What’s coming up on the church
calendar? Quite a variety of things, including—
- A new Sunday morning adult education class—“Philippians: Addressing a Divided Church in a Hostile Culture”—led by Water Hansen beginning Sunday, November 3
- An Inquirers’ Class on November 10 for those interested in learning more about becoming a member of Fourth Church
- Books by Women discussing Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell on Tuesday, November 12
- Also on Tuesday, November 12, PhotoYoga with Tom Schemper
- Caroling on the Sanctuary steps as part of the Tree-Lighting Parade and Michigan Avenue Lighting Festival on Saturday, November 23
- Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, November 28
The calendar, which is easily accessible from the home page of our website, also includes direct links to any online registrations (along with an option to make online payment of any registration fees).
And as we think about schedules, keep in mind that this is also the weekend when we
set our clocks back an hour
and gain an hour of sleep as
Daylight Saving Time comes to an end!
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All Saints’
Sunday, November 3
8:00 a.m. Communion
Lucy Forster-Smith preaching
9:30 a.m.
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
11:00 a.m.
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
4:00 p.m. Jazz Communion
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
6:30 p.m. Communion
Service of Remembrance
with Herbert Howells’
Requiem
Judith L. Watt presiding
This Sunday we conclude our six-week sermon series, “Remembering Our Past, Inspiring Our Future,” with an All Saints’ Sunday focus on “A Firm Foundation.” Join us as we celebrate how decisions in our past have shaped who we are and have given us ways to listen for God’s call anew.
If you missed the first five sermons in the series, you can find them
online.
If you would like to
receive the 9:30/11:00 a.m. sermon in your inbox every week, you can subscribe at
www.bit.ly/fpcsermons
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Today is
All Hallows’ Eve (the day before All Saints’ Day) and the day we celebrate as Reformation Day, a time when we recall the rich heritage of the Protestant tradition.
It was on
All Hallows’ Eve, 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 that Reformation in the sixteenth century under leaders such as John Calvin and the Scotsman John Knox.
Today we remember and give thanks for Reformation leaders and all others who have kept the faith.
As part of our remembrance of our denomination’s Scottish roots, on Reformation Sunday we include a bagpipe recessional during worship, as we did this past Sunday. Our bagpiper for many Fourth Church celebrations over the years, George Sims, played for us for the last time on October 29. We thank him for his stirring contributions to the worship life at Fourth Church and wish him Godspeed as he moves from Chicago and begins his retirement.
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This Sunday we continue our remembrance and gratitude for
the faithful who have gone before us, honoring departed loved ones as we celebrate
All Saints
’
Sunday.
As part of that observance, the names of the following Fourth Church members, who entered the Church Triumphant in the past year, will be read during worship.
Bonnie Ann Barber
Mary Ann Berry
Muriel A. Burnet
John Cairns*
George L. Chiang
John A. Churchill
Larry B. Denison
Charles Grant
Cynthia Hardie
Eunice G. John
Judy Knight
Laurie Leigh
Patricia Lenters
Bernice I. Magnuson
Kathlyn S. Maguire
John E. Marynell
Kathryn Miller
Janice S. Moore
Nancy L. Niemi
Barbara J. Overton
Joann A. Pitcher
Phyllis Running
Paul Rutgers**
Lois K. Schmidt
Dean P. Sundberg
Jacqueline Taylor
Ann Dow Weinberg
Charles J. Wenderoth
Rosemary Withaeger
*Retired Dean of the Academy for Faith for Life
**Member of the Chicago Presbytery
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This Sunday, November 3 as part of our All Saints’ Sunday observances, we will gather for a Requiem Service of Remembrance at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary.
Featuring Herbert Howells’
Requiem, sung by the Morning Choir, the service will also include opportunity to celebrate Communion.
Sunday, November 3
6:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
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On All Saints’ Sunday and on this final Sunday of our “Remembering Our Past, Inspiring Our Future ”sermon series we also recall those who went before us who, in their planned giving, remembered the generations that would follow in ministry here at Fourth Church.
We give thanks for them and their generosity. In turn we also pause to reflect on our own legacy. In doing so, we are invited to join the Fourth Presbyterian Church Legacy Society by remembering this congregation in our will or estate plan.
To learn more about the Legacy Society, please stop by Anderson Hall during Coffee Hour this Sunday or contact
Stuart Barnes Jamieson, our Major Gifts Officer.
If you have already included Fourth Church in your will or estate plans,
please let us know!
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This Sunday is also Commitment Sunday!
Commitment Sunday is the day when we celebrate all that we are able to do together through our generous response to God’s blessings in our lives.
