Cardinal Wilton Gregory was the principal celebrant and homilist for a Mass on Sept. 15 celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Church of the Incarnation in Northeast Washington, D.C., a parish known for its hospitality, spirited worship and community service.
That spirit was on display in joyful worship as families and friends packed the church for congregational singing and hands lifted in praise, as they embraced the anniversary theme – “Standing on the Promises”— and gave thanks to God.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory reflected on the reading at the Mass from The Letter of James, noting, “James is thus a person who would approve of today’s special celebration at Incarnation Parish, because we are recognizing all those people who have built and sustained this parish for 100 years.”
Citing the apostle as having “little patience with people who were content to talk without confirming their words through hard work,” the cardinal said, “James felt that speaking without doing lacked proof of an individual’s true feelings and attitudes. James was a hard-nosed realist who saw life in rather direct and clear lines. How can we claim to be filled with faith when our actions deny the words that we profess?... James would probably be one of those people who are blunt enough to say: ‘Talk is cheap!’”
As he concluded his homily, Cardinal Gregory noted, “I am certain that St. James himself would want me to applaud the wonderful years of faith and service which are the reasons that we stop today to praise God on this special anniversary and to pledge ourselves for the future in hope.”
Following the homily, parish members of diverse cultures and generations offered prayers in their native tongues of Igbo, French, Spanish and English.
Nigerian native Walter Onwuka, prayed in Igbo for the Church to “reach out to assist all those who find their crosses too difficult to shoulder, especially those who have lost hope.”
Marie Ange Tanon of Cote d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), a parishioner since 2003, prayed in French “for all those who have no food for a good meal, or clothing to wear, or a home to call their own, that we may respond with compassion and assistance.”
Malcolm Dorsey, 18, returned to Deanwood last year with his mother, to live in his grandparents’ home. He prayed in English that his faith community “…in denying ourselves and sacrificing all that we can, we may make a difference in the lives of those who would otherwise go hungry, homeless or impoverished.”
Ana Chavez, a parishioner five years and a native of Nicaragua, prayed in Spanish “for all the prayers that we hold in the silence of our hearts.”
Yvette Greene, the chair of the 100th Anniversary Committee for the Church of the Incarnation, thanked committee members, read congratulations from D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and acknowledged attending religious and laity leaders for their support and ancestors for their legacies. She cited Blessed Sacrament Sister Beatrice Jeffries, a Deanwood native hailed in Incarnation Parish’s history “as our most outstanding nun” for her service there in the 1970s. Sister Beatrice served her order for 41 years and was its vice president before her death in 2006 at age 59.
“You trained her before she came to Chicago where she trained me,” Cardinal Gregory told the congregation of their impact on Sister Beatrice, and her impact on him.
Greene also announced upcoming anniversary events – a church cookout at Watkins Regional Park, Lot #5, on Sept. 21 from noon to 6 p.m., and a church concert on Nov. 10 – before worshippers adjourned for a reception in the parish hall, to enjoy music, fellowship and a culturally inspired buffet.
The cornerstone for Incarnation Church was laid in 1914 when the District of Columbia was still part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. About 20 Black Catholic families resided in the Deanwood area then. Baltimore Archbishop Michael Curley placed the parish under the care of Josephite priests who brought in Oblate Sisters of Providence to teach Sunday School.
The parish grew with Deanwood, which was becoming a notable Black “suburban” neighborhood known for its community spirit and self-sufficiency.
In 1909, Nannie Helen Burroughs opened her National Training School for Women and Girls, training some 2,000 students from around the world over the next 25 years.
In 1921, Black developers created the multi-acre Suburban Gardens Amusement Park that included a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, picnic grounds, and a dance pavilion, during a time when Black people were barred from Glen Echo Park in Maryland. Deanwood resident and civil engineer H.D. Woodson, who helped develop Union Station, was the supervising architect.
The Strand Theater opened in 1928 giving Deanwood a movie theater, dance hall and entertainment venue.
Incarnation Church became a spiritual hub for Black Catholic families in that part of Washington, D.C.
Ron Taylor, resplendent in his Knights of St. John regalia, proudly discussed the fraternal Catholic organization that is “open to everyone,” and the Knights’ post #296, chartered at Incarnation Church in 1921.
Taylor’s conversion to Catholicism came from marrying a Catholic woman 58 years ago, and attending Incarnation Church with her in the 1960s, where he was catechized by a Josephite priest serving in the parish. He said that priest “explained what the catechism was about and how to relate it to everyday life and concerns.”
“They made me feel like family, even though I wasn’t Catholic,” Taylor said of Incarnation parishioners. He also praised Josephite Father Stephen Sohe, the current pastor, saying the priest “has opened my eyes quite a bit and has many different methods for reaching me.”
Barbara A. Luther, a member of the parish for 52 years, is an usher, head of the funeral ushers and a Sodality member there. She too praised Father Sohe as “being good for this parish. He is young and brought in new and exciting ideas even when he was a seminarian.”
The faithfulness of families and church leaders there was a constant refrain of parishioners of the Church of the Incarnation who during interviews with the Catholic Standard spoke about what the parish has meant to them.
Sherrone Wilson, 45, credits her grandparents, Mary and Joseph Wilson, for “why I’m here and have my faith today. They left me that legacy,” she said, remembering how her grandparents constantly asked her mother, Denise Wilson, “Did you take that baby to Sunday school? Is she going to church?”
“To keep a church going 100 years, you have to have a faithful people and a faithful God,” said Wilson. “My hope for this younger generation is for them to own that faithfulness in God, for them to understand that even when we’re not faithful to Him, He is always faithful for us.”
Brother and sister Michael Marshall, 93, and Agnes Thomas, 85, were raised Catholic with 13 siblings. They began attending Incarnation Church at its old location on Browning Place.
Marshall remembered being drafted by an elder to become an usher as a teen to ensure that he arrived to Mass on time. He ushered for decades, he said, and credits the caring spirit of church members for keeping him involved. His sister agreed that the community spirit also kept her coming to Incarnation, where she raised her family.
Community spirit at Incarnation is cyclical, said Father Sohe. Parishoners are teaching and nurturing him to help him become a better pastor, even as they serve each other and the neighborhood for the common good, he said.
“In 2008 I had just moved from Nigeria to D.C., posted here for apostolic work,” the priest said, adding, “They accepted me as I was, and a lot of them remain my American moms today. I think the church is blessing me more. It has really developed me in leadership and pastoral ministry.”
Myra Miles, one of the moms, bought him “a warm, winter jacket” after noticing the insufficiency of the only jacket he owned.
Members of the Church of the Incarnation facing life challenges over the years – a fire, for example, or hardship after a move to another city – had the support of parishioners there who have supported them with contributions and encouragement.
“That’s our way of internal evangelization,” said Father Sohe. “This is our home, our family. If we can’t be charitable to each other, how can we effectively go out to build the kingdom?”
With a vision toward evangelization since becoming Incarnation’s pastor in 2021, Father Sohe has worked diligently to strengthen the physical and spiritual foundations of the parish. Along with seeing that needed building repairs have been made there, the priest started a Bible study and has fostered faith building activities tied into seasons in the Church year, and he introduced more lively music led by the choir at Masses.
The priest said that Incarnation, as a welcoming church, has attracted neighbors who come from diverse countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Nicaragua and Cameroon, bringing together “many nationalities that are part of our community.”
Now these newcomers, and the old timers, will continue to build the Incarnation Church story as it begins another 100 years.
