Thank You!

Youth Group took part of their evening to help dissasemble, pack up and load the canned goods tree into vehicles to be delivered last night. Thanks to them, as well as our delivery driver volunteers!

This year, the canned goods tree helped us to donate 1047 lbs of canned food to two different ministries. 748 lbs to Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn & 299 lbs to Once Upon a Meal (formerly Downtown Episcopal Outreach). 129 lbs of canned chicken, fish & meat, 140 lbs of baked and chili beans, 142 lbs of vegetable & chicken soups, 90 lbs of canned fruit, 68 lbs of spaghetti with meat sace, & 172 lbs of vegetables.

We spent $1369.18 & donated 10% more pounds for $20 less than 2024 thanks to our organizers hard work shopping sales and working with vendors. Thank you for your great support in donating funds!!

Parish Annual Meeting and Combined 9:30 Worship Sunday, January 25

Our parish annual meeting will be held on Sunday, January 25th. We will have a combined worship service at 9:30 am for everyone together that morning, followed by the Annual Meeting at 10:30 in the parish hall. The Annual Meeting is a chance to celebrate ministries and staff, hold elections, review our budget, and discuss plans for the coming year. We try to hold it to about an hour, and have a movie option for kids. Curious about our parish elections? See the Nominations announcement for more info!

New Online Directory!

 Our online accounting software, which has been used for the past few years to create our paper directory, can be used as an app! By the annual meeting, January 25, you will receive an invitation to download the Breeze App. You will be able to log in and find directory information for active members of the church. You will also be able to access your contributions, add your photo, edit your personal information, and hopefully soon, we will use it to schedule volunteering! The information others will be able to see about you is your name, your immediate family, who are church members, your phone number, email and address. If you would like any of this information to be kept private or would prefer not to be in the directory at all, please let us know!

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:

• Jan. 21/22: Tobit 13:11-17, Psalm 22:23-31, I Timothy 3:14-16, Matthew 4:18-25
• Jan. 28/29: Isaiah 42:1-5, Psalm 107:1-9, 19-22, James 1:17-21, Matthew 8:14-22

Parish Annual Meeting and Combined 9:30 AM Worship Sunday, January 25

Our parish annual meeting will be held on Sunday, January 25th. We will have a combined worship service at 9:30 am for everyone together that morning, followed by the Annual Meeting at 10:30 in the parish hall. The Annual Meeting is a chance to celebrate ministries and staff, hold elections, review our budget, and discuss plans for the coming year. We try to hold it to about an hour, and have a movie option for kids. Curious about our parish elections? See the Nominations announcement for more info!

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

On Sunday, February 8th, Bishop Scott Barker will visit us here at St Augustine’s! Bishop Barker is the bishop for all of the parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, which covers our whole state, and he tries to visit each community every 12-18 months. In the Episcopal Church, our bishops connect us to the historic church through “apostolic succession” – the tradition that the apostles consecrated successors as the first bishops, who then consecrated their own successors, through generations. Bishops were originally the official welcomers to new members in the faith, a practice maintained by the rites of Confirmation and Reception, which are reserved to bishops. They also hold a teaching authority for the tradition of the church, and offer some policy guidance in their dioceses. Please join us in welcoming Bishop Barker on Feb 8th as he presides at both services and visits with us at coffee hour receptions after each service!

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.

Shrove Tuesday

February 17 from 5-7 PM

The Youth Group will be running their Annual Pancake Dinner on Shrove Tuesday. Take the day off from cooking dinner and head here instead. Youth will be taking goodwill donations that go toward the youth reserve funds. 

There will be NO Church Family Dinner or Youth Group on Ash Wednesday, March 18. Thank you for your support!

Ash Wednesday

February 18, 12 & 6:30 PM

Lent begins on Wednesday, February 18 this year. We will have two Ash Wednesday Services, the first at Noon and then another at 6:30 PM. The Noon service will also be streamed to Facebook for anyone who can't make it in person.

January Special Collection

Our January special collection (placed in the wicker baskets during the Offertory at worship) will go to the clergy discretionary funds of our parish, which are used to assist with particular needs that our clergy become aware of, such as utility payment support for a family.

In December, our special collections raised $821 for Magdalene Omaha, and $927 for COPE at the Christmas Eve services, when the loose offering is designated back to a group in our community. Magdalene Market raised 1072.07. This includes raffle tickets, food sales and vendor fees.

Blood Drive

Saturday, February 14

Our quarterly blood drive for the winter will be on Valentines Day this year! Our blood drives began with our friend Amy, who was battling Metastatic Breast Cancer. Her goal was to give back the amount of blood she had used through the course of her treatments. We believe that she had done all of that and more in the many blood drives she hosted.



Amy's Blood Drives have become a core ministry for us at St Augustine's, so we will continue them in her honor as long as we have friends show up to give blood. If you are able to help with this drive, or have friends who would like to give back to others by donating blood, please join us at St. Augustine Episcopal Church in Elkhorn (285 S 208th St, Elkhorn, NE 68022). We would love to beat our previous donation totals in honor of Amy!!



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.

The Four Winds By Kristin Hannah

Tuesday, January 27 at 11:30 AM

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman's only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa's tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.