How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, "I have prevailed";
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
because the LORD has dealt bountifully with me.

                                                             - Psalm 13

At the October Congregation Council meeting, the decision was made to go to online worship only through November 15. This decision was based on the fact that the Douglas County Risk Dial put us at “Severe Risk of Covid-19 Spread” and the Douglas County Covid 19 Dashboard indicated that Metro Omaha Hospital Occupancy Rate is near 90%. The Council will reevaluate moving back into the building at its November 17 meeting. We will continue to stream our worship services on Facebook Live and have them available on our website. This will continue even when we move back inside for worship.

November is a month of cooler temperatures, crunchy leaves, and being THANKFUL! Take some time as a family this month to talk about the things that you are grateful for. This has been a strange year for a lot of reasons, but God is at work all around us! What are you thankful for today?

November - a month of gratitude! Click "Read More" for a breath prayer, and Confirmation and Youth Group updates. 

November is one of my favorite times of the year.  We have left behind our warmer temps and longer days for a brisk, fall wind with changing leaves.  The colors and combinations absolutely amaze me. (If you keep up with me, you will find that what ever season it is, that is my favorite time of the year!)      

The Holy Cross Food Pantry continues to serve the community the First Saturday and Third Thursday of every month.  We continue with our COVID Prevention Model of a drive-thru pantry service. 

During our October pantries, we served 84 families with 318 individuals.  In October of 2019, we served 76 families with 251 individuals.  We continue to see new faces monthly. 

The third Thursday in November (November 19) is our annual Thanksgiving Pantry.  We will be providing a turkey and a bag of fixings that evening in addition to their normal pantry.  We are planning for 150 families to be served that evening.  If you are able to assist, please use the sign up link below.

We appreciate all of your support as we to continue to serve the community.

November Pantry Dates:
• Friday, November 6, 6:00 - 7:30 pm: Pantry Prep
• Saturday, November 7, 7:45 - 10:15 am: Drive Up Pantry
• Sunday, November 15, 12:00 - 2:00 pm: Thanksgiving Pantry Prep
• Wednesday, November 18, 6:00 - 7:30 pm: Pantry Prep
• Thursday, November 19, 4:45 - 7:15 pm: Drive Up Thanksgiving Pantry

If you would like to volunteer to help with the November pantries, please click on the button below to sign-up. Please do not show up to help if you have not signed up.

Questions? Contact Dave Magnuson or Kelley Kennedy. Thank you!

We are nearly done with Rejoice's home! Kitchen cabinets are in, doors and shelving installed, most of the painting is complete - after flooring, touch ups, and cleaning, it'll be ready for her family to move in.  The Faithful Builders and Habitat for Humanity could not do this without your generosity. Thank you!

If you have not done so yet, please turn in an Estimate of Giving card for 2021. Even if you do not plan on making a pledge for 2021, please send in a card letting us know that. Estimate of Giving cards can be mailed to the church: 4117 Terrace Dr. Omaha, NE 68134 or emailed to the church office by CLICKING HERE.

An Estimate of Giving card can be downloaded from our website by CLICKING HERE.

Rachel and Sarah Circles with the help of Holy Cross and friends put together 60 Personal Health Care Kits and 60 New School Kits for 2020. Last year Our Personal Care Kits went to Montenegro on 1/2/20, New School Kits went to Senegal on 3/24/20 and Baby Care Kits went to Angola on 7/23/20. It will be exciting to see where our kits go this year 2020-2021.

Augustana Lutheran Church’s Center for Reconciling Action invites you to a virtual workshop with Colby Martin author of UnClobber: Rethinking our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality. The workshop takes place Saturday, November 14, 9:00 am—2:30 pm live via ZOOM.

This workshop is for you if you have been clobbered! Clobbered, by those who claim God says your LGBTQIA+ family, friends and fellow congregation members are not welcome in God’s kin-dom. Clobbered, by those who claim God says who you are and who you love makes you less loved, less accepted, less welcomed in the kin-dom of God.

