Lord of Love Lutheran Church stands on the south side of Fort Street, just off 105th Street in northwest Omaha, with easy access from the Fort Street exit off I-680. Founded in June 1972 by members of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at 30th and Izard Streets, it is known for lively liturgical worship, Holy Communion every Sunday, abundant music, friendly fellowship, a good sense of humor, and gratitude for God’s grace. Its mission, “Celebrating and sharing God’s Love in a welcoming community of faith, while serving others,” connects Sunday worship at 10405 Fort Street with education, music, food assistance, wellness ministry, and mission projects in Omaha and Tanzania.
From Our Savior’s Start to a Northwest Omaha Congregation
Members of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church chose a location “way out west” in Omaha where they could establish a new mission congregation. The youth group gave the new church its name, “Lord of Love,” after the song “Pass It On.” Lord of Love began worshipping in 1972, and the community has continued to grow around worship, education, fellowship, music, and service.
The congregation has long described itself as “a beacon on the hill,” bringing the light of Christ to neighbors in northwest Omaha. Although its location is no longer “way out west,” that sense of being a distinctive church with a visible role in the neighborhood remains central to its identity. Lord of Love is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is connected with the Nebraska Synod.
Two expressions of its mission capture that identity. One calls the congregation to celebrate and share God’s love in a welcoming community of faith while serving others. Another, created by God’s gracious love, calls the community to witness and serve Jesus in the world. The result is a church where solemn worship is joined by conversation, humor, shared meals, music-making, practical assistance, and an emphasis on using one’s gifts in service to others.
Sunday at 9:00: Gather, Hear, Commune, and Go
There is one regular Sunday worship service, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the sanctuary at 10405 Fort Street. Holy Communion is offered every Sunday. The service follows the basic Lutheran pattern: the congregation gathers, hears God’s word, shares a meal at the Lord’s Table, and is sent into the world to be Christ to others. Worship includes listening, prayer, confession, forgiveness, and praise, with the saving work of God understood through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Lord of Love describes its worship as traditional and liturgical, but not rigid. A variety of liturgies and hymns are used, allowing the congregation to encounter familiar language alongside other musical and prayerful forms. On most Sundays, the chancel choir, handbell choir, or brass ensemble contributes to the service. The result is worship in which music is not decoration around the central acts of Word and sacrament; it helps the whole congregation sing, listen, give thanks, and respond.
The atmosphere is fairly casual. There is no dress code, so “Sunday best” and ordinary casual clothing are equally welcome. Babies and young children can join their families in worship, and a staffed nursery is available every Sunday. An usher can provide large-print bulletins and listening devices when requested.
At 10:15 a.m., the Sunday rhythm expands into fellowship and Christian education. During the school year, this time includes youth faith formation, adult forums, Bible study, and discussion groups. Coffee, tea, and doughnuts are familiar parts of the transition from worship to conversation. The additional hour gives children, youth, and adults space to learn together and gives Sunday morning the feel of both a worship service and a community gathering.
Sunday worship is also livestreamed and archived on the church’s YouTube channel. Midweek services during Advent and Lent are typically held at 7:00 p.m., often following a shared meal for fellowship. Those seasonal services extend the musical, prayerful, and communal character of the congregation’s regular worship life.
Music for the Whole Congregation
Music is one of Lord of Love’s clearest expressions of welcome. The congregation’s 1963 Gres-Miles pipe organ was transferred from Our Savior’s when the new mission congregation began in 1972. Over the years, it has been updated through revoicing and a rebuilding of its console. Carol Novak serves as organist and accompanist, with Amy Kragnes as associate organist. Their work supports the organ, piano, keyboard, and the congregation’s singing during worship.
Jon Novak directs the choir and handbell work. The chancel choir rehearses most Wednesdays from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. during the school year, shares an anthem at Sunday worship, and takes part in special services. The choir welcomes anyone who has a voice they wish to offer in praise. Ability to read music is helpful but not required, making the group an approachable place for singers who want to serve musically without an academic prerequisite.
The handbell choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings and enriches worship periodically throughout the year. Ringers of all ages are encouraged to participate. Lord of Love Brass, directed by Brian Lund, rehearses most Wednesday evenings and provides special music while also accompanying hymns about once a month. The brass group collaborates with the choir for special anthems, particularly on celebration Sundays, and welcomes players of trumpet, horn, trombone, baritone, and tuba who are willing to attend rehearsals regularly.
Members also contribute individual music, small-group music, and summer performances. Technical support for worship and audiovisual production is directed by Chris Rich. Together, these groups make music a shared ministry rather than a presentation performed only for the congregation.
