In 1858, six years after the Church of the Incarnation was separated from Grace Church, a group of laymen organized the “Association for the Home Mission of the Church of the Incarnation.” The first service was in a rented store on Second Avenue near East 28th Street. Two years later, lots were purchased on East 31st Street, and a new church erected. In September, 1863, the mission was renamed the Church of the Reconciliation and was admitted into the Diocese of New York.

The financial panic of 1867 brought hard times, and the church once again became a mission of Incarnation. By the late 1800s, the Sunday School had approximately 750 children.

A new parish hall was constructed in 1901. Shortly after construction began, Edward Severin Clark offered to build a new church as a memorial to his father, Alfred Corning Clark (a longtime benefactor of Incarnation parish) . The cornerstone was laid April 19, 1902. The church building, considered by many to be an architectural gem, and the four-story parish house immediately east of it, were consecrated December 7, 1904. In 1909, the rectory building, adjoining on the west side of the church, was purchased.

In the year following, the Chapel pioneered in the area of social programs, offering a Medical Center, a Dental Clinic, a Baby Clinic, and a Hot Lunch Program, serving nutritious lunches to 200 children. The men and boys’ choir was led by the Rev. Nicholas Feringa, who was named Vicar in 1925. Some of our older members still remember his many years at the Chapel. Fr. Feringa was instrumental in establishing Incarnation Camp in Ivoryton, CT (now Incarnation Center) where many chapel boys and girls spent a month each summer.

By the 1960s, Incarnation was no longer able to support the chapel and it became a mission of the Diocese again. The name was changed to the Church of the Good Shepherd on June 21, 1963. Four years later, the congregation was again granted independent status. By selling the parish house, the Church of the Incarnation was able to establish a restricted endowment for Good Shepherd. A parish hall was later constructed in the undercroft of the church building.