Meet the Vestry
Meet the Wardens and Members of the Vestry
Craig and his wife Maureen began coming to All Saints in 1987. They have two children Katie and Robby. Mother Judi Yeates approached both Craig and his wife about teaching Sunday school when Katie was in elementary school. He says that was all the spark they needed to become involved. They have remained teachers since that day and currently mentor the J2A youth. Craig has served as Sr. Warden for the past three years. In January 2011 he began his second three-year term. Prior to his election as Sr. Warden he served as a Vestry member for three years. He has served on several other committees over the years and continues to remain active in church work at All Saints. Craig says that since coming to All Saints his personal spiritual journey has been greatly enriched in ways he cannot begin to put into words. We are most fortunate indeed to have Craig as our Sr. Warden.
Bryan and his wife Tracy, along with their children, Hanna, Laura, & Kyle have been members of All Saints for 6 years. During that time, he has been a mentor to the Rite-13 group, participated on the Stewardship, Outreach, & Communication Committees and has occasionally been known to get his hands dirty while working with the All Saints Men’s group, “His Helping Hands”. Prior to becoming Jr. Warden he also served three years as a member of the Vestry. There have even been a couple of instances where he has impersonated Saint Nicholas. Bryan says he feels honored to now be asked to serve as Jr. Warden to the Vestry. “I will have big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of George Rood”, Bryan says… “I look forward to keeping our beautiful building and grounds maintained and looking as great as they can in order to offer a welcoming, warm, and inviting place to worship for all members and visitors to our church." Thank you Bryan for serving as our Jr. Warden.
Amy and husband Phil, along with daughters Emma, Annie, and Sophie, say they have truly found their spiritual home at All Saints. They have been attending for approximately two years and have become involved in a variety of activities. In addition to assisting with the on-going changes to the AxS service, Amy and Phil also serve as ushers/ greeters, and Chalice Bearers. They also assist with the “set-up” of that service. Annie and Sophie serve as acolytes and offertory bearers. A life-long Episcopalian, she grew up attending Trinity Episcopal church in downtown Omaha. Her parents (Andy and Marilyn Simpson) have been attending All Saints for many years and finally talked Phil and her into visiting. Amy said she still ponders what took her so long to visit All Saints. She says, “ We have felt welcomed and part of this amazing church family from the first visit." Amy is an assistant professor at Creighton University in the school of nursing. She teaches obstetrical nursing and also works at Creighton University Medical Center in labor and delivery. She completed her doctorate in Health Professions Education from the College of St. Mary in 2010. She enjoys running, scrap-booking and reading. Amy is beginning her third year as a Vestry member.
In 1994, Sooz and her husband Ray moved to Omaha from the San Francisco Bay area where they met and were married. Job relocation by the company she worked for (California Energy) prompted the move. She retired from CE after an almost-30-year career in Human Resources and Employee Benefits Management that took her from New York City to Boston to Atlanta to San Francisco. Since first attending All Saints in 2002 she has become increasingly more involved through serving on the Altar Guild and the Welcome & Evangelism Mission Team. She has been a confirmation mentor, participated in a Habitat for Humanity build, the Easter Walk and a Benedictine Lenten retreat. She has also been Greeter coordinator for more than 2 years and has co-chaired for the Every Member Canvas. Currently she serves on the Stewardship team. Following Ray’s death in December 2007, Sooz says the people of All Saints blessed her abundantly with their love and support. Beginning her third year, she says, “I’m honored to now have the opportunity to serve the Parish as a member of the Vestry." Sooz has two stepchildren and nine grandchildren who live in Rocklin and San Diego, California. Outside of church she serves as a member of the P.E.O. Chapter of GL and as an officer of the Elkhorn Valley Christian Women’s Connection. She is also a member of the Skyline Woods Homeowners Association. As if that weren’t enough, she also participates in two Bible study groups that meet weekly throughout the year. To relax she enjoys spending time with friends, photography, experiencing nature, working around the house and yard, and dreaming of her next trip to the Holy Land.
Sarah is beginning her third year as a member of the Vestry. She has been a member of All Saints for 23 years. In fact, Sarah and her husband Mark met at All Saints. They have three sons: Blake, Sam, and Grant. Sarah’s parents, Bob and Sally Hodges, her sister’s family, Katie and Steve Swanson, and Mark’s parents, Barb and Carroll Fredrickson, are also long time members of All Saints. She has served as a Sunday School Teacher and J2A Mentor and as a chaperone for the J2A group on their Mission Trip to Appalachia. In addition, she has served on the St. Mary’s Guild for many years and worked as a volunteer in the Pomegranate Shop.
