Updated Building Access

Our building access system has been updated to better serve our security needs. This change will require getting updated access fobs – if you need an updated fob and have yet to receive one, please reach out to the office! 

November Special Collection:

Canned Goods Christmas Tree

Our November Special Collection goes to fund our Canned Goods Christmas Tree. This annual symbol at St A's is a labor of love! Over the years, various parish leaders have taken charge of finding deals and partnerships to purchase canned goods that we build into the tiers of an indoor Christmas tree in our parish hall. This year, Mike and Mary Ferzely-Mullen are again leading the effort and have already been finding great deals to help our dollars go far in setting up this gift of care! After the holiday weeks, we donate the canned goods to local food pantry efforts to help with their winter needs. Each year funds the coming year's tree, so your gift this month will go towards our 2027 preparations and food donations! 

You Donated $1285 to the Benedictine Way last month!

Thank you for your generosity.

Forming Some CLAY

Sunday, November 8 at 11:45 AM

We have formed a team to support our parish Children, Littles, And Youth … spelling out CLAY as we think about how our church life helps form their faith and character as they grow up here at St A’s. Kate will be holding the second team meeting, Sunday, November 8. We’re hoping to have meetings about once a quarter to talk about plans for our young people ranging from age 0 to 18, and how St A’s is meeting their faith and formation needs. We’re hoping several people will feel called to help lead this along with our staff, but also expect to keep these meetings open to parents (and youth!) with regular scheduling and invitations on Sunday mornings. Please join us to hear more about plans for Nursery, Sunday School, Youth Group, acolyting, Vacation Bible School, worship, and service opportunities.

Recognizing Veterans

At worship on Sunday, November 8th, we'll have a prayer for veterans for their service, commitment, and sacrifice, with an opportunity to come forward for a blessing, in the style of our prayers for birthdays and anniversaries. If there's a veteran in your life for whom it would be meaningful to be recognized at church for that prayer, please feel free to invite them or name them during the blessing.



The following list contains names of Veterans in our parish – if you or a loved one’s name is missing from this list, please contact the parish office by phone or email. Thank you for your patience as we work on creating a full list of Veterans.

 ~Photo by Jim Keepers

November Outreach Meeting

Sunday, November 29 at 11:40 AM

We have postponed our November Outreach Meeting to Sunday, November 29^th at 11:40 am. This will be held in the parish hall after the late service, during coffee hour. This meeting will go over opportunities to help with Outreach through the coming winter months, and we'll set a calendar of Outreach partners for the coming year for our monthly financial support drives. This all-parish meeting is also a chance to learn more about how the Outreach Committee works if you are interested in helping as an organizer around our parish ministries and connections in our broader community!

Stewardship 2026

Thank you to everyone who participated in our October stewardship month activities, and for those who have already returned a pledge to the church! Our treasurer, Maggie Wellman, has begun to build our budget for 2027 based on our pledged financial amounts, and as she completes that data entry, our office team will review the pledges of time and talent to see where we might connect someone with a ministry here at church. If you are still planning to make a pledge, it's a huge help to Maggie to get that information to her as soon as you're able to; the budgeting is a big project for her and having all the information early makes it a much easier job. If you have questions about pledging, especially if you're new to St A's this year, you can contact Fr Ben through the parish office, or ask for Maggie's number as our treasurer. All financial pledge information is only shared by the treasurer, administrator, and rector. If you did not receive a pledge card this year, that's probably a sign that our parish database doesn't have a correct address for you. Church databases are notorious for going out of date quickly, and our new administrator, Lizi, is tightening up that information, so please let her know so she can troubleshoot! The office can be reached M-Th, 9am-1pm, at 402-289-4058.

November Midweek Study: Wisdom Literature Part I On Thursdays, November 12, & 19 at 12:00 PM

We will begin a two-month series on Wisdom literature. We will focus this first part of our study on the Old Testament books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The first four verses of the book of Proverbs informs us that wisdom leads to justice; right understanding leads to right action. As we understand wisdom literature, may we find new ways to live into them. You are welcome to come to just one or all three of these sessions.

"Feast of All Chilis" Cookoff and Scenes from A Christmas Carol Sunday, November 15 from 5-7 PM

We'll once again celebrate our Feast of All Chilis this coming November! You can sign up to bring a chili and compete by e-mailing Kate.

