The history of the Church of the Holy Spirit parallels the development of early Nebraska statehood. The Missionary Bishop of Nebraska Territory, Jackson Kemper, toured the Nebraska and Kansas areas extensively in the 1850s in his search for promising locations for church sites.
Among the favored locations was Bellevue. Its first Episcopal church was Holy Trinity Mission, which flourished until the late 1800s. A legacy of this early church is a stained glass window at Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, donated by the Mission at the Cathedral's construction.
Not until 1961 was the Episcopal Church reestablished in Bellevue. The Church of the Holy Spirit Mission was under the parentage of St. Martin's in South Omaha. First services were held July 2, 1961, in the historic Presbyterian Church in downtown Bellevue, with the Rev. J. Nelson Brockmann as Vicar.
Bellevue Presbyterian Church
where Church of the Holy Spirit held services, 1961-66
The present site became a reality in 1966 with the first service being held on Christmas Eve. The Rev. Paul E. Mathews came to Holy Spirit in 1971 to serve as our second vicar. In January 1978, the church advanced from "mission" to "parish" status with Fr. Mathews as the first rector. In 1979, the church school wing was added to the building.
Fr. Mathews retired in 1982, and the Rev. Jonathan T. Ford, Sr., was called from the Diocese of Maryland to serve as our second rector in 1983. He, in turn, answered a call to St. Luke's in Kearney, Nebraska on January 1, 1987.
On Nov. 8, 1985, Nancy Williams Huston was ordained as a deacon. In 1987-88, Deacon Huston served as missionary in Honduras. She remained at CHS until 1993.
The Rev. Donald E. Overton was the third rector and served from 1988 until 1992. The Rev. Jay Gabb was interim rector from 1992-94.
In 1994, the Rev. Robert W. Scott was welcomed as our fourth rector. During his tenure, we have ordained two other deacons of our own, Diana Champagne and Hank Austin. Other members of the parish have been ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood. Since 2000, CHS has been a placement site for young adult interns in the Resurrection House program in Omaha, and a number of them have gone on to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church.
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