Coffee, Learning, and Fellowship After Worship
Christian education at Lord of Love is intended to grow the faith of everyone, “from the young to the not so young.” The congregation supports weekly Sunday school, adult education, Bible and book studies, Confirmation, and Vacation Bible School. Teaching roles include Sunday school teachers and substitutes, leaders of adult forums, leaders of small groups, and Confirmation mentors. The emphasis is not limited to information; study is connected to the congregation’s desire to live faith in daily life and serve beyond its own walls.
Middle school and high school youth gather monthly for service and fellowship. They help serve Easter breakfast, volunteer in other areas, take part in lock-ins, sledding parties, and game nights, and attend state and national youth gatherings. Their service gives the educational programs a practical dimension and gives younger congregants a voice in the wider life of the church.
Adults have several recurring opportunities for learning and conversation. Adult forums address subjects of interest to the congregation and can be led by people with particular knowledge or experience. Gather Bible studies, offered by Women of the ELCA, invite women to explore how faith speaks to present life through Monday and Saturday sessions. The monthly Book Club meets on the fourth Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.; anyone may participate, and the group’s reading list includes fiction, history, memoir, science, and faith.
Food and conversation are also central to congregational life. Fellowship gatherings include potluck luncheons, picnics, pie fests, Sunday coffee and doughnuts, and free-will summer breakfasts. Aged to Perfection brings people together for a meal and fellowship, while Adult Christian Fellowship offers gatherings for adults of all ages. Tai Chi classes meet on Monday and Thursday and are described as an art of embracing mind, body, and spirit. These activities create regular points of connection beyond the formal worship service.
Men, Women, and Groups That Shape the Congregation
The Men’s Ministry is open to all male congregants and meets for breakfast, Bible study, and fellowship at 7:00 a.m. every Saturday in the Fellowship Hall. Its service reaches well beyond the breakfast table. Men’s groups prepare for fellowship events, make Baptismal boxes, support youth, assist with cleanup and yard work, help people move, play softball, prepare Sunday coffee, and contribute financially to Tanzania, seminary students, and Project Hope. The ministry also participates in Lutheran Men in Mission, a national organization associated with the ELCA.
Women of Love is Lord of Love’s local expression of Women of the ELCA. The group’s mission is to mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ, while its purpose centers on growth in faith, affirmation of gifts, support of one another, and engagement in ministry and action. Rose Roberts coordinates the team. Activities include Women’s Friday Coffee, Gather Bible studies, a women’s retreat, prayer shawl ministry, quilting, Thankoffering Sunday, and assembling care containers for people who are isolated or have special needs. The quilters make a substantial annual contribution of quilts for Lutheran World Relief.
An elected church council gives direction to congregational programs and works through committees for education, fellowship, worship, outreach, stewardship, property, and member care. Beneath those committees is a wide network of volunteers: greeters, ushers, liturgists, communion servers, altar-care assistants, nursery attendants, musicians, teachers, gardeners, cooks, technical leaders, and fellowship workers. This structure makes involvement possible across generations and interests.
Loads of Love and the Community Garden
Loads of Love began in 2019 to distribute items that are often unavailable in conventional food pantries. The ministry holds distribution events about three times each year and assembles household bags containing laundry soap, toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste and toothbrushes, bar soap, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, diapers, and other hygiene essentials. Gently used children’s books are also welcomed because they are popular with the families served. Donations can be brought to the church, money can be given in place of shopping, and Thrivent Gift Cards can support bulk purchases.
Each distribution depends on many hands. Volunteers set up tables, guide guests into the building, register household sizes, help guests choose items, assist with carrying bags to vehicles, and restock depleted tables. The program also sends bulk quantities of supplies to neighborhood pantries, including San Andres. The ministry reflects a practical understanding of need: providing a bar of soap, toilet paper, or a container of diapers can make a meaningful difference in a household’s budget.
The Community Garden is another substantial response to hunger. Its season traditionally begins around Good Friday with the planting of potatoes, followed by onions, lettuce, carrots, beets, snap peas, cabbage, sweet corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and many other crops. Volunteers till, plant, weed, water, harvest, and deliver the produce. Work sessions are generally held on Monday and Thursday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30 during the growing season, often with fellowship afterward.
Thousands of pounds of produce have gone to local Lutheran pantries and Table Grace Cafe, while Project Hope has received much of the garden’s harvest. The garden invites anyone willing to help, whether or not the person considers themselves an experienced gardener. The work combines visible tasks in the soil with direct assistance to neighbors and the organizations that serve them.