As author of "UnClobber: Rethinking our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality" and, "The Shift: Surviving and Thriving after Moving from Conservative to Progressive Christianity," Colby has emerged as one of the leading voices of the Progressive Christian movement. It is Colby's deeply held belief that when people are reminded they are loved children of God, wholly and exactly as they are, they begin to live from a place of freedom.

This workshop is free of charge. Please register with your name and email you will use to log into Zoom, at vicar@augustanalutheran.com. A link to the Zoom workshop will be forwarded to everyone the week of the event. Our time together will include breakout sessions providing space for reflection and discussion. If you have any questions, please contact Vicar Heather Yerion-Keck at 402-551-4728. 

Centering Prayer is a method to move beyond conversation with Christ, to communion with Christ, and to hear His voice speak to us. This is a practice that through listening to the Word of God, we can open our minds and our hearts to the Voice of God. The Centering Prayer Group is currently meeting online via Zoom, Thursday's, 1:30 to 3:00 pm. For more information, click here to email Paula McDonald.

Funerals
Dave Kohrs...........October 1
Chuck Plummer......October 10

Baptisms
Kenny Jackson.......October 11
Rowyn Howey...........October 11

The California wildfires, the Derecho windstorm damage, and damage from a record Hurricane season: these are recent events that have displaced people from their homes for months if not years.  Lutheran Disaster Response is there because of the Lutheran Churches support, allowing 100 % of your monetary gift to go to the cause.  For more information, please visit Lutheran Disaster Response on the ELCA website.   

There are a number of email scams directed towards churches right now. A church member receives an email, supposedly from the pastor or some other staff member or church leader, asking them to buy some gift cards or purchase a prepaid credit cards. They usually ask the person to keep it confidential. Some of these emails look very authentic and even include our church logo. (Logos and staff memeber names are copied from our website.) One way to spot a scam email is to carefully check the email address it came from.

Please know that no one on staff or in a leadership position here at Holy Cross will ever send you an email asking for money, gift cards, or any other form of payment, outside of our regular giving options. If you have any doubt concerning the legitimacy of an email, do not reply to it, but instead contact the person who supposedly sent it to confirm if it is real or fake

“God’s Word to us about money is not painful. To the contrary, it is good news. The god of money seeks to dominate and destroy our lives. Many of us live in bondage to money, even as we think we are enjoying the good life. Money is constantly on our minds. However, as we understand God’s truth about money and possessions, we are set free from this devastating force. .” [Partners With God, Bobby L. Eklund and Terry Austin]

Our offerings to God’s work make a difference in the lives of other people, but they also help us break out of bondage and connect our lives to matters that matter.

  Financial Update through September

                                                2020             2019
Beginning Balance          (909)       (2,786)
Monthly Expenses    (33,044)     (34,546)
Monthly Income          28,106        29,604
Income (Deficit)           (5,847)         (7,728)

• Ryan Buckley, Chris Ellis, and Troy Schnack were appointed to the 2020 Audit Committee. 

• The Council decided to have only online worship services through November 15. Outside groups will also not be permitted to use the building through November 15. The Council will reevaluate this decision at its November 17 Council meeting.

Birthdays
Harper Schaefer.............November 1
Jacqueline Petersen.........November 3
Joseph Evans.................November 5
Ely Olson.......................November 7
Madison Wajda...............November 8
Andrew Westenburg.......November 8
Bradley Yearwood...........November 9
Emersen Ellis..................November 13
Sienna Gift.....................November 14
Al Thomsen....................November 14
Delores Altstadt..............November 16
Ashley Lawton................November 16
Margaret Black................November 19
Madelyn Kreber...............November 19
Cynthia Schwieger...........November 20
Phyllis Choat...................November 21
Sophia Kennedy..............November 23
Wendy Brenner...............November 26
Judith Howard.................November 28
Geno Roberts.................November 28
Dean Bissell....................November 30

Anniversaries
Josh & Akemi Adams………………………….November 1
Andrew & Anne Schmidt………………………November 30

November Meetings

Zoom Finance Committee Meeting - November 12 at 6:30 pm

Zoom Council Meeting - November 17 at 6:30 pm