Newcomer Brunch

Sunday, March 1

In-Between Services~9:30 AM

Please join us for a Newcomer Brunch! We love to host a brunch once or twice a year to welcome our New Members. In addition to a fabulous brunch and fellowship, we'll do a very brief presentation on ways everyone can become involved in the life of our vibrant parish community. We have opportunities that run anywhere from our Elaine Randall Book Club, to lending a hand in the garden. 

During breakfast, our community will have the opportunity to participate in the practice of holy listening and faith sharing.

Parish Life will provide a Scrambled Egg Bar and would love it if everyone else brought potluck fruit or breakfast breads! All members are welcome, whether new or seasoned!

Mailbox Vandalism Update

We have a bit more information about the vandalism of our mailbox last week. We believe that the break-in attempt took place overnight Wednesday 2/18 into Thursday 2/19, both at our location and Lord of Life Lutheran church (down the hill from us). The locking mailbox we purchased several years ago largely held, and some mail was secure inside it; unfortunately, it isn't clear whether the vandals were able to remove any mail beyond what remained there. We have now received a police report acknowledgment from details filed online: that case number is AA20802, if people need it to discuss any check stoppage with banks. Fr Ben will be picking up mail from the post office twice a week as we replace the damaged mailbox, and the Vestry will be reviewing best options and practices for mail safety in the future. Our police report filing also requested additional overnight presence, and invited officers to stage in our parking lot during patrols, so if you see cruisers parked here at St A's, please know that they are responding to that invitation and helping us project our security.

Wednesday Programming Changes for the Spring!

Our volunteers and staff have adjusted Wednesday programming for the Spring to have more focused events and better stewardship of the time and talent people have been putting in. Here’s the key pieces:

• We will have a Wednesday March Lent Class for all age groups
• We will have special mid-week programs once/month in April, and May:
• Parish Spring Grill-Out: Wednesday, April 15th
• Parish Talent Show: Wednesday, May 6th
• The Youth Group (6th-12th) will continue to meet weekly on Wednesdays from 6-8 pm with Kate and other adults.
• Questions or Feedback? Please let our staff know! We’re reflecting on how our 2025-26 year has gone, and what we might plan for next year

Worship During Lent

• 3/29: Palm Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 am. Our Palm Sunday worship services include gathering in the Parish Hall and processing our way towards the sanctuary, remembering Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. We hear the story of the cross at this service, and prepare for Holy Week.

• 4/2: Maundy Thursday, 6:30 pm. From the Latin "Mandatum" for "Commandment," this Thursday evening service begins the 3-day connected worship called the "Triduum." On Thursday, we remember the new commandment Jesus gave to be known as his followers by our love, and the creation of the Eucharist through the Last Supper. The service ends quietly, marking the time Jesus departed with his friends for the garden of Gethsemane, to pray until he was arrested.

• 4/3: Good Friday, Noon and 6:30 pm. On Good Friday, we will walk the Stations of the Cross at Noon; this is a brief and traditional service marking the steps of the crucifixion. At 6:30, we will hold the Good Friday service, which includes a reading of the Passion of Jesus. This continues the Triduum, and again ends in silence as we move to the third service.

• 4/4: Holy Saturday, 6:30 pm. The Holy Saturday service and the Great Vigil of Easter moves us through scriptures that foreshadow the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We kindle a new fire for the Paschal (Easter) Candle, chant an ancient hymn called the Exsultet, and move from darkness into light. The first proclamation of the Easter comes midway through, and we celebrate the resurrection together again.

• 4/5: Easter Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 am. We celebrate the Easter mass by proclaiming that Christ is Risen! We do hold an Easter Egg Hunt In Between Services.

• 4/12: UTO Ingathering Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 am. We will have a special prayer at this service for all coins collected throughout Lent, praying with the United Thank Offering for the big work these small offerings add up to.

Wednesday Evening/Thursday Noon Program: Lent in Jerusalem

March 4th: Teachings on Palm Sunday. What did it mean for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem? How did he and the disciples prepare beforehand? What was happening in Jerusalem that week? What did the disciples fear, understand, or hope for?

March 11th: Teachings in Jerusalem. Between his entrance on Palm Sunday and the Last Supper, Jesus spent days in Jerusalem, visiting the Temple and teaching the disciples. What were these lessons, and how did they fit into all that happened that week?

