About Us

HOLY CROSS PARISH — A faithful and friendly Christian Community

 

Thank you for visiting our parish website! You are warmly invited to join us for worship and fellowship. Visitors are always welcome!

 

At Holy Cross we are committed to the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, our rule of faith is summarized in the ancient Apostles Creed, and the Ten Commandments are our guide for holy living. 

 

Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:14), teach the faith which was once delivered in the first century (Jude 3), and prepare a people for the coming of the Lord (Hebrews 10:23-25).

 

WE ARE DISCIPLES OF THE MESSIAH JESUS (Hebrew:  YESHUA) OF NAZARETH

 

At Holy Cross parish the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is proclaimed, the Holy Scriptures are expounded and taught in their first century cultural and historical context, and God is worshipped in the spirit of holiness.

 

We seek to live as disciples of the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth, learning to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and our neighbor as ourself, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and worshipping God in spirit and in truth. 

 

The word orthodox means “correct belief” and “correct worship.” We strive to embrace and live “the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). This is the apostolic faith which was delivered in the first century; and we strive to so live that faith that God can mold us into authentic disciples of the Messiah by His love and grace. 

 

As apostolic Christians we value our Jewish roots. We were wild olive branches, but through the Messiah we have been grafted into the cultivated olive tree that is Israel (Romans 11:16-18). Our roots run very deep indeed. “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

 

WE ARE IN THE CELTIC AND ENGLISH SPIRITUAL TRADITION, AND ARE COMMITTED THE JEWISH ROOTS OF OUR FAITH

 

The Gospel was brought to the British Isles directly from Jerusalem by Joseph of Arimathea (the man who buried Jesus in his own family tomb, and a member of the Sanhedrin) in the year 37 CE. Holy Cross has always been part of this ancient Celtic and English spiritual tradition. Our liturgy is based on the historic Book of Common Prayer which has its roots in the synagogue Services of the first century and before.

 

An excellent book on our ancient spiritual tradition is, The Celtic Church in Britain, by Dr. Leslie Hardinge PhD. It is  a fascinating, inspiring and authoritative account of the early Celtic Christians in the British Isles (England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales), their beliefs and practices, and their remarkable theocracy based on the Old Testament  Scriptures (the Tanakh), the laws of the Pentateuch (Torah), and the Gospels and New Testament Scriptures, by a first class scholar.  This remarkable book is in its 95th edition!

 

You can order it here:

 

https://teachservices.com/celtic-church-in-britain-hardinge-leslie-phd-lsi/

 

Coming directly from Jerusalem, the faith lived out in the ancient British Isles can best be described as Judaeo-Christianity. We have long valued our Jewish spiritual roots, but we are now actively seeking to fully recover them in order to hold fast to the faith once delivered in the first century (Jude 3), and to be among the remnant of God’s people who keep the Commandments of God and the faith of (not merely in) Jesus (Revelation 14:12).

 

WE ARE JOYFUL CHRISTIANS

 

The Holy Scriptures reveal that God not only loves the world in general, but loves each of us in particular. God loves each of us right where we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there and offers us the gift of salvation. Salvation means life now and that more abundantly in a Covenant relationship with Him, and eternal life in Paradise in the Kingdom of God on earth. 

 

We understand that through the Messiah Jesus we have been redeemed from sin and death, adopted into the family of God, grafted into the stock of Abraham, are being transformed and made whole, have the promise of eternal life in a renewed heavens and earth, and that we have been commissioned to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God both locally and globally.

 

WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

 

We proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom and the full message of the Holy Scriptures in our daily lives, from the pulpit, in our teaching ministry, in our social media outreach, and through The Faith Once Delivered radio broadcast.

 

The Faith Once Delivered is heard on Saturday morning at 9:30 AM (Central Time) and on Sunday evening at 9:30 PM (Central Time) on KCRO Radio 660 AM in Omaha and 106.7 FM in Lincoln, as well as worldwide over the Internet. To listen live from anywhere in the world simply go to the KCRO website and click Listen Live. Here is the link:

 

http://www.kcro.com

 

In addition to the radio broadcast every Saturday morning and Sunday evening on KCRO Radio, each episode of The Faith Once Delivered is archived and can be heard anytime as a Podcast. You can access the podcasts here: 

 

https://thefaithoncedelivered.podomatic.com

 

As a New Covenant community we seek to minister to both the spiritual and physical needs of others. Our mission is to joyfully proclaim the Gospel of Jesus (Hebrew: Yeshua) to those who do not know him, and the fullness of the apostolic faith to those who do. 

 

For years we have been providing the Open Door Mission and the Lydia House with much needed food, and have supported other efforts in the community and beyond to minister to and protect the most vulnerable in society: the pre-born, the homeless, the sick and the elderly, and to assist wherever we can as needs arise. 

 

While seeking to be light and salt in the world, we look forward in eager anticipation to the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour the Messiah Jesus to raise the dead and to establish the Kingdom of God in its fullness. 

 

More than 1,800 years ago Justin Martyr wrote in his Dialogue with Trypho, “I and every other completely orthodox Christian feel certain that there will be a resurrection of the flesh, followed by a thousand years in the rebuilt, embellished, and enlarged city of Jerusalem, as was announced by the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and others” (c. 160 CE).

 

Living in the Blessed Hope of the Second Advent, we pray Maranatha — Come Lord!

 

WE ARE A FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING CONGREGATION

 

Everyone is invited to worship with us, and visitors are always welcome. Fellowship and refreshments in our parish hall follow Services, with a potluck luncheon every month. We enjoy many opportunities for fellowship, including Faith and Family Night with the Omaha Storm Chasers, a Summer Church Picnic, Fall Hayrack Ride, Bonfire and Potluck at Santa’s Woods, and so much more.

 

At Holy Cross you will make friends and build relationships that can last a lifetime. After worshipping with us for a few weeks you will feel like you have known everyone for years. At Holy Cross parish we are a real community, a spiritual family, and there is always room for more. 

 

We see one another as brothers and sisters in Messiah, and we address our pastor as father, not out of formality, but because he is the spiritual father of our  spiritual family. This is an ancient practice in the Celtic and English spiritual tradition with roots in Second Temple Judaism. 

 

The Christian life is the Good Life at Holy Cross!

 

WE ARE A LOCALLY LED PARISH

 

“Parish” is simply an old English word for a local congregation. At Holy Cross we are a locally led and governed parish community based on the principle of servant leadership. 

 

Our longtime pastor is Fr. Victor Novak. He has been in the ordained ministry for 36 years and married to his wife Cheri for 38 years. He is assisted by our parish staff, Vestry (parish council), and the members of our congregation. 

 

We are not part of any denomination, but are pre-denominational. We cooperate in mission with all who share our vision, and we embrace all of our Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters with love and friendship. We prayerfully listen together to the leading of the Holy Spirit and seek to come to an understanding as to how God is calling us as a  congregation. 

 

Our Vestry strives to make its decisions by consensus, and every decision made by the Vestry for more than a decade has been by consensus. We cherish the freedom that we have to respond to the needs of our congregation and the Great Commission as we find them here in Omaha and as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

 

If you have any questions, please call the parish office at (402) 278-1354 or email us at holycrossparishomaha@gmail.com. 

 

We hope that you will accept our invitation to join us for worship. Everyone is invited and visitors are always welcome. We are a faithful and friendly congregation, and we have a place for you!