History & Facts
If it is possible to fix a date as the "beginning" of the Episcopal Church in Nebraska it might be the General Convention of 1838 when the jurisdiction of the Missionary Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Jackson Kemper consecrated September 25, 1835 was extended to include "the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa and in all other parts of the United States north of latitude 36 1/2 where the Church is as yet unorganized". That went into the area which came to be known as Nebraska.
The first clergyman to serve in the Indian Territory which came to be called Nebraska was The Rev. James DePui, a Chaplain at Ft. Kearney near Omaha. In 1856 several churchmen in Omaha city requested the Bishop of Iowa to visit them with reference to forming a Parish. The Rev. Dr. Edward Peet arrived April 12, 1856 and met with 8 or 10 churchmen who organized a parish under the name of Trinity Church and a vestry was selected. On Sunday, April 13, Dr. Peet conducted the first known service of the Episcopal Church in Omaha city.