March 18th: Teachings on Maundy Thursday. "On the night before he died," as our Eucharistic prayers say, Jesus did quite a bit. He offered the "farewell discourses" to his friends. He instituted the Eucharist. He gave a New Commandment. He identified Judas as his betrayer. He withdrew with the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, and prayed his most human prayer to God. Come, take some time with all of this, and learn about this night both fraught and hopeful.

March 25th: Teachings on Good Friday and the Tomb. As Pilate and Herod put Jesus on trial, his Passion puts everyone around him on trial in turn. What is at stake for the disciples, for Peter, for Nicodemus, for the crowds, for Mary, for Herod, and for Christ himself, as the world offers God a cross in response to an Incarnate Son? We will look ahead to the traditions of the tomb as our Lent nears the coming of Holy Week and Easter.

Lent Madness

Since 2010, Lent Madness has offered a fun way to pray and learn through Lent. Each day, two saints or holy people are paired against one another, with "celebrity bloggers" from throughout The Episcopal Church writing reflections about their life and example. People from throughout the church can vote (you included!) on the website, with the popular winner of each day advancing towards the "Golden Halo" award ... don't think too hard about potential idolatry; this is for fun! We'll have a bracket up at church to track things week by week as we learn more about the saints of God! CLICK HERE for more information.

Practicing Gratitude in Lent with UTO

The United Thank Offering is a longtime ministry of the Episcopal Church, using "little blue boxes" made of cardboard to collect coins at home. The invitation is simple: as you feel grateful for something, put a coin in the box as an act of thanks and prayer. We will have boxes available throughout Lent, and invite people to keep them near a stash of coins at home to pray.

On Sunday, April 12th, we'll have Ingathering prayers at both Sunday services, give thanks for our collected boxes, and send them on to UTO. These funds go to support ministries throughout the world — up to one per diocese — with grants small and great. Locally, Magdalene Omaha started up with support from a UTO grant of over $30,000 several years ago ... little offerings from our thanks add up to big projects! Our diocesan coordinator is St A's member Barb Hall, so please reach out to her with more questions or to help with the coffee hour celebration on 4/12!

Walking the Mourner's Path

April 12-June 7, 1-2:30 PM

We will be offering the small group called Walking the Mourner's Path on Sunday afternoons during Easter season (April 12^th to June 7^th, skipping Memorial Day Weekend). This workshop is for those who have lost a loved one and would like to honor and remember them in a faith setting. This small group will create norms together and use a workbook to guide conversations to help provide a safe setting with the same group. This is a good place for processing grief and remembering a loved one with trusted others. Deacon Rebecca Smith, Mother Lisa Aguilar and Barb Hall will be our facilitators for this session. The group is open to friends of the parish, as well, if you know someone who would benefit. For more information, please contact Mother Lisa or one of the other facilitators.

Up For Some Trivial Fundraising?Planning Meeting March 1, Time TBD

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, the first meeting date is set for March 1. 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.

Camp Canterbury-Calling Counselors and Campers! July 13-17

Mark your calendars for July 13th-17th for Camp Canterbury in Fremont, NE! Do you feel called to invest in the youth of our diocese in a meaningful and lasting way? Consider joining us as a volunteer this summer. All youth who are entering 4th through 12th grades are invited to save the date and be prepared for another faith and fun-filled week. Our theme this year is Feast with God, as we look at ways that we encounter God through the metaphor of food. Please contact Mother Lisa for more information.

Save the Date for Mary Poppins

June 7 at 2:00 PM

Save the Date: Join a group to see Mary Poppins at the Omaha Community Playhouse on

Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m.

More details to follow in April. 

Questions can be directed to Sandra Squires

Lone Women By Victor LaValle

Tuesday, March 24 at 11:30 AM

If you would like to borrow a book, they are in the blue library book bag above the Parish Hall Coat Rack, please be sure to sign your book out.

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It's locked at all times. Because when the trunk is opened, people around her start to disappear... The year is 1914, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, and forced her to flee her hometown of Redondo, California, in a hellfire rush, ready to make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will be one of the "lone women" taking advantage of the government's offer of free land for those who can cultivate it-except that Adelaide isn't alone. And the secret she's tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing keeping her alive.