On the church calendar are many opportunities to connect online (or, where noted, in person) with the Fourth Church community and one another. Included among them are—

For information about whom to contact for an event’s Zoom details, simply click on the down “arrow” to the right of the event name in the calendar (which is easily accessible from the “Calendar” button in the upper left corner of our website).

For information about additional opportunities, keep reading!

The worship bulletin will be available to download and print on Friday

Streamed from the Sanctuary at www.bit.ly/FPCworship

in Buchanan Chapel

The worship bulletin will be available to download and print on Friday

This Sunday is Reformation Day, a day when we recall the rich heritage of the Protestant tradition. It was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, the watershed event sparking the Reformation.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) grew out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century under leaders such as John Calvin and the Scotsman John Knox. On this day we give thanks for the Reformation leaders and all others who have kept the faith. As part of the remembrance of our denomination’s Scottish roots, bagpiper Brian McKee will play outside the Sanctuary both before and after the 10:00 a.m. service.

Beginning this Sunday, October 31, we will resume congregational singing of the Doxology, Gloria Patri, and hymns!

We have been cautious about congregational singing until this point, because singing has been identified as one of the riskiest behaviors during this pandemic, due to the high level of aerosol spread while people sing. That risk remains. However, as COVID infection rates here in Chicago continue to decrease and the vaccination rate continues to increase, we are now at a point where as long as we continue to wear masks we can resume singing.

We recognize that some may be uncomfortable or concerned about being around those who are singing even though masked. Please know that we will continue to have the socially distanced seating section at the front of the Sanctuary for those who would find that distancing helpful, and, of course, we continue to livestream our services for those who prefer to worship with us from home.

Wearing masks is required of everyone on the Fourth Church campus, and those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are also required to practice social distancing. The front section of the Sanctuary is for those required to or choosing to practice social distancing, with seating by households.

We are not checking vaccination status, but anyone coming on site certifies by doing so that (a) they do not currently have COVID-19; (b) they are not experiencing COVID symptoms; (c) they have no reason to quarantine; and (d) they will practice social distancing if they are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Read about all of the guidelines that are in place for in-person worship—as well as information about continued online opportunities—at www.fourthchurch.org/reopening

The service is also available online any time afterwards on YouTube.

For those who do not have Internet access, we also make our worship services available to listen to via the phone. If you know of someone for whom this audio opportunity would be welcome, please encourage them to call 888.916.9166 (toll-free) at the time of the service.

Our Sunday services are available for viewing following the conclusion of worship and throughout the week at www.bit.ly/fpcvideos.

Worship and sermon podcasts are available via iTunes and Spotify, and you can sign up to receive the text of the weekly sermon by email.

This Sunday is not only Reformation Day but also Commitment Sunday, the day when we will lift up our pledges to continue to “Be a Church Alive” in 2022.

During worship we will dedicate our pledges to the work of God’s kingdom as we each answer the invitation to to join in God’s re-creating and reconciling work in this world through our financial support.

In preparation for Commitment Sunday, the Stewardship and Giving Council asks that, if you haven’t done so already, please make your “Called to Be a Church Alive” pledge for 2022 by this Sunday morning.

You can read more about the 2022 Stewardship Campaign to support and invest in the work of Fourth Church and Chicago Lights in the year ahead or contact Andrea Miller for additional information.

For the current year, we are grateful to all who have made gifts in support of our 2021 mission and ministry. Thank you! This monthly generosity report summarizes those contributions to Fourth Church as of September 30, 2021.

Our calendar includes a variety of opportunities for connecting with one another for fellowship. These are just a few of them!

Thursday, October 28 (tonight!)

6:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, email Simon Crow

All women are invited to join us online for fellowship and opportunity to learn more about the programs of Chicago Lights Tutoring and Fourth Church Meals Ministry and the adaptations they are making in response to the pandemic.

6:30 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, email Simon Crow

A virtual happy hour is being hosted by our LGBTQIA+ Widen Our Welcome group this Tuesday evening. If you would like to connect with this group, please be in touch with Simon Crow.

5:30 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, register at www.bit.ly/cornerstones1121

This fellowship group for individuals fifty and over will welcome to its online November program author Greg Borzo, who will talk about his book Lost Restaurants of Chicago.

