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

For those choosing to worship with us in person, wearing masks fully covering nose and mouth is required of everyone on the Fourth Church campus, regardless of vaccination status. 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. The remainder of the Sanctuary is open seating, with masks required wherever one sits.

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.

Doors open a half hour before each service, and there is no congregational singing.

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.

The Nominating Committee would appreciate your help identifying candidates for positions opening in 2022 for Elder, Deacon, Trustee, and Nominating Committee as well as the Chicago Lights Board.

Please take a moment in the coming days to think of Fourth Church members who have demonstrated gifts for leadership and a commitment to the life and ministry of this congregation.

Then add their names—self-nominations are welcome!—to the Leadership Candidate Form online at www.bit.ly/nominating2022.

“Embrace Racial Equity” is one of our congregation’s five strategic directions. It embodies the commitment that “Fourth Church will purposely include all people, striving for radical hospitality and modeling an antiracist approach in all areas.”

Serving as a catalyst in our intentional pursuit of racial equity is our Racial Equity Council (REC), a standing council of the Session.

As part of their work, this July the REC welcomed the following individuals to the council:

Samantha Borow (Deacon)

Jenny Giblin (Elder)

Anthony Hipp (Elder)

Jerry Johnson (Elder)

Cynthia Joho

Janet Love

Justin Myers (Deacon)

Melanie Oh Pierce (Elder)

Deb Ramsey

Kent Stevens (Elder)

Marcus Mason-Vivit (Chicago Lights Board member)

We are grateful to these individuals for their willingness to serve a three-year term with the REC.

They join continuing council members

Esmeraldino Celestino (Deacon)

Linda Crane

Nedra Sims Fears

Lisa Garay (Elder)

Michelle Hayes (Deacon)

Cynthia Johnson (Elder)

Maggie McGuire

and council staff liaisons

Robert Crouch

Nanette Sawyer

For their commitment and contributions to the work of the REC, we also extend our gratitude to

Deb Ford

Sandra Glenn

Steve Stanley

who rolled off the REC this summer.

Thank you to all!

Fourth Church and our interfaith partners have planned “Peace and Compassion: A Music and Travel Seminar Trip to the Middle East” for June 2022.

Those interested in joining these travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories are asked to register online by September 1, 2021, at www.bit.ly/mideast2022

Or to learn more about fees, travel arrangements, and other logistics, contact John Sherer.

This Friday our weekly Music by the Fountain outdoor concert series continues with drummer Juan Pastor performing at 12:10 p.m. in the Michigan Avenue courtyard.

You are invited to join us in person for these Friday performances or, if you prefer to enjoy our concerts online, to watch the summer 2020 performance by Juan and his fellow jazz musicians (as we are not livestreaming the outdoor concerts).

The Chicago Lights Social Service Center is again receiving donations of clean, gently used adult shoes and clothing.

Particularly needed are men’s laced shoes in sizes 7-1/2 and up that are good for walking as well as clothing items in sizes L, XL, XXL, and XXXL. (We are not accepting children’s clothing, household supplies, or used underwear or used socks at this time.)

Donations can be dropped off inside the entrance at 126 E. Chestnut on Sundays through Fridays (not Saturdays) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Please do not leave any donations on the church steps. Upon arrival, simply ring the receptionist bell to be buzzed in and directed to where to leave the donations. Masks are required while on campus.

The annual School Supply Drive hosted by Women at Fourth continues to collect supplies (via Amazon wish list) for students participating in Chicago Light’s Urban Farm programming. For a link to the wish list, see the Fourth Church website: www.fourthchurch.org/women/schoolsupplydrive.html or email Simon Crow for information.

You can also make a monetary contribution to be used for the purchase of school supply items (designate School Supply Drive). Gifts can be given by check or on our website: www.fourthchurch.org/give-online

Another way to support the Chicago Lights Urban Farm and its youth is by stopping by their Farmstand on Friday afternoons for fresh produce.

Each purchase supports Chicago Lights job-training programs, as students and young adults gain job skills through urban farming.

1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

at the Chicago Lights Urban Farm

444 W. Chicago Ave.

Looking ahead to a new school year, the Fourth Church Day School has openings in its Together We Play program (for those 12–30 months) as well as its preschool classes for those ages 2–5.

If you’d like to know more about the learning and growing opportunities at our Day School, please let Director Kathy Hager know!

For one-to-one spiritual and emotional support through difficult times, be it death, loss, illness, financial insecurity, pandemic fatigue, or other life challenges, we encourage you to consider being paired with one of our congregation’s trained and caring Stephen Ministers.

To request a match with a Stephen Minister or to learn more about this opportunity, contact David Handley, Interim Minister for Caring Ministries, or leave a confidential message for a Stephen Minister at 312.573.3365.

If you are looking for healthy ways to cope with stresses or anxiety, frustration or anger, uncertainty or grief, the staff of our Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being is also available to offer suggestions and support through phone appointments or teletherapy, whether for just a few sessions or on an ongoing basis.

To set up a time to talk or for more information about how the Center can be a resource for you, call the Center at 312.787.2729, ext. 2260.

Additionally, 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.

Married July 31, 2021

Died July 23, 2021

On the church calendar are many opportunities to connect online 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).

If you know someone who would like to receive email 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