W. Barnwell: 1902-1905*
J. Lundy Sykes: 1906-July 1915*
B. Bland Mitchell (assistant): 1912-1915*
John Gass: 1915-1917
J. W. Fulford: 1917-1919*
William J. Wilson: 1920-1922*
Charles E. Freeman: 1923-1924*
Raymond E. McBain: 1928-1931*
Charles G. Hamilton: July 1931 (1932*)-July 1933
William B. Allen: 1933-1935
Frank E. Walters: September 1935-December 1936
William Mercer Green, Jr.: January 1937-March 1939
J. Lundy Sykes: 1939-1940*
Bradner J. Moore: July16, 1941 (1940*) – May 15, 1946
James W. Emmerson: November 1946-May 1950
Emile Joffrion: 1951-1954
Thomas B. Smythe, Jr.: September 1954-January 1958
Hugh McD. Morse, Jr.: 1958-1959
Brinkley Morton: July 1, 1959 – May 31, 1962
Ralph E. Leach, Jr.: September 15, 1962 – November 30, 1963
Elmer M. Boykin: February 12, 1964-January 1970
James M. Pulliam: Circa 1970-1973
Charles K. Floyd, Jr.: March 1, 1971-April 13, 1975
Craig P. Fickling: June 1, 1976-June 4, 1978
Dr. Edward O. deBary: July 15, 1978-July 31 1982
John McKee Sloan: March 15, 1983-December 28-1986
Eldridge Eugene Asbury: June 1, 1987-April 30, 1994
James Knox Polk Van Zandt: July 1, 1994-April 30, 2000
Dr. Charles Bryan Owen: September 2, 2001 – January 8, 2006
Karl C. Schaffenburg: July 30, 2006 - October 31, 2011
John Alexander Kellogg: June 1, 2012- July 20, 2014
Dr. Lynn Petrie Ronaldi: May 3, 2015 - June 10, 2018
Randal H. Sellers + July 1, 2019 – April 4, 2021
Marie Smith + June 15, 2021 to present
*source: The Episcopal Church in Mississippi: 1763-1992
The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi: Jackson, MS
© 2006 by Church of the Incarnation