At and in locations near Hotel Lincoln in Lincoln Park

Registration is due today (October 28)!

“How did we get here?” will be the theme of this retreat for those in their twenties and thirties. Participants are invited to take part in all of the retreat or drop in for particular events or activities, all of which will be focused on looking at what it means to live out our faith in Chicago, particularly after eighteen months of social distancing and isolation. For more information, contact Joe Morrow.

This coming Tuesday all are invited to join the First Tuesday Book Club in online discussion of A Gentle Answer: Our “Secret Weapon” in an Age of Us against Them by Scott Sauls.

7:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, register at www.bit.ly/firsttuesday1121

Next Tuesday Books by Women invites all interested women to join them for conversation about Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney.

6:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, email Simon Crow

“Is the Church a Light in the City? Faith in the Twenty-First Century”

What is the church’s responsibility to the community? What challenges lie before us in 2021 and beyond?

A November 9 Michigan Avenue Forum will explore these questions, as notable church and community speakers join in looking at Fourth Church’s history as a citizen of Chicago.

Moderated by Lucy Forster-Smith, this panel discussion will bring together Shannon Kershner; Pastor Emeritus John Buchanan; Felicia Davis Blakley, President and CEO of the Chicago Foundation for Women; and William Schweiker, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School, for conversation about “Is the Church a Light in the City? Faith in the Twenty-First Century.”

7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

Also livestreamed at www.bit.ly/fpcprograms

We will continue the Michigan Avenue Forum conversation with curated in-depth, in-person conversations on Saturday morning, November 13, when we will gather in the Gratz Center for “The Church in the City: The Next 150 Years.”

Participants will exchange ideas in conversations led by Fourth Church members and program partners focusing on arts and culture, community, racial justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, and well-being.

After an introductory greeting from Shannon Kershner, two breakout sessions will be held, and after a break, a second pair of sessions will convene. For more information, contact Lewis Hamer.

8:30–11:30 a.m.

in the Gratz Center

As workplaces increasingly supply a sense of belonging and self-development that churches once did, it has become imperative to recognize, claim, and develop our unique vocational callings within that setting.

Join Lois Snavely next Sunday as she leads us in looking look at how to discern vocational calling in a secular workplace, what unique “ministerial” challenges we may face at work, and how to bring the church out into the world in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

11:15 a.m. via Zoom

Contact Lewis Hamer for details

11:15 a.m. in the Gratz Center

Save the date and plan to join us on Friday evening, November 19 when we will celebrate the sixth anniversary of the dedication of the Andrew Pipe Organ and John Sherer’s twenty-fifth anniversary as Organist and Director of Music at Fourth Church.

To mark the occasion, organist Aaron David Miller will present a concert in the Sanctuary, which will also be livestreamed.

Included in the program will be the premier of “Sonata for a Sacred Space,” a composition by Aaron David Miller commissioned by the congregation in celebration of John Sherer’s twenty-five years of ministry at Fourth Church.

7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary

and also livestreamed at www.bit.ly/fpcprograms

If you missed this week’s midweek worship video, “Rhythm and Word,” and are looking for a fifteen-minute spiritual reflection break, you can watch the newest video here:

If you want to be reminded of these weekly video offerings, we invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel (www.bit.ly/fpcvideos) or receive the videos by email by signing up at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail.

For those interested in becoming members of Fourth Church, our online Inquirers’ Class will be held next Sunday, November 7 via Zoom.

You can register for this one-session class at www.bit.ly/inquirersclass1121

For additional information about Fourth Church membership, please contact Joe Morrow.

For one-to-one spiritual and emotional support through life challenges, we encourage you to consider being paired with a Stephen Minister. To learn more about this resource, contact David Handley, Interim Minister for Caring Ministries, or leave a confidential message for a Stephen Minister at 312.573.3365.

To set up a time to talk or for more information about how the staff of the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being can be a resource for you, call the Center at 312.787.2729, ext. 2260.

If you would like to talk to a pastor, please call the church (312.787.4570) and your request will be forwarded to someone on the pastoral staff.

Died October 13, 2021

Died October 19, 2021

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