Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18

10:00 a.m. worship in person and online

Homily by Shannon J. Kershner

Christmas Cantata by the Morning Choir and Tower Brass: Gloria by John Rutter

The worship bulletin is available to download and print

In person and streamed from the Sanctuary on our YouTube channel: www.bit.ly/fpcvideos

Audio available by phone (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166

Livestreamed worship services and concerts are accessible by going to www.bit.ly/fpcvideos, subscribing to our YouTube channel, or clicking on the photo with a “Play” arrow on the home page of the Fourth Church website.

Nursery care is available this Sunday at 9:45 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Gratz Center.

4:00 p.m. Jazz at Four worship in person

with Communion

in Buchanan Chapel

Rocky Supinger preaching

The worship bulletin is available to download and print

The sounds of music continue to fill Fourth Church this season. If you are looking for a musical treat to add to your holiday celebrations, you can find a variety of in-person opportunities on our concert calendar—including today’s “Christmas with Tower Brass,” an annual favorite!

Christmas with Tower Brass

Saturday, December 17

5:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

A family-friendly Christmas concert including seasonal favorites from classics to jazz and a carol sing-along

No tickets required; suggested donation of $20 at the door

Also livestreamed on our YouTube channel

Christmas Cantata: Gloria by John Rutter

performed by the Morning Choir and Tower Brass

Sunday, December 18

10:00 a.m. worship service in the Sanctuary

Also livestreamed on our YouTube channel

Sounds Good! Choirs Winter Concert

Tuesday, December 20

2:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

A program by the Chicago area’s largest and fastest-growing choral organization for older adults

A complete concert schedule, including free Friday Noonday Concerts

As you look for holiday gifts this year, the World Mission and Social Justice Council encourages you to shop with Ten Thousand Villages Evanston, our longtime fair-trade partner, and be part of the “global maker-to-market movement that breaks the cycle of generational poverty and ignites social change.”

Every purchase we make of a fair-trade gift has a ripple effect of benefits.

Artisans produce their products in safe working conditions and earn a fair wage for their labor, which enables them to provide food, shelter, education, and health care for their families.

The environment is sustainably treated through healthy soil practices and the minimal use of chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

And we, the consumers, make a conscious choice to be part of a community striving for a more just world.

Ten Thousand Villages Evanston has a store at 915 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, where you can browse the constantly changing inventory of unique home decor, jewelry and personal accessories, apparel, musical instruments, greeting cards, soaps, coffee, chocolate, baking mixes, and much more!

You can also visit www.tenthousandvillages.com/evanston online to shop for a difference from home.

This year consider giving gifts that give twice: to the recipient and to the maker and their family. And perhaps you will find some treats for yourself — your coffee cup, your clothes closet, your holiday table, and more — as well!

Fourth Church member Gretchen Wahl recently visited our partner church, the First Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Havana, Cuba. She also attended the Encuentro, a meeting of Cuban and US Presbyterian church leaders at the seminary in Matanzas, Cuba.

This Sunday morning Gretchen will be sharing findings from her trip and updates on our church friends and partners in Havana.

We will also discuss future partnership activities, including a trip to Havana in 2023.

Sunday, December 18

9:00 a.m. in Room 5E

in person and via Zoom

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 Wednesday evening, December 21, recognizes and makes space for these feelings and challenges.

Those who would appreciate a time of reflection prior to the service are invited to walk the labyrinth in Anderson Hall. Spiritual Formation Council hosts will be on hand to offer guidance. 

Wednesday, December 21

Labyrinth Walk

5:30–6:30 p.m.

Anderson Hall

“Longest Night” Service

6:30 p.m.

Buchanan Chapel (in person only)

Christmas Eve | Saturday, December 24

Four Candlelit Christmas Eve Services

Christmas Eve Children’s Pageant

4:00 p.m.

In person only

Christmas Eve Family Service

6:00 p.m.

In person only

Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols

8:00 p.m.

In person and livestreamed on our YouTube channel

Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols

10:00 p.m.

In person only

On Christmas Eve, all entry to the Sanctuary for worship will be through the glass Loggia doors on Michigan Avenue.

Seating will begin at 3:15 p.m. for the Pageant; seating for the other three services will begin a half hour prior to the start of the service.

There will not be any socially distanced seating on Christmas Eve; the regular Sunday morning socially distanced section will be available on Christmas morning. Masks are always welcome!

Discounted parking on Christmas Eve is available only at the 900 N. Michigan garage. Those who enter the garage on Christmas Eve prior to 5:00 p.m. will need to purchase a parking validation ticket at the church that day for $20. Those who enter the garage after 5:00 p.m. will be able to park for $8 with a validation ticket that can be picked up for free that day before or after the services.

On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day there will not be nursery care. On those days, as on every Sunday, children are invited to be with their parents in worship.

Christmas Day | Sunday, December 25

Christmas Day Service

10:00 a.m.

In person and livestreamed on our YouTube channel

Socially distanced seating will be available at the front of the Sanctuary as it is each Sunday.

The Jazz at Four afternoon service will not be held on December 25 or January 1 but will return on Sunday, January 8.

To watch the most recent video in our weekly Advent “Rhythm and Word” series, click here (or on the image below).

Also available as a resource for personal meditation and prayer are Advent and Christmas devotions written by Fourth Church members and staff.

To receive the devotions daily by email sign up at www.bit.ly/fpcdevotions; you can also read them online on our website.

In this season of gratitude and giving, we invite you to join us in sharing Christmas joy with others.

Christmas Wishes

Women at Fourth continues to receive monetary contributions for our Christmas Wishes project to provide gifts for Chicago Lights Tutoring students.

These funds will be used to purchase a book for each student.

Gifts can be made online at fourthchurch.org/give or by writing a check payable to Fourth Presbyterian Church with “Christmas Wishes” designated in the memo line.

Light Up a Life

The annual “Light Up a Life” offering 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 meals, clothing, encouragement, and extra support.

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

Gifts can also be made using the “Light Up a Life” envelopes in the Sanctuary on Sundays.

At the turning of the year we will come together with neighbors for our annual New Year’s Eve service in the style of Taizé.

This quiet 7:30 p.m. service in Buchanan Chapel offers moving music, space for prayer, and meditative pause for reflecting on the year past and looking ahead to the year to come.

New Year’s Eve

Saturday, December 31

7:30 p.m.

in Buchanan Chapel (in person only)