Lessons & Carols

THIS Sunday 9:30 AM

This Sunday, there will only be one service of Lessons and Carols at 9:30 AM. There will be no Sunday School, so children are able to enjoy the lessons and carols with their family.

If you have already started your holiday baking, be sure to set some aside, and bring a plate if you're able. Lessons and Carols is the day that we traditionally "pot luck" coffee hour to share all of our special family baking recipes. Speaking of recipes, be ready to share yours, we always hear people asking once they've tried each others treats!

Longest Night With Magdalene Sunday, December 21

The Fourth Year of this fundraiser with our outreach partner, Magdalene Omaha, invites us to donate funds by CLICKING HERE or go and stand vigil at Magdalene's programming building at 933 S. Saddle Creek Drive CLICK HERE to schedule your time. Members of our church are invited to help contribute or participate in the vigil, holding light as a sign of hope for survivors throughout the longest night of the year.

Christmas Eve Worship

Wednesday, December 24

On Christmas Eve, we will hold worship services at 

3:00 pm (livestreamed and then hosted on our Facebook page if you want to join us while traveling!)

11:00 pm. The later service begins with a 10:30 pm hymn sing, before leading into our "midnight mass," a tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve worship with the arrival of Christmas Day at the midnight hour, and the birth of Jesus. Each of these services will have the singing of the candlelit carol, Silent Night.

Advent and Christmas at St. A's

Advent is coming! 

Each year, the four Sundays before Christmas mark the season of Advent (from the Latin word for "waiting"). At St A's, we have opportunities to study, pray, and celebrate together. Here's some things to expect!

• Sunday, 12/14, combined 9:30 am: Lessons and Carols. Join us for this special annual worship service, which will be the only service this Sunday. In place of our usual liturgy of Word and Table, we will have more lessons from scripture, followed by seasonal carols and hymns and a cookie themed coffee hour.
• Sunday, 12/14: Blue Christmas, 3:00 pm. The holiday season can be a time of really remembering loved ones who have died. The Blue Christmas service involves readings from scripture and other sources, and a chance to gather in support of loved ones and one another. We light vigil candles in memory of them. This can be a meaningful service to invite a friend to attend as they remember a loved one.
• Advent Study. Throughout Advent, you're invited to pick up a Living Well Through Advent booklet from Living Compass. These booklets will be available on the Narthex (entryway) table.
• Longest Night with Magdalene - Sunday, 12/21. The Fourth Year of this fundraiser with our outreach partner, Magdalene Omaha, invites us to donate funds or go and stand vigil at Magdalene's programming building at 933 S. Saddle Creek Drive. Members of our church are invited to help contribute or participate in the vigil, holding light as a sign of hope for survivors throughout the longest night of the year.
• Christmas Eve Worship, Wednesday, 12/24. On Christmas Eve, we will hold worship services at 3:00 pm (livestreamed and then hosted on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/st.augustine.omaha if you want to join us while traveling!) and 11:00 pm. The later service begins with a 10:30 pm hymn sing, before leading into our "midnight mass," a tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve worship with the arrival of Christmas Day at the midnight hour, and the birth of Jesus. Each of these services will have the singing of the candlelit carol, Silent Night.

Epiphany Lectionary Study

Following the Season of Christmas is the Season of Epiphany. All are welcome to join us on Wednesdays at 7 PM or Thursdays at noon for a lectionary study as we prepare for the following Sunday's readings. During this church calendar year, we are following the Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, in which we will hear biblical stories that we do not necessarily hear in the Revised Common Lectionary that we are accustomed to hearing. Below are the readings that we will be considering:

• January 7/8: Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 57, II Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 3:1-17
• January 14/15: Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 36:5-10, Romans 15:8-13, Matthew 4:12-17
• January 21/22: Tobit 13:11-17, Psalm 22:23-31, I Timothy 3:14-16, Matthew 4:18-25
• January 28/29: Isaiah 42:1-5, Psalm 107:1-9, 19-22, James 1:17-21, Matthew 8:14-22

