History
In 1985 the Church of the Resurrection was formed by combining two failing parishes. St. John’s was white; St. Philip’s was black. There were cultural clashes and membership losses, but the joined church survived. By 1996 membership had dropped to the point where the parish’s continued existence was doubtful. The Diocese of Nebraska, with James Krotz as Bishop, renewed its efforts to keep Resurrection a viable parish primarily because of its unique-to-Nebraska racial diversity and its location in the least prosperous section of the city. Since then, Resurrection has survived but has struggled to maintain membership.
In 1996, the Diocese, working with members of Trinity Cathedral and the Church of the Resurrection, developed a plan to make the Church of the Resurrection a sub-parish of the Cathedral. The Dean’s assistant, the Rev. Scott Barker, was appointed Canon Vicar of the Church and the Cathedral parish provided significant financial aid to Resurrection. In five years under Canon Barker, COR achieved financial self-sufficiency and returned to being an independent parish.
Father Barker left for a parish in New York and was replaced by The Rev. Judi Yeates. Under Mother Yeates the parish made significant advances in its community outreach programs and the aging church building was made handicap accessible. Mother Yeates resigned at the end of March and we are seeking to replace her.
The Membership: Our Strength as a Church
Although we are small, our membership is cohesive and committed to our church and our neighborhood. Our overriding strength is that we have a solid core of people who are committed to the diversity of our congregation and to our less fortunate neighbors.
Members drive to the church from all areas of the city and the surrounding metropolitan area because of whom and what we are. We are committed to a long-time Episcopal presence in the most disadvantaged section of Omaha.
We support our church with our labor and our financial resources. We believe that the current membership is a core around which a large and powerful church can be built that will serve as a focal point in the City of Omaha for the outreach programs of all the parishes in Omaha and its immediate suburbs.
Finances
We have a budget of $175,000 [detail.] Approximately 65 percent is raised from pledges and from regular gifts and the remainder is provided by grants. The average pledge is approximately $3,000.00. As an example of our financial strength, we have met our diocesan faith asking since Fr. Barker’s tenure as rector.
Our Challenges
Our greatest challenge is to reverse declining membership and attendance. Increasing the membership of this congregation will require a significant effort to attract people who are looking for a church that seeks to minister to the less fortunate members of society. We believe we need a rector who has powerful preaching skills and a commitment to preaching a gospel of social justice, community outreach, mercy, tolerance, and reconciliation.
We are located in North Omaha, or North O. North O contains many of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods of our city. We have a higher incidence of poverty, poor school performance, and crime than in any other part of the city. Still, for anyone who has lived in a major metropolitan area, the problems that North Omaha has are certainly no worse than other cities of our size. The most important thing to know is that the problems of North O are not pushed into the background. There is energy in our city directed towards improving the circumstances for all citizens.
This Omaha World-Herald newspaper article provides more detailed information about our part of the city. Two major programs illustrate the commitment to North O: the North Omaha Development Project and the Building Bright Futures project.
There is a significant opportunity here for a rector to become involved
in the issues of our city and to influence its decisions.
See the other sections of this site for more information about our community and our church.