Although born in Sweetwater, Texas, Paul considers himself a Nebraskan. His family moved to Lincoln in 1965 when his father received his final assignment from the Army to teach ROTC at the University of Nebraska. Paul graduated from Lincoln Southeast High and then Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He then returned to Lincoln to earn a Masters degree from UNL. Work took him to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he decided to attend law school. He holds a law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. After a judicial clerkship with the Minnesota Court of Appeals, life took him back to Nebraska to start a new job in Omaha. In 1987, he married his wife Kyle, who introduced him to All Saints Church and the Episcopal community. Paul and Kyle are blessed with two children, Rachel and Eva. Since joining All Saints, he has served on the search committee to fill the position of Director of Music Ministry and is currently a member of the Stewardship committee. Like Amy, Sooz and Sarah, Paul is a also a third year Vestry member.
Born and raised in Northwest Arkansas, Becky frequently returns to visit her parents who still reside there. She moved to Omaha in 1973 with her family and joined All Saints. Becky has worked in the Church School, served on the Altar Guild, has been an active member of the Christian Nurture and Outreach Mission Teams, served as President of the Episcopal Church Women and is a member of the Ministers of Care group. Becky says that her time and involvement with her All Saints church family and community are very important to her. Becky and her husband Tom were married at All Saints in 1988. She says together, they are beginning a new phase in their lives since Tom's recent retirement from Union Pacific Railroad last fall after 43 years of service. They are blessed with two children Phillip ,who lives in Nashville, TN and Julie, who lives in Omaha with her husband, Solomon and their two children William and Vivienne. Aside from her involvement with All Saints, she very much enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. She also enjoys gardening and reading. Becky also belongs to a book club and attends a weekly Bible study. As she begins her second year on the Vestry, she says she feels very honored to have been given the opportunity to serve the Parish of All Saints in this capacity.
Sue says that being the mother of three with nine grandchildren keeps her very busy, especially with their athletic activities. “I am always amiable about sharing their endeavors”, says Sue. Her husband Gene is an anesthesiologist. Sue calls herself “an eight o’clocker who greets and collects”. She loves to do volunteer work, be it hospital or community organizations and is always open to expanding her circle of friends. She says that she has always tried to live her life by giving back something. Church has always played a major part in her life. She grew up with a mother who had a beautiful voice, played the organ, directed the choir, and who contributed many vocal solos. Sue has definitely followed in her mother’s footsteps as she loves singing in the choir and contributes a solo now and then, even though she says, “the high notes do present a problem." She always tries to maintain a positive attitude, and considers herself a very social person. Sue emphatically reenforces this by saying, “I LOVE HUGS!!!” As a second year vestry member, Sue looks at this commitment as another potential for growth and fulfillment.
" I am a 26 Yr. All Saints member. My decision to become a part of this church community in 1984 was very easily arrived at — Jeri, my second wife-to-be, prefaced her directive to attend All Saints with “if you love me”. What wasn’t easy was discovering and accepting the chasm between my rather secular life and what I increasingly detected as the All Saints environment. The open-arms hallmark fellowship in that environment began to make impressions on me as the months and years evolved. My being a product of an English father and Jewish mother and my marriage (2nd) to an African-American lady formed the basis for my ecumenical approach to the religious life. I eventually discovered this was a quality that made me feel so comfortable being an “Episkopol”. What started out as a “suggestion” to join All Saints can now be described as a Miracle event that opened a whole new avenue of growth. (Thanks, Jeri)" Bob has actually served twice on the Vestry. Currently a second year member, he also served briefly for one year prior to his current term.
Matt and his wife Nicole, joined All Saints in 2001. They have three children, Alex, Maddie, and Emerson. He is a Partner with the Pansing Hogan Ernst & Bachman LLP law firm. Matt says “sense of community” drew him and his family to All Saints. Since becoming parishioners, he says that both him and Nicole “have been inspired by the unselfishness of others who devote countless hours to the furtherance of God’s Work." Matt is currently a member of the Stewardship and Planned Giving Committees. As a second year Vestry member, he says he looks forward to learning more about All Saints and doing what he can to help continue the work of the parish.