Habitat, Endowment, and Mission Across Borders
Lord of Love’s Mission Possible team identifies needs in the community and beyond, then selects priorities for mission giving and service. Special offerings are commonly received during Lent and Easter, at Thanksgiving, and during Advent and Christmas. The congregation has supported the Food Bank for the Heartland, Project Hope food pantry, ELCA Hunger Response, Lutheran Family Services, Lutheran Disaster Response, and other organizations addressing hunger, shelter, health, family needs, and disaster recovery.
Lord of Love is a founding member of the Ecumenical Labor Force Coalition, a group of eleven churches that completes an annual home renovation or build. The churches raise money toward materials and share labor. When Lord of Love hosts the worksite, it provides lunch and snacks for the workers. The coalition also supports the Avenue J Brothers prison ministry, busing eligible work-release participants to the building site each Saturday. The work offers practical construction experience and skills that participants can carry into life after release. Lord of Love has also completed a Habitat home on its own and sent volunteers to help build homes in hurricane-affected areas.
The Lord of Love Endowment Fund, initiated in January 1988, receives gifts and bequests, invests them, and directs a percentage of its assets into mission grants each year. The investments are managed through the ELCA Endowment Fund Pooled Trust. Local and regional grants have supported food pantries, a free clinic, emergency shelter, foster-care closet, campus ministry, youth services, child advocacy, mental-health programs, and Table Grace Ministries. International grants have supported nursing education, hospital care, orthopedic treatment, and equipment in Tanzania.
This mission reaches both immediate Omaha needs and long-term relationships. The endowment has helped nursing students in Tanzania complete their education and enter health-care work, supported equipment and patient care at Machame Hospital, and assisted projects serving families beyond Nebraska. The congregation has also encouraged people pursuing seminary ministry and supported a member serving with CHI Health in Tanzania. These efforts reflect the conviction that faith is tested through generous, sustained service.
Faith Partners and a Building Opened to Omaha
Faith Partners is a congregational team that cultivates an informed and compassionate response to addiction through awareness, education, and recovery support. It also serves as a resource for mental health and helps the church maintain a safe, hospitable place for people seeking help and healing. The team’s educational themes range across addiction, mental wellness, caregiving, chronic illness, suicide prevention, internet safety, sleep, trauma, human trafficking, gratitude, and ways to support others. Resources are available in the Fellowship Hall.
The Methodist Hospital Community Counseling Program provides another form of care. Counselor Brock Thornburg holds office hours at Lord of Love on Wednesdays and works with groups, adults, and young people ages 12 to 18. Counseling is available to anyone, with Medicaid, private insurance, or self-pay accepted. Foundation assistance is available when needed, and the program states that no one will be denied services because of inability to pay.
Two Alcoholics Anonymous groups use the building for weekly meetings. The Northwest Group meets Monday at 7:00 p.m., and the No Smokers Group meets Friday at 7:30 p.m. BSA Troop 565, chartered in 1993, meets Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and uses the patrol method to develop scouting skills, merit badges, teamwork, character, and leadership. Monthly camping, summer camps, and high-adventure camps add outdoor experiences to the program. The congregation also sponsors a cub scout pack, with nonmembers serving as positive adult role models.
Lord of Love opens its sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, narthex, and other rooms to neighborhood associations, support groups, and community organizations. The building also serves Celebration of Life services, funerals, and the family meals that follow memorial services. These uses allow the church property to remain connected to the practical life of the surrounding community, while the shared building gives recovery, counseling, scouting, and neighborhood groups a permanent place to gather.
Grace, Prayer, and Faith in Daily Work
Lord of Love’s teaching about salvation begins with grace rather than human effort. In its explanation of “Saved Through Faith,” the congregation recalls Martin Luther’s struggle with the idea that forgiveness and justification could be earned through works. Its answer is that God’s grace is what justifies a person. That gift of grace does not end with pardon; it invites people toward lives of love and acts of service.
Prayer is similarly understood as a continuing relationship with God. It gives people moments to share praise, frustration, and concern, and it keeps God at the center of life. The same practical faith shapes stewardship. Lord of Love names lives, health, relationships, time, ideas, talents, money, and all creation as trusts from God. Faithful stewardship means caring for these gifts, sharing them with others, and allowing work performed in service to others to become a form of holy work.
That combination of doctrine and practice gives Lord of Love its character: traditional Lutheran worship held in a casual, welcoming atmosphere; music made by people of many ages; education that extends from children to adults; friendships strengthened over food; and service that ranges from a pantry table to a garden, a construction site, a counseling office, and a hospital in Tanzania. At 10405 Fort Street, the congregation continues the work it began in 1972 by gathering at 9:00, sharing the Lord’s Table, learning together, giving thanks, and carrying its mission into the wider life of Omaha and the world.