Advent Lectionary Changes

Our worship readings come from a schedule called a "lectionary," which sets readings for each of the "liturgical seasons" of the year, officially beginning with Advent, then Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. The long seasons after Epiphany and Pentecost are called "ordinary time." Our usual lectionary, the Revised Common Lectionary, covers about 14% of the Hebrew Bible (the "Old Testament") and 71% of the New Testament over six years (Year A, B, and C with two tracks available from Pentecost to Advent). This leaves much of the Bible unheard at worship! Starting this Advent, we're going to try out a new lectionary called "The Women's Lectionary - Year A." This lectionary still uses the liturgical seasons, but with an emphasis on making sure that the stories of women in scripture are included, or sometimes simply paired differently with the readings across the morning. Our Vestry has talked for several months about this opportunity, and have a general level of excitement about hearing more of the Bible and some new pairings of familiar readings. We'll be learning more about this from Father Ben and Mother Lisa as we begin using this new schedule; feel free to let us know what you think or what questions you have!

Epiphany Pageant and Celebration of Mother Ruth Sunday January 4

This coming year, we'll be celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany on Sunday, January 4. That morning, at both services, we’ll have a blessing of chalk that can be used to mark the lintel over your front door for the coming year. At the 10:30 Service, we will have our youth present an Epiphany Pageant! All youth attending that day are welcome to put on a costume, and process with the groups. If your child may be interested, please contact Mother Lisa. In addition, the Feast of the Epiphany will be Mother Ruth Tomlinson’s 25th anniversary of her ordination to the priesthood! She’ll serve as our celebrant and our 8:30 preacher, and we’ll have a coffee hour reception to celebrate the ministry of this “wise woman!”

Bishop's Visit, Confirmations, Receptions & Reaffirmations! Sunday, February 8, 2026

Bishop Scott Barker will have his annual parish visit on Sunday, February 8th, preaching and presiding at both of our morning services, and visiting with us through the day. If you are interested in the sacrament of Confirmation, having your Confirmation “Received” into the Episcopal Church, or Reaffirming your baptismal vows, please contact one of our clergy! Sunday classes will be offered in Jan/Feb (see separate announcement).

Newcomers 201: Confirmation, Reception, Reaffirmations

January 11, 18 & February 1 from 9:30-10:20

Between the Sunday services on January 11th and 18th and February 1st, we will have a special class for those curious about the special rites of joining the traditions and worship of the Episcopal Church. Confirmation is a sacrament in which youth or adults can “confirm” the promises of our baptism before a bishop of the church: this matches the oldest practice of Christian communities, in which the Apostles (and thereafter, the bishops) welcomed new members. Reception is for those who have been Confirmed, but wish to formally live out their Confirmation vows in the traditions and worship of the Episcopal Church. Reaffirmation is a special renewal of Confirmation vows, especially appropriate for someone who has been away from the church for a season of life and wishes to reaffirm their commitment anew. Anyone is welcome to attend these classes to learn more about faith, history, and practice of life in the church, and by February 1st, make a decision about being Confirmed, Received, or Reaffirming vows with Bishop Barker at his visit the following week.

2026 Is Just Around The Corner!

Have you thought about completing your 2025 operating and/or building loan pledge, prepaying your 2026 pledge or just making that additional contribution to St. Augustine’s for tax purposes? In order for you to be able to deduct your charitable contribution on your 2025 tax return, all money must be deposited by December 31, 2025.

Considering holidays and office closures, we have some options for you and deadlines to consider.

If you want to use our PayPal system via www.sainta.net, you need to create your transfer no later than December 23, as it takes 2-3 business days to reach our account after we initiate your transfer on our end.

If you are paying by check, please make sure it reaches the office by December 30.

If you need to know your pledge balance for 2025, please contact Jay by phone or e-mail as she is still working as our financial administrator and has all the updated information. Thank you for working with us to meet our deadlines and to make the end of the year a smooth transition into 2026!!

New Furniture for The Holidays? The Furniture Project Takes Donations!

If you're purchasing new furniture, received something as a gift, or just ready to take that old table to the dump because you're sick of looking at it, don't forget The Furniture Project!

