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

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

Over the lunch hour this Friday enjoy Christmas music from our Andrew Pipe Organ when organist John Sherer plays this week’s Noonday Concert.

12:10 p.m.

In the Sanctuary and livestreamed

The annual tradition of celebrating Christmas with Tower Brass continues this year, with their concert this Saturday, December 18.

Join us at 5:00 p.m. that day—whether in person or online—for the festive sounds of the season!

5:00 p.m.

In the Sanctuary and livestreamed

The concerts will be livestreamed at both www.bit.ly/fpcprograms and YouTube (www.bit.ly/fpcvideos)

For many, the celebration of Christmas is made difficult by feelings of loneliness, grief, alienation, and sadness, whether personal or collective.

Our “Longest Night” service, which will be hosted by our Stephen Ministers this coming Tuesday evening, December 21, recognizes and makes space for these feelings and challenges.

6:30 p.m.

Buchanan Chapel (in person only)

In this season that invites us to set aside time for prayer and reflection, we offer these resources for your Advent journey.

On Wednesdays we gather at 9:30 a.m. for Morning Prayer via Zoom.

This coming Wednesday, December 22 we are also offering an in-person time of Morning Prayer at 10:00 a.m. in Buchanan Chapel (masks required; enter at 126 E. Chestnut).

Prior to in-person Morning Prayer, the Buchanan Chapel labyrinth will be open for walking this coming Wednesday, December 22 between 9:00 and 9:45 a.m. (masks required; enter at 126 E. Chestnut).

For Morning Prayer Zoom details or information about walking the labyrinth or in-person Morning Prayer, email Rocky Supinger.

Following worship on Sunday mornings the Deacons are praying in Stone Chapel with individuals who would like to offer prayers of praise or concern. The Deacons are available for this time of prayer immediately following the 10:00 a.m. service.

Our Advent devotions—which are written by Fourth Church members and staff—offer a resource for our meditative journey.

To receive the devotions daily by email, sign up online at www.bit.ly/fpcdevotions.

Advent “Rhythm and Word”

Each week of Advent our “Rhythm and Word” videos explore—in word and music—the songs of scripture and the drumbeat of hope, joy, peace, and love that is at the center of the Christian story.

If you have not yet had opportunity to view this week’s video on our YouTube channel (www.bit.ly/fpcvideos) we invite you to find some time to pause in the coming days for these few moments of spiritual reflection.

Our Christmas worship this year will include a variety of in-person and online services.

Online only, streamed at www.fourthchurch.org

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.

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

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.

In this season we invite you to join us in sharing Christmas joy with those in need.

Throughout this season of giving we are also 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.

In February 2020 Dave Handley rejoined our clergy staff as Interim Minister for Caring Ministries, having first served this congregation as Associate Pastor from 1973 to 1981. This second time on the Fourth Church staff has been but one in a variety of interim pastor roles that Dave has taken on in the years since retiring as Pastor and Head of Staff at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston.

Now it is time to once again thank Dave for his ministry among us and wish him Godspeed in his next ventures: this past Friday Session approved a request from Dave and the Personnel Committee that his term as Interim Minister conclude on January 9, 2022.

We are deeply grateful for Dave and all that he has brought to Fourth Church caring ministries and spiritual formation and to his role in worship leadership! We invite you to join us in expressing that gratitude to Dave during fellowship time following worship on Sunday, January 9. (If you will not be with us in person, we encourage you to email your well wishes to him.)

As we look to the new year, the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) is busily reviewing applications and interviewing candidates for the Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation position. While they continue their work, Jeff Doane—who for several years has been our part-time Parish Associate for Older Adults—will take on staff leadership responsibilities for Stephen Ministry and the Board of Deacons, and our clergy staff will continue to work with spiritual formation and provide pastoral care to those in need in our congregation

Please join us in holding in prayer the APNC and all of our caring ministries this season!

This Sunday Don Allerton will lead a tour of our sanctuary and the campus in the concluding session of our two-week class explaining the architectural aspects of Fourth Church’s present building.

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Register at www.bit.ly/fpcarchitecture21

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

“Top Ten Dates to Know from Biblical History” is the topic of discussion for Matt Helms and Rocky Supinger in this week’s episode of their Bible Top Ten podcast.

You can find this lively, often lighthearted, always interesting podcast about the Bible at www.fourthchurch.org/podcast.

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 on November 30

Wearing masks is required of everyone on the Fourth Church campus. 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 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.

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