Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 29
This week our livestreamed worship will continue our
Lenten sermon series
on “Questions Jesus Asked.
” We will think together about a “A Question about Worry” as seen through Matthew 6:25–34.
11:00 a.m. online
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
Our offering will be
received online or via Venmo (@Fourth-Church). Our stewardship continues to be a very important expression of who and whose we are. Our giving in this season supports our ongoing work of being church, as we continue to serve those in need and to pay our staff, whether they are able to work remotely or not.
If the 11:00 time does not fit your schedule, the service will be available for viewing throughout the week.
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Last week we enjoyed a wonderful livestreamed piano concert by Christopher Johnson. This week our online Friday Noonday music will come to us from our organist John Sherer’s living room!
Friday, March 27
12:10 p.m.
John Sherer, piano
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“Gracious Creator and creative God, we give thanks for your infusing love as it takes shape in acts of love and care for each and every one of us in this time. We pray for those who are ill. We hold our siblings in all parts of the world who are struggling for their lives. We pray for families and friends who are isolated from those who are infected by this virus. Give them comfort, O sustaining Spirit.
“We pray for medical personnel, for hospital chaplains and care teams who receive those who are ill and speak tender words into frightened hearts. For the steady hands, the holy gaze, the remedies for spirit through healing arts, we give you thanks. We also pray for those who work in grocery stores and at the gas stations, the mail carriers and the police officers, the day care providers offering shelter for little ones whose parents are doing essential work for our society.
“On this day, as well, we pray for those who are sheltering in place in this city and across this land. For so many, O Holy One, this means being alone. We pray for those in nursing facilities and retirement communities who are vulnerable. We pray for those in prison. We pray for those who have no home, no shelter.
“O God, may we, who pattern our lives after your Son, Jesus, take a special measure of care for those who are alone. May our collective hands reach out to others, harboring the lost and speaking your word of peace to the lonely. May our eyes hold your vision for a future where your realm arises from the deep and shadowy places, with your peace, your shelter, you as our dwelling place so present and so close.”
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We are a connectional community committed to living out our care for one another and remaining together while apart. We very much we want to hear from you! Our pastors, Deacons, Stephen Ministers, and other volunteers are available to connect with you by phone and email.
Please let us know—
- if you are—or someone you know is—in self-quarantine or feeling isolated, lonely, anxious, or sick. Please contact our Pastoral Care Office so that we can reach out to you.
- if you are a medical professional. Please let your Pastoral Care Office know who you are so we can reach out and care for you as well in what we know are are difficult days for you.
- if you are available to reach out via phone or email to those in our community who might be feeling isolated or lonely. Our Pastoral Care Office is collecting names of those willing to help in this way.
- if you have a prayer request. Dave Handley, our Interim Minister for Pastoral Care, is receiving these as part of our Morning Prayer and Deacon Prayer Ministries.
- if you would like to be in phone contact with a Stephen Minister. Please leave a confidential message at 312.573.3365 or contact Dave Handley.
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In this time of social distancing and our closed campus, we remain firmly committed to caring for the most vulnerable among us.
Fourth Church Meals Ministry is continuing to serve those in our community who are hungry. Staff and volunteers are outside in the Cloister handing out “to go” lunches on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and “to go” meals for Sunday Night Supper. This enables us to distribute meals while also limiting lines and in-person gatherings.
If you did not receive the
Meals Ministry newsletter this week, you can
read it here. In it you will find online
lists of items we particularly need as we continue to feed our neighbors.
The Chicago Lights Social Service Center is also continuing to offer “curbside” emergency services on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and Wednesdays through Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. These services include
- Essential emergency clothing (underwear, socks, T-shirts, gloves, hats)
- Hygiene, incontinence, and menstruation items
- Inclement weather gear (ponchos, handwarmers, coats)
- Pre-assembled bags of food for those who have scheduled Food Pantry appointments
How can you help? While we cannot receive individual donations of canned goods, clothing, or hygiene items direct from households, you can order and have shipped to the church the
items on our emergency distribution list.
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Families, are you looking for something to do on Sunday? Why not have your own Sunday School at home!
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Youth Ministry is hosting online weekly Junior High Family Gatherings, Senior High Gatherings, and “Suddenly-Home-from-College” Gatherings.
Confirmation Circles are also going to meet this Sunday to discuss their faith narratives, and there will again be a Sermon Talk-Back Session for youth following the 11:00 a.m. livestream of worship.
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Our TwentiesThirties Ministry has created several opportunities for young adults to be together online as well.
A “Midday Examen Check-In” using the book
Reimagining the Ignatian Examen meets weekly via Zoom to walk through different forms of this ancient prayer practice.
There is also a social hour of online trivia.
And on Sundays those in their twenties and thirties are invited to join a post-worship online Coffee Hour, to gather and catch up as well as to share thoughts on the week’s sermon.
For details about connecting with any of these opportunities, contact
Joe Morrow
.
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TwentiesThirties online gatherings are but one example of the new ways in which we are being community and church together.
Our
Center for Life and Learning program continues to offer opportunities for adults sixty and over to connect. Included in their offerings this week was a Zoom lecture on nutrition and eating well during this time of staying at home. Their weekly Meditation Group also meditated together via Zoom, and their Book Group held their monthly discussion via conference call.
Chicago Lights Tutoring staff are facilitating virtual relationships between mentors and students, supplying educational and engagement tools, and creating content for e-learning.
What are other new opportunities we are exploring? Watch your email, our
website, and
Facebook for updates! For glimpses of what we’re up to, be sure to follow us on
Instagram.
Also,
if you know someone who would like to receive updates from us but currently is not, please encourage them to add their email address to our distribution list by signing up at
www.bit.ly/newsfromfpc
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Death
We give thanks to God for the gift of life eternal.
Robert W. O’Brien
Died March 1, 2020, in Chandler, Arizona
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Fourth Presbyterian Church | 312.787.4570 | www.fourthchurch.org
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