Pastor Drebes 25th Ordination Anniversary
Pastor Drebes is marking 25 years since he was ordained on Aug. 19, 2001, at Zion Lutheran in Palmyra, Missouri, his home church. But young Bryan wasn't always certain that he would become a minister.
"Ever since grade school, I had been thinking about going into church work," Drebes said this week. He was considering working as a teacher or a principal -- perhaps at the high school level. He also was thinking about the pastoral ministry.
After graduating in 1991 from St. Paul High School in Concordia, Missouri, he enrolled that fall at Concordia College (now Concordia University) in Seward, Nebraska, majoring in education and preseminary work. After his first semester, he took a break and sold insurance full time for 2 1/2 years and then part time for another 2 1/2 years. He had gone back to college in 1994. He finished his undergraduate degree at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois, in 1997 after studying in 1995 at Oak Hill Theological College in London, England. "I felt that God was calling me more to the pastoral ministry," he said, and he enrolled at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in the fall of 1997.
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Courtyard Jazz Series for 2026
The Pacific Hills Courtyard Jazz Series for 2026 is here. Please join us in the courtyard to hear local Omaha artists. The Sponsored by Pacific Hills Lutheran Church & omahamusic.com.
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Opening Our Doors Through Music
Pacific Hills is grateful to continue building a concert series that welcomes both our congregation and the wider Omaha community into our sanctuary for meaningful, high-quality musical experiences. Through these concerts, we hope to feature organists, pianists, vocalists, and other talented musicians in programs that are open to the public and offered without admission. These are in addition to and separate from our Summer Courtyard Jazz Series.
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Singing the Mystery: Pentecost and the Holy Trinity
Pentecost and Holy Trinity Sunday stand side by side in the Church Year for good reason. At Pentecost, we hear of the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles, giving them boldness to proclaim Christ crucified and risen. The Church’s song follows this same pattern: we do not sing vaguely about spiritual feelings, but about the Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church through the Gospel.
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Outdoor Worship at Chalco Hills
After pausing last year’s outdoor worship service to celebrate our 70th anniversary, we are excited to announce that the tradition will resume in 2026 at Chalco Hills Recreation Area. The park’s group shelter has been reserved for Sunday, June 14, with worship at 10:00 a.m., followed by a lunch featuring sandwiches and chips.
We look forward to gathering together in God’s creation for a joyful day of worship, food, and community.
We will also be hosting a newly commissioned missionary.
We look forward to you joining us as we come together as one body to worship our Lord Jesus Christ.
Look for sign-up sheets in the Narthex. Ride requests can be made by calling the office at 402-391-9625.
Services will be at the Group Shelter inside the park. Most people should travel on Interstate 80 to Hwy 50 (144th Street) and take Exit 440. Go North to Giles Road then turn left and go to the main entrance of Chalco Hills. We will have signs up pointing the way to the shelter. Please see the Messenger for more details on lunch & ride share opportunities.
A map in PDF format is available - Chalco Hills Map
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National Day of Prayer
Pacific Hills will participate in the National Day of Prayer this year on May 7th, 2026. The time will be from 10AM to 2PM. There will be a short devotional at 11AM with time for prayer after the devotional. At 12PM, Pastor Drebes will have a prayer service, with time for prayer after the service and then at 1PM a short devotional with time to pray after the devotional.
The theme for 2026 National Day of Prayer is “Glorify God Among the Nations Seeking Him in All Generations (1 Chronicles 16:24).
On May 5, 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed into law the designation of the first Thursday in May as the annual observance for the National Day of Prayer.
Please come and join us on May 7th to observe the National Day of Prayer.
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How Will We Live for Christ Who Lives for Us?
"O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods." (Psalm 96:1-4).
Easter is the time to ask the question: “How will I now live for the Christ who died, rose and now lives for me?” This is not always an easy question to answer and sometimes it can be hard to tell if our lives are making a difference. It may feel like the problems of this world are too much to overcome: various diseases, natural disasters, poverty, war, prejudice, addictions, broken families, not to mention concerns about job loss, college for our kids, our retirement and concerns about the economy. Our individual lives and collective ministries can sometimes seem small in the face of such incredible challenges.
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Holy Week – A Journey of Faith
As Easter approaches, Christians around the world embark on a profound spiritual journey marked by reflection and prayer. This period, known as Holy Week, begins with Palm Sunday and culminates in the joyous celebration of Easter Sunday. Each day of Holy Week holds significant meaning and commemorates the final days of Jesus and his life on earth.
Palm Sunday: The Triumphal Entry heralds the start of Holy Week. It commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, an event greeted with great jubilation by his followers who shouted “Hosanna,” and laid palm branches on the road before him as a sign of victory and peace.
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The Lenten Season 2026
The Lenten season is the fourth season in the church year (after Advent, Christmas and Epiphany). It begins with Ash Wednesday and is the oldest season of the church year. The original period of Lent seems to have been 40 hours. It was spent in fasting and contemplation on the sufferings of Christ. Later it became 30 days, then 36, and finally, in the reign of Charlemagne (about 800 AD), 40 days. Lent originally had one purpose — to prepare candidates for Baptism. For hundreds of years, the Baptism itself took place late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning before the dawn of Resurrection Day.
The 40 days of Lent do not include the Sundays. Sundays in Lent — like every other Sunday — were to be “mini” resurrection days celebrating Jesus’ resurrection and not part of the Lenten fast. The 40 days of Lent correspond to Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness. The date of Lent is determined by the date of Resurrection Sunday. The Council of Nicea (held in 325 AD) determined that Resurrection Sunday would be observed on the first Sunday following the 14th day of the paschal moon.
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For Us
Some hymns tell a story, others teach, and still others create pictures in our minds of the great works of God. Some hymns do all three, weaving together a tapestry that is beautiful yet simple, wondrous yet easy to understand.
“O Love, How Deep” (LSB 544) is that kind of hymn. This hymn was originally a twenty-three-stanza poem. In the nineteenth century, an Anglican cleric named Benjamin Webb translated the hymn into English and then chose six stanzas for use in English hymnody. The doxological stanza was added later.
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- PHLC Foundation Legacy Workshop
- Living the Ancient Faith
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The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
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hen the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
- Acts 2:1-4
Pacific Hills Lutheran Church is a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS). This is an international church consisting of over 6,000 congregations in the U.S. and missionaries in over 50 foreign countries.