Over the past few years, we've been entertained by a whodunnit floor show with enthusiastic players drawn from our parish's hidden thespian reserves ... this year, with our director on a brief medical leave, we're going to do pop-up readings of scenes from A Christmas Carol! Fr Ben will be selecting our scenes (so feel free to e-mail him if you have a favorite to include) and we'll invite people to stand up and choose parts scene by scene ... if you have a hidden talent for the stage but no time to rehearse, this is a great chance to share it! We'll create our own floor show as we sample chilis and vote for a winner. Bring-Your-Own-Props are welcome!

Advent Crafts 2026-Craft Days November 15 & 22

Advent begins on November 29th as we celebrate the four weeks of "awaiting" the coming of Jesus at Christmas. We'll have several opportunities to make two Advent crafts this year. The first is a traditional Advent wreath, with four candles that are lit as we move towards Christmas. For the second, we'll have paper chains with an Episcopal Church "Advent Word of the Day" calendar, inviting daily prayer and reflection throughout the weeks of Advent — and encouragement to share your response from the https://adventword.org/# calendar. You'll be able to make and decorate your own chain, and over the coming weeks, you can read the daily reflections and share your own word and thoughts on socials or by tagging St Augustine's Facebook page! Craft materials for wreaths and Advent word chains will be available on Sunday, November 15th at coffee hour and the Chili Cookoff (see separate announcement) and at coffee hour on November 22nd .

Welcoming the Stranger: Immigration Theology in The Episcopal Church Tuesday, November 17, 7-8:30 PM

On Tuesday, November 17th, St Augustine's will host an event by OTOC (Omaha Together One Community) reviewing traditional Episcopal Church teachings on immigration. The Reverend Michael Heller, priest in charge at St Martin of Tours, will be a featured speaker, along with OTOC's director, Sarah Keeney. Sarah and OTOC have previously met with our St A's Outreach committee to talk about their work throughout our community, and she's particularly gifted with leading productive conversations on complex topics. Fr Michael will be presenting from the Episcopal Church's tradition. This evening should be a helpful orientation and review around the faith foundations for caring for our neighbors, and hearing about some current topics in Omaha and greater Nebraska. OTOC will also be inviting other area parishes to participate, and if you know a friend who'd like to learn more, please feel free to invite them! Questions may be directed to Fr Ben.

Leaf Raking Party

Sunday November 22

On Sunday, November 22nd, please plan to wear workclothes to church and help us rake the leaves in our garden after worship at either service! Garden Steward Jim Keepers is inviting "many hands to make light work" as we take care of our beautiful setting and prepare the gardens for the winter. We'll have the leaf bags and some tools available, but if you have your own rake or gloves that will be a help! There will be plenty of jobs for all ages to take care of our church home together on this last Sunday before Advent, and a chance for a warm cup of coffee or cocoa after our outdoor chores! ~Photo by Jim Keepers

Children, Littles & Youth Sundays

This coming year, we’re going to specially celebrate our youngest members once a month by inviting them to explore leadership and service roles during worship. Young people are welcome to help us with readings, leading prayers or psalms, offering music, serving communion, and more. Our clergy team will have a special children’s sermon moment before preaching (more briefly) to the adults. Fr Ben and our Director of Ministries, Kate, will be coordinating volunteers for these services. The next will be held on November 29th. And our young people are always welcome to help in our worship ministries, so if these days sparks an interest, let’s talk!

Calling All Crafters & Shoppers! Merry Market

Vendor Booths are Available to Book!

Sunday, December 6 from 9:30 AM-4:00 PM

Join us as we will again transform our parish hall into a "Merry Market" for crafters to offer holiday shopping here at our church. The "table fees" for our crafters generate a modest amount of income, which we'll direct to our youth programs this year, and the morning is a great chance for a fun day supporting local crafters here from our church. We still have a space or two if you know a crafter who might like to participate, but otherwise please feel free to save the date and welcome guests and friends to our church that morning!

If you'd like to sell your crafts at our Merry Market this year, CLICK HERE to request a booth.

Santa's Elf Help Needed!

Santa's Elf help needed! Rhonda Vest has organized a COPE Adopt A Family Event – if you wish to take part in this ministry you can choose a tag from the table in front of the bulletin board and sign up to buy gifts for that person in need. Choose a tag and sign your name and phone number on the corresponding slot on the signup sheet, listing the family number then either C, T, or A. Gifts need to be brought back to the church no later than December 6th. Help will be needed in late November checking in gifts, making sure they all are received and accounted for. Assistance is also needed delivering the gifts to Bethany Church in the first week of December. If you have questions or want to help, please contact either Rhonda Vest or Louie Warren (contact information available via the church office). We are still looking for someone to help receive and organize gifts as they come in on Sunday mornings.

