Holy Cross Orthodox Church is a faithful, friendly, vibrant and welcoming church, and we have a place for you.
We are a Faithful church, firmly committed to “the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), without addition, subtraction or change. We believe the same things that Christians believed a century ago, a millennium ago, even 2,000 years ago; and in the Orthodox Church there are no voices calling for change, no theological conflicts and no problems with liberal-modernism. We have never had a “dark” age, a Reformation or Counter Reformation, and we have never had a “Vatican II.” The Orthodox Church is timeless and unchanging in Faith and Morals, and Orthodox Christians will believe just as we do now until our Lord returns. As St. Athanasius the Great said, “Know that we must serve, not the times, but God.”
We are a friendly Church. Everyone is always welcome at Holy Cross parish - Orthodox Christians and Christians of other traditions, churched and unchurched, believers searching for a church that takes discipleship seriously and seekers who may not even be sure what they are looking for.
We are a vibrant church, with plenty of opportunities for involvement and service. We celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist (Divine Liturgy/Holy Mass) twice each week, have active parish organizations including a parish Sisterhood (Women’s group), a vested Choir, a Guild of woodworkers and craftsmen who beautify and maintain our church, a quality Sunday School program, — and we regularly support four area homeless shelters.
We contribute large amounts of food to feed those most in need at the Open Door Mission and the Lydia House shelters, and every ounce is contributed by the members and friends of Holy Cross parish. Our latest delivery totaled 507 pounds of much needed food, and we have another delivery ready to go.
Every Friday and one Saturday of the month large amounts of donated gourmet bread is delivered to the Francis and Siena House shelters. Pickups are made the night before. Making these regular pick-ups and deliveries takes real commitment on the part of our parish volunteers, and they carry out this virtually unseen ministry week after week, month after month, and year after year. In 2015, Holy Cross volunteers picked up and delivered 15,311 packages of donated gourmet bread. Now that is a lot of badly needed food!
Hardly a word has to be said about these ministries to keep them working and to keep our members giving of their time. They are simply the good fruit of Christians who are serious disciples of Christ.
We are a Welcoming church. Holy Cross parish is a real church community, and we enjoy being together. We have fellowship and refreshments in our parish hall after the Liturgy on Sundays, with a potluck luncheon on the last Sunday of the month. We have an annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, a parish outing to see the Omaha Storm Chasers Baseball Club on Faith and Family Night, a Summer Church Picnic, a Fall Hayrack Ride, Bonfire and Potluck at Santa’s Woods, occasional Dinner and a Movie Nights in our parish hall, and more.
We are white and black, blue collar and white collar, young, middle aged, and seasoned. We are a diverse church family united by our love for God, faith in Jesus Christ, and commitment to the Orthodox Christian Faith. You will never feel like a stranger at Holy Cross parish, and after a few weeks you will feel like you have known everyone for years. We currently have seven catechumens who are preparing to be received into full membership in the Orthodox Church. Everyone is welcome to join us, and we have a place for you too!
Holy Cross Orthodox Church is a Western Rite parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). We are Western in culture and worship, and English and Celtic in spiritual heritage and traditions, while being in full communion and visible unity with the 300 million-member Orthodox Church.
Although we are a Western Rite parish, Eastern Rite Orthodox Christians are always welcome to worship with us, receive the Holy Sacraments (Mysteries) at our altar, and become members of our parish. Eastern or Western, we are all One Church, One family and united in One Faith.
As a Western Rite Orthodox parish in the English and Celtic tradition, we use the Liturgy of St. Tikhon rather than the Eastern Rite Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. St. Tikhon of Moscow was responsible for making the restoration of the English Usage of the Western Rite possible, and our Liturgy carries his name in honour of his work. St. Tikhon is one of two patron saints of the Western Rite. The other is St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the 50th anniversary of whose repose in 1966, was just commemorated around the world. It was St. John of San Francisco who said, “Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox you must be Eastern. The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years.”
What makes Holy Cross parish such an amazing church? We are a Eucharistic community, and the Holy Eucharist is the centre and summit of our spirituality. The life of our parish is centered in the Holy Eucharist.
We celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist, commonly called the Divine Liturgy or Holy Mass, twice every week. On Sunday morning we celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist with Gregorian chant and the great hymns of the Church. We worship God in a spirit of holiness, administer the Sacraments with great reverence, and preach real sermons, teaching the fullness of the Apostolic Faith.
Our midweek celebration of the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist is held over the lunch hour so busy people can come and receive the Bread of Life. This is a quiet, prayerful and intimate Liturgy with smaller numbers in attendance. Attendance for this midweek Liturgy can vary. Last Wednesday we had eleven in attendance. Receiving Holy Communion in the midst of a busy week will change your week. Making it a habit will change your life!
Holy Cross parish has a very nice leased facility that includes a traditional chapel, parish hall, and sacristy, classroom and office space, and we have already twice expanded the amount of space we lease. We also have a Building Committee and are ready to purchase a church building whenever a suitable building becomes available, and are currently serious considering a building that we may buy.
As a Western Rite parish we have a special mission to rebuild the Western Church that fell away from the Orthodox Church in 1054, and shattered into splinters after the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, and to re-evangelized the secularized West. There are now Western Rite Orthodox congregations and monastic communities in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and on the Continent of Europe, and our numbers are growing.
Holy Cross Orthodox Church is a faithful, friendly and vibrant parish, and we have a place for you. We celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist every Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. Everyone is invited to attend, and visitors are always welcome. We hope to see you there!