On Sunday we will place our 2020 pledges in the offering plate and dedicate them to the work of God’s kingdom.
During worship this Sunday, if you have already submitted your pledge or made it online, please take a brightly colored “I Pledged!” card from the pew information pad at the end of each pew, fill in your name, and place the card in the offering plate.
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Three notable Chicago religious leaders—
Cardinal Blase Cupich, Rabbi Wendi Geffen, and Eboo Patel—will be with us this coming Tuesday evening for an important interfaith conversation at a special Michigan Avenue Forum in the Sanctuary.
By considering the unique contributions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity to our culture, they will help guide us toward practical ways that we can live and serve together in our city, as we claim a sense of common ground that promotes both civil discourse and faithful living together!
Free copies of Eboo Patel’s book Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise
will be available for the first 100 attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tuesday, November 5
7:00 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
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This past Sunday we commissioned Lois Snavely, whom we are delighted to have with us as a seminary intern during this program year.
Lois is pursuing her Master of Divinity degree at McCormick Theological Seminary, and her internship at Fourth Church provides opportunity for her to work in a congregational setting while being mentored in skills and disciplines of congregational ministry.
A candidate for ordination within the United Church of Christ, Lois is also currently employed full-time as a creative project manager for a tech company. She is also a former professional dancer and has taught movement-based awareness workshops at seminaries and churches.
We look forward to partnering in ministry with Lois in the months ahead. Please give her a warm Fourth Church welcome when you see her around the church!
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If you have been considering joining us for our
music mission trip to Cuba the week of March 2–9, the registration deadline for that trip is coming up on Friday, November 15.
You can read
more about this trip—led by John Sherer and Vicky Curtis and offering opportunity to spend a week with our host congregation, the First Presbyterian Church of Havana—online, where you will also find a link to the online registration.
This week several members of Fourth Church are taking part in a journey cohosted by our Racial Equity Council and CROAR (Chicago Regional Organizing for Antiracism). Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their travels through Alabama and Mississippi on this
civil rights movement insight trip.
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This Sunday we will begin our churchwide composting program, which is being implemented with funding from a Chicago Presbytery grant to establish best practices that we can then share with other congregations
During Coffee Hour look for “Green Apron” volunteers, who will be helping oversee a “station” where compostable items—food scraps, plates and utensils, cups, napkins, wood coffee stir sticks, paper tea and sugar packets, and used tea bags—will be collected in green bins.
The compost we collect will then be carried offsite by an outside vendor and turned into rich soil used to grow nutritious food. By doing so, we will also be reducing greenhouse gas emissions by diverting material from landfills.
As the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s environmental stewardship web page emphasizes, “Together we can live each day in homage to God by living green and sharing our witness with the world.”
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We are in need of volunteers to help with a few projects. Could you help?
- “Green Apron” volunteers to help with our composting program on Sunday mornings and during Sunday Night Supper
- Book Nook volunteers during Sunday morning Coffee Hours
- A Food Pantry assistant to help guests of the Chicago Lights Elam Davies Social Service Center on Tuesdays
- Share Shop assistants to help guests of the Social Service Center who have come to the shop for clothing
- Sunday Night Supper servers: We continue to be short on volunteers to help us with our weekly Sunday Night Supper for those in our community who are hungry
- Fair Trade Bazaar volunteers for various shifts, including setup and takedown, between Friday evening, December 6 and Sunday afternoon, December 8
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ushers
Sign up or learn more by contacting
Robert Crouch, Director of Volunteer Ministry.
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From a concert commemorating events and music of 1969 to a Bach Marathon Finale to a performance marking the fourth anniversary of the dedication of our Andrew Pipe Organ, we’ve got a great month of music for you this November!
Friday, November 1 at 12:10 p.m.
in Buchanan Chapel
Kontras Quartet #1
Friday, November 8 at 12:10 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
Marianne Kim, organ
Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
Chicago Ensemble
Friday, November 15 at 12:10 p.m.
in Buchanan Chapel
Roosevelt University Choirs
Friday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
The Fourth Church Choral Society
in a concert commemorating 1969
Monday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
and the Bach Marathon Finale:
J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos
Friday, November 22 at 12:10 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
John Sherer, organ
Friday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
Nathan Laube, organ
celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Andrew Pipe Organ
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Marriage
We give thanks to God for the gift of life together.
Margaret (Molly) Holland Johnson and Matthew Vincent Rubin
Married October 26, 2019
Death
We give thanks to God for the gift of life eternal.
Kathryn Miller
Died October 21, 2019
A memorial service will be held on Friday, November 1 at 9:00 a.m. at the church
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Fourth Presbyterian Church | 312.787.4570 | www.fourthchurch.org
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