Annual Nominations

Each year, we nominate people to several offices for election at the parish annual meeting (Jan 31, 2027). In 2027, we plan to elect 3 vestry members to full three-year terms. The Vestry is our formal parish board, and has certain responsibilities under the canons of the church. We expect that the coming year's vestry work will include formalizing many of our parish policies and practices into a "parish book," and a major project around parish welcome and inclusion. The vestry meets monthly and has a longer retreat day on a Saturday in the Spring. We also expect to have all three seats of our Legacy Society open, meaning we will elect people to a 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year seat to create a full new team of three. The Legacy Society is a special financial giving structure that supports our church. It meets quarterly and uses a set of established bylaws to monitor and direct structured giving and especially estate gifts. Skills with financial planning or working from our brief bylaws are a plus, here! Members of both Vestry and Legacy Society need to be Confirmed members of the Episcopal Church. If you would like more information about either group, how Confirmation status works, or to make a nomination or self-nomination, please contact Fr Ben!

Outreach Notes from September

Our parish Outreach Committee met on Tuesday, September 15 to review events and plan upcoming programs. We heard major updates from the COPE strategic planning process: they're spending the fall setting goals and talking about structure, with some big topics on the table. Our COPE liaisons and Outreach team will keep our church updated as we hear more from them. We reviewed plans for the COPE breakfasts, Blood Drive, Chili Cookoff, Merry Market, and set the next two Outreach meetings (see separate announcements through the Fall!). The next meeting will be held on Sunday, Sunday, November 1st, at 11:35.

Parish Outreach Meetings

Our Outreach Committee's next meeting will be a presentation the whole parish is welcome to attend to hear more. Sunday, November 1, the Outreach Committee will lead a parish meeting after the late service; everyone is welcome to attend as the Outreach team discusses plans for 2027, including setting our calendar of special offerings for the coming year. Please save the date for these if you'd like to learn more about how our parish helps with partners, giving, and special programs throughout the year!

Blood Drive Update

 Thank you to all the donors and supporters who helped with our Fall Blood Drive. We collected 20 units and had great fellowship while doing so. Those units could aid up to 60 recipients. Unfortunately we did not meet our goal of 24 units. We’ve seen an increase of donors from the Omaha community but not with our own St. A’s donors. Please keep us in mind come Feb. 13, our next drive. We especially need Power Red donors.

Feast of St. Nicholas of Myra Wednesday, December 2 at 6:00 PM

Join us to celebrate the feast of St Nicholas! St Nicholas of Myra was an early bishop of the church who was known for helping the poor and giving gifts. His feast day (12/6) is a traditional holiday celebration. We will have "St Nicholas" visit us as a guest with a presentation that's especially fun for children of all ages, and we'll have some traditional St Nicholas activities including leaving shoes to see if he fills them with gifts and decorating oranges with cloves to make "pomanders" — scented decorations for the season. Dinner is at 6 with a presentation starting around 6:20 and the craft activities to follow — we hope you can join us for this seasonal celebration, and this is a great way to invite friends to church here and introduce them to our community! Our Director of Ministries, Kate Kielion, and our parish life chair, Leslie Stubbendieck, will be coordinating, so if you'd like to help, please contact one of them (contact info available through the Breeze app or the parish office — please let us know if you need help downloading the app!).

Celebrating Mother Lisa

Sunday, December 13

As Mother Lisa prepares for her next steps in ministry as the Associate Rector at All Saints, we'll have a coffee hour celebration to cheer her on. This will be held after our services on Sunday, December 13th, and we will again fill up a charcuterie-board style table with light fare. If you would like to help with setup that day, or bring a favorite dish, please let Leslie Stubbendieck know (contact info available in the office). 

Blue Christmas

Sunday, December 13 at 3:00 PM

We often really feel our connection to departed loved ones over the holidays. Please join us on December 13th for a service of prayer, music, and candle lighting honoring those we hold in our hearts, especially this time of year. We'll hear readings and reflections from scripture and beyond. If you would like to assist with this service as a reader, please let Fr Ben know. This is often a meaningful service to invite someone to, if you know someone who might value the chance to honor a loved one this year