John and his wife Andrea along with their daughter Kate and son Alex came to Omaha in 2004 as the result of a Naval Military Assignment to Offutt AFB. He had been serving as a Submarine Officer. John and his family found their way to All Saints in 2005 and became active members. After retiring from the Navy in 2008, he took a job with OPPD as an Operations Engineer at the Fort Calhoun Station. Because of that opportunity it enabled John and his family to take up permanent residence in Omaha. He says, “We have truly enjoyed our time and experiences with the many gifted and talented people of our congregation. I was fortunate to serve as the initial Co-Chair alongside Doug Hokenstad for the exceptional group of individuals who comprise the Welcoming and Evangelism Mission Team, an experience that truly cemented my sense of belonging to All Saints." John also participates in Men’s Group activities, Red Cross Shelter efforts and various carpentry projects. His wife Andrea also has been involved with Altar Guild, Bell Choir, the Miller Park outreach program and other activities, including their Foyer Dinner group that just celebrated its four year anniversary. Additionally, Kate and Alex have grown and matured at All Saints by participating in J2A, experiencing various mission trips, and serving as Acolytes with Kate also reading as a Lector. As a member of the Vestry, John said he looks forward to learning more about All Saints, it's people and in particular the ministry programs.
Steve and his wife Katie have been members of All Saints ever since they moved to Omaha, almost 30 years ago. Steve states, "At the time, there wasn’t a choice for us on which church to join since Katie’s grandmother, Marguerite Smith was an active member as well as it being the church where her parents, Bob & Sally Hodges were married. Through the years, it has become very clear to me that coming to All Saints was one of the wisest decisions we ever made." Steve says that over the years All Saints has supported him and his family through good times and bad. He has been a member of the Youth Ministry Committee since its inception and has served as co-chair for the past few years. He also serves as an usher, although he admits he has taken some time off of late while he and his wife Katie serve together as mentors to the current J2A group. He has had the privilege of getting to know many of the youth of All Saints, and their families, by traveling with the last four groups on their pilgrimage trips. In addition to everything else going on in his life, , Steve has changed careers, going back to school and obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architectural Engineering. He currently works for Morrissey Engineering. Katie is employed at The Nebraska Medical Center and is in her 4th year of EFM studies. In addition, she serves as a chalice bearer. Their sons have grown up always knowing All Saints as their spiritual home. Rob is now a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Steven will graduate from Burke High School this spring. Steve says, “They both have many memories, mostly good, from numerous retreats as well as their J2A pilgrimage and mission trips. One of their favorite All Saints activities we have been participating in as a family has been the Flock Feeder’s mission to cook and serve dinner at Siena Francis House." Steve went on to say, “When I was asked to write my “All Saints Bio”, I thought that it would be something I could do in just a few minutes. But the more I thought about what I wanted to include, I kept coming back to the thought that as much as we have become involved in the life of All Saints over the years, it pales in comparison to the level in which All Saints has become involved and intertwined in the fabric of our lives."
“A Vestry member is challenged to serve and perform as well as all current and previous Vestry members. I’m willing to meet that challenge”, says Stacey. Having moved to Omaha from New England, Stacey and her family have been members of All Saints since October 2006. She says they were drawn to All Saints by the Youth Christian Formation program for their children and the new AxS service. “We quickly became engaged in a myriad of volunteer opportunities”, says Stacey. Their family has participated in or supported the Christmas pageant, Vacation bible school, and AxS lay roles. Personally, Stacey has been a member of the AxS lay leadership team and the Youth Christian formation team for the last two years. She has been a Sunday school teacher for three years, starting with teaching 2nd/3rd grade, and now teaching the 6th/7th grade. “In watching our parish grow I brought to All Saints a Prepared Communion program that we had implemented at our previous parish and was able to run two years of the program at All Saints as well. It allowed our young parishioners to get specific education on receiving communion and the meaning of communion before partaking. I know from many of my students that it helped them to understand the journey they were embarking on”, says Stacey. This past September and October, Stacey presided over our “Envision All Saints” sessions as the Envisioning Chair. Stacey said, “I felt truly honored to be asked to partake in such a special role to support All Saints in its long term journey to be a vital and impactful parish to our community and it was a great opportunity for me to meet many parishioners that I had not had a chance to meet in the past." Just prior to the holidays Stacey was asked to consider becoming a member of the Vestry. She said, “I feel that having spent the past four years developing and deepening my relationship with our parish that it is the right time for me to give my time and talent to supporting our parish as we embark toward a future that we define together. I look forward to serving you all."
“What an honor to be nominated to serve as a member of All Saints Vestry”, says Gary. “This church community excels in so many areas but especially in spiritual growth and in reaching out to others with love”. Gary and his wife, Eloise, became members of All Saints in 2000. They are both natives of North Platte, NE. Their family consists of (3) children, (6) grandchildren and (2) great-grandchildren. Gary not only continues to serve as a greeter/usher but is also deeply involved in the Ministers of Care program. He has also served as a member of both the Worship and Dominican Republic Mission Teams. Other committees he has previously served on include, Discernment, Hymn Selection, and Music Director Search. He is also the current President of The Men’s Club - His Helping Hands.