Despite Gov. Ricketts’ OK, some churches to stay closed

From Nebraska-

Nebraska Episcopal Bishop J. Scott Barker has said his parishes, including North Platte’s Episcopal Church of Our Savior, will stay closed through June 28.

The websites for First Evangelical Lutheran and Messiah Lutheran churches indicated Friday that COVID-19 suspensions of public worship remained in place. Both are congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Masses won’t resume before the last weekend of May at any of North Platte’s three Catholic parishes.

More here-

https://www.nptelegraph.com/news/local_news/despite-gov-ricketts-ok-some-churches-to-stay-closed/article_a34b11e2-91b3-11ea-8fe2-33e317736241.html

Bishop's staff returns to Hastings church after being passed down for 60 years

From Nebraska-

A church in Hastings experienced a homecoming of sorts Wednesday morning as part of its history heads back.

It is something that's been passed down for over 60 years, and now a bishop's staff owned by the bishop who helped build the church almost a century ago has finally made it home.

Bishop George Allen Beecher served as bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Western Nebraska from 1910 to 1943.

The staff he used while serving at Saint Marks Episcopal Pro-Cathedral starting in 1920 was returned to the church by a long line of family friends.

More here-

http://nebraska.tv/news/local/bishops-staff-returned-to-a-hastings-church-after-being-passed-down-for-60-years

Omaha church begins raising funds for shelter to serve survivors of human trafficking

From Nebraska-

Lori Wright said she was 13 years old when she snuck out the window of a boarding school and started running through the cornfields of Indiana.

When she finally saw a sign for a truck stop, she said, she had hope. Someone could give her a ride to her father’s home in Nashville, Tennessee, she thought.

She said she didn’t know then that the truck driver who gave her a ride would be the first of many men who would use her and pass her around for sex.

By 16, Wright was married. By 17, she said, her husband had sold her to a pimp for drugs. For 25 years, Wright said, she was trafficked for sex. She said she lost count of how many times she was raped and beaten.

More here-

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/omaha-church-begins-raising-funds-for-shelter-to-serve-survivors/article_50e4c7b0-a916-5fb1-b3e5-dac0ee6119c3.html

Religious leaders call for death penalty repeal; 'I hope we will choose to value life,' bishop says

From Nebraska-

Local religious leaders on Wednesday called for repeal of the death penalty in Nebraska, saying it destroys the sanctity of human life and is aimed at retribution.

“Public safety can be assured through other means,’’ Omaha Archbishop George Lucas said during a news conference. “And justice requires punishment, but does not require that those who have committed capital crimes be put to death.”

Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty sponsored the news conference at the Omaha Press Club downtown.

Speakers emphasized the sacredness of human life and power of redemption.

More here-

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/religious-leaders-call-for-death-penalty-repeal-i-hope-we/article_96c3af3e-f987-11e4-8d09-1b5f9635d65b.html

A hidden meaning in North Platte church window?

From Nebraska-

A mystery surrounding a stained-glass window in North Platte drew the attention of a historian from South Dakota last week.

Barbara Johnson of Aberdeen, South Dakota, has studied stained glass for years. On Thursday, she spent hours visiting with local residents and researching the history of the Episcopal Church of Our Savior.

She was specifically interested in a stained-glass window in a chapel on the south side of the church. The image depicts Jesus walking with a boy and a girl.

According to a framed description inside the church, the glass was donated in 1894 by Arta Cody, a daughter of Le Claire, Iowa-born frontier showman William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. It was created in honor of Arta’s siblings Kit, who died when he was 5, and Orra, who died when she was 10.

More here-

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/a-hidden-meaning-in-north-platte-church-window/article_b5859adc-d135-5588-9845-0288579ef133.html

Episcopalians Bail Out Of Omaha Tri-Faith Initiative

From Nebraska-

The Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha may become a “Bi-Faith” Initiative thanks to the efforts of Dr. Mark Christian, the Executive Director of the Omaha-based Global Faith Institute.

The Tri-Faith Initiative is a project that planned to co-locate a Jewish Synagogue, an Episcopal Church and an Islamic Mosque on the same campus, with a common building for the use of all three faiths at its center.

Dr. Christian’s discovery, of links between the Mosque organizers and the Muslim Brotherhood, was detailed in an earlier article published here at the Daily Caller. The article drew some overdue attention to the un-vetted project from the citizens of Omaha, sparking a lively debate on a local radio program that featured Dr. Christian, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, the Senior Rabbi of the Synagogue at the heart of the project, and a member of that Synagogue, Robert Freeman, who also serves as the President of the Tri-Faith Initiative.

Read more:

http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/27/episcopalians-bail-out-of-omaha-tri-faith-initiative/#ixzz330YzEAef

Church Gives Away Christmas Trees to Families in Need

From Nebraska (with video)

Some families will not have a Christmas tree this holiday, but a local church is working to change that for some people, and it turns out the need for help is greater than we might think.

Giving back to families in need through Christmas trees is an idea that started a year ago with twelve trees.

"It's just been a great idea and so we want to do it every year," said Shari Shore with the Episcopal Church of Our Savior.

This is how it works: Members of the Episcopal Church of Our Savior in North Platte donate trees, ornaments, and lights.

Volunteers decorate them and then families sign up for the one they want.

A drawing determines who gets what.

"And they want us to come in and see where they are going, to set it up. It's just an absolute fun time," said Shore.

Shore brought the idea up after hearing about so many families in need of a simple Christmas tree.

"So many young moms coming in and saying we're getting all of these wonderful gifts and I'm kind of sad that we don't have a tree," said Shore.

More here-

http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/Church-Gives-Away-Christmas-Trees-to-Families-in-Need-236485881.html

New theological school launched by 4 Midwestern dioceses

From ACNS-

Diocese of Kansas by Melodie Woerman- Class is now in session for the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, the newly created school that provides theological education to students from the dioceses of Kansas, West Missouri, Nebraska and Western Kansas. The school’s first group of students, 35 people from all four dioceses, met for the first time Aug. 10-11 in Topeka.

To celebrate the school’s creation, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will be in Topeka on Oct. 5. She will speak at a public forum on the emerging shape of the church and the changing face of ministry. She then will officiate at a service to mark the school’s opening and dedicate school facilities, and she will greet people at a public reception.

The school is named for Bishop Jackson Kemper, the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church, who was the organizing bishop when each of the four dioceses was founded in the 19th century. He also was committed to the value of local theological education for the growth and health of the Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2013/10/new-theological-school-launched-by-4-midwestern-dioceses.aspx

Parish, Episcopal diocese settle dispute: St. Barnabas can stay on church property

From Nebraska-

The Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska has settled a dispute with a local parish over whether the congregation could remain in its church building.

In an out-of-court settlement, St. Barnabas parish made a cash payment to the diocese. The settlement enables the congregation to permanently remain on the church property at 129 N. 40th St. Both sides are keeping the amount of the payment confidential.

In 2007, members of St. Barnabas voted to leave the Episcopal Church. The parish disagreed with the Episcopal Church over issues of church doctrine.

Last year, a Douglas County District Court judge ruled that the people of St. Barnabas must surrender the church building, plus its rectory and other property to the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.

The ruling came more than three years after the diocese sued St. Barnabas' priest and leaders for the church and rectory. The congregation argued that parishioners always have owned and maintained the church property.

The parish appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court but decided it was best for the congregation to work out a settlement with the diocese, said Sean Reed, parish council president and senior warden. He said the settlement was fair for both sides.


More here-

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130706/NEWS/707069915/1696