Scratched, broken legs, missing pieces, no problem! Our friends Mike & Mary Mullen-Ferzely are part of a volunteer team at The Furniture Project that repurpose your old furniture and appliances to donate to people in need. You can either drop off at their building on 108 & J Monday - Friday | 10 am – 3 pm & Saturday | 10 am – 1 pm or schedule a pick up. For more information, CLICK HERE for their website, or ask Mike & Mary Sunday!

The Special Outreach

Collection for December

Goes To Magdalene Omaha

Our December Outreach donation goes to Magdalene Omaha. This group has survivor-led-and-centered programs for survivors of drug addiction, trafficking, and sexual violence and exploitation, and their efforts include education, a campus with support programming, state-wide awareness initiatives, and a home for survivors to complete a multi-year program of support and restoration. We support Magdalene in December through these donations, our Magdalene Marketplace on Dec 7^th (see separate announcement), and participation in their Longest Night vigil on Dec 21^st (see separate announcement). Donations placed in the basket or designated to "Magdalene Omaha" in the memo line of checks will go to fund this program as our December special offering.

Our Special Collection in November raised $1068 for the Canned Goods Tree. Thank You to everyone for supporting this important ministry!

The Outreach Committee Welcomes You!

Our Outreach Committee will be meeting on Sunday, January 11th at 11:30 am in the conference room. If you are curious about helping with this team, which meets monthly to coordinate the ministries we engage with beyond our own parish, please join us to learn more!

Thank You for Helping COPE

Thank you to everyone who participated in the COPE adopt a friend in any way. This year we provided a record 300 families/1200 individuals with Christmas gifts.  This is a great help to parents who are just making ends meet and need a little extra help at Christmas it is very much

appreciated.

Red Cross Blood Drive

Saturday, February 14, 2026

A Friendly reminder for anyone who gives whole blood regularly, you can donate up until December 17(with a few added days cushion) to meet the required 8 week interval between donations. Thanks, & see you in February!!

If you'd like to schedule ahead, appointments are scheduled in 15 minute increments(Whole Blood) and on the hour (Power Red). For eligibility requirements and to see the difference between the two donations, CLICK HERE. To schedule your donation time, CLICK HERE St. Augustine Episcopal Church should be at the top, click "see times". If you have any questions, please contact Kate

Up For Some Trivial Fundraising?

Want to help support our youth? We’re planning a Trivia Night fundraiser! Jimmy Ellsworth will be leading a small team to plan for an event after Easter this coming Spring, here in our parish hall. We’ll need volunteers to help hire a host, coordinate some hospitality and prize support, publicize for community friends and family groups, and host on the day! If you’d like to help with the planning committee, please contact the parish office or staff, and we’ll put you in touch with Jimmy, or e-mail him directly HERE. First meetings will be after the New Year.

Queerly Beloved: Rooted in tradition. Radically expansive. Radiant with pride.

Queerly Beloved is a new LGBTQIA+ Episcopal ministry, based in the Omaha Metropolitan area, offering sacred space for worship, community, and spiritual growth. We aim to be a gathering place for LGBTQIA+ Episcopalians connected to local parishes — and a welcoming home for those who may not yet have found a church but are seeking deeper connection, faith, and belonging.

We gather monthly for:

· Worship at Rainbow Table

· Social events through Out on the Town

· Theological conversation at Theology Out Loud

December Events

Rainbow Table: O Come, All Who Wait 

An Advent service of incarnate hope and divine love.

We gather as queer and allied people of faith to wait, to hope, and to remember that the Word is made flesh in us. Love is made real in our bodies, our community, and our world. Thursday, December 18, 2025 | 6:30–8:00 PM

All Saints Episcopal Church, Omaha

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Whether you've been walking with the Church for years or are exploring faith for the first time, Queerly Beloved is a place to belong, believe, and be boldly yourself. To learn more or get involved, contact the Rev. Michael Heller. Based in Omaha — open to ALL across the Diocese of Nebraska.

Sacred Ground 2026 Registration Closes TOMORROW!

Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.

Circles will meet by zoom or in person day and time to be determined by facilitator.

Register and learn more here.