Our Advent journey ends this week with our arrival at the manger, where we behold the Word made flesh, the light that shines in the darkness.

We hope you will join us—whether online or in person—as we gather around the telling of the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, and sing again the joyous songs of Christmas!

Online only, streamed at www.fourthchurch.org

For all three in-person services on Christmas Eve entry will be via the glass Loggia doors on Michigan Avenue only.

Discounted Christmas Eve parking will be available at 900 N. Michigan (access from Rush or Walton) at the rate of $9 for those entering the garage after 5:00 p.m. Validation tickets for the garage must be picked up from an usher that day.

In person only; seating will begin at 5:15 p.m.

All seating will be socially distanced by families (see the note below)

In person and livestreamed at www.fourthchurch.org

No socially distanced seating

In person only

No socially distanced seating

We invite those who prefer socially distanced seating to worship with us at 6:00 p.m.

Please note that the socially-distanced-only seating at that service will significantly limit the capacity in the Sanctuary to approximately 200 people at the 6:00 service, and once that capacity is reached, Buchanan Chapel and Borwell Dining Room will be opened for additional socially distanced seating. There will not be reserved seating or reservations for the services. Nursery care will not be available at any of the services.

Also, for health reasons, at all three in-person services on Christmas Eve we will be using battery-operated tea lights rather than lit candles during “Silent Night” so that worshipers do not have to blow out candles.

10:00 a.m.

In person only

As with Sunday mornings, on Christmas Day there will be a socially-distanced section at the front of the Sanctuary.

Discounted parking on Christmas Day will be available at 900 N. Michigan with a validation ticket purchased at the church that morning for $20 (cash or check only).

Those who would like an online worship opportunity on Christmas Day are invited to watch the online Christmas Day service from last year or the Christmas Eve service, which will be available for viewing at www.fourthchurch.org

Our two streamed Christmas Eve services (4:00 and 8:00 p.m.) will be available as our Sunday morning services are, via

You will also be able to find the links on our website at www.fourthchurch.org

For those who do not have Internet access, the 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. Christmas Eve services will be 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.

If these worship times do not fit with your schedule, the services will also be available to watch via our worship channel and our YouTube channel at any time afterwards.

As we prepare to receive the gift in the manger, we in turn seek to share Christmas joy with those in need.

Throughout the Christmas season we are receiving the annual “Light Up a Life” offering, which extends mercy, kindness, and love to those who are most vulnerable.

Gifts to this offering support the mission and outreach efforts of Fourth Church and Chicago Lights as they provide hot meals, clothing, encouragement, and extra support.

Gifts can be made to this offering by noting “Light Up a Life” in the comments section when giving via the Fourth Church website (fourthchurch org/give-online) or Venmo or on the memo line of a check made payable to Fourth Presbyterian Church.

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

In person and streamed from the Sanctuary at www.bit.ly/FPCworship

in Buchanan Chapel

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

(There will be no New Year’s Eve Taizé service this year. We instead invite those who are interested in a time of prayer and reflection at the turning of the year to watch our online service from December 31, 2020: www.bit.ly/newyearstaize2020)

As we look to the new year, we hope you will make time in your schedule to join us for our education and enrichment opportunities.

Our monthly First Tuesday Book Club conversations are dedicated to examining the ethical and social issues facing Christians today, offering a forum for thinking Christians and others to wrestle with the complexities of living as faithful people in today's confusing world.

Next up on the reading list, for discussion in January is On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman Jr.

Nearly everyone knows someone on the autism spectrum, whether it’s a child, teenager, or an adult. One in 54 children has autism, according to the CDC, and autism is reported across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.

On the Spectrum debunks myths with a realistic yet hope-filled deep dive into the heart, mind, and life of a Christian with an autism diagnosis: author Daniel Bowman. In his captivating book, Bowman reveals new insights into autism, relationships, faith, and the gift of neurodiversity.

7:00 p.m.

via Zoom

In January the Adult Education Committee will be hosting a four-week class, “The 1619 Project,” discussing the acclaimed New York Times series on slavery’s continuing legacy of injustice and inequality.

Our guest speakers will lead us through conversation about the history of slavery; cultural and religious practices brought to America from Africa; the history of the Great Migration in Chicago; the 1919 race riot and its origins; and present-day socioeconomic struggles in America’s and Chicago’s Black community.

We hope you will plan to join us and our speakers—

Attendees are encouraged to read the 1619 Project essays, available at pulitzercenter.org/1619

11:15 a.m.

in Buchanan Chapel

Register at www.bit.ly/1619class

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.

Wearing masks is required of everyone on the Fourth Church campus. On Sunday mornings the front section of the Sanctuary is for those required to or choosing to practice social distancing. Since everyone is fully masked throughout the service, the congregation is invited to sing.

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.

To read about all of the guidelines that are in place for in-person worship, see 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 livestreamed 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.

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).

Please note that the church offices will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, December 27 and 28 and on Friday, December 31.

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