While we will not be gathering for a time of worship at the turning of the year, we offer for your reflection on New Year’s Eve our 2020 online New Year’s Eve service in the style of Taizé.
This quiet service offers moving music, time for prayer, and meditative pause for reflecting on the year past and looking ahead to the year to come.
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For those who have inquired about how to have year-end gifts to Fourth Church and Chicago Lights applied to our 2021 budgets and credited to your 2021 giving statement—
- Gifts must be charged to your credit card by midnight on December 31
- Or, if they are mailed, they must be postmarked with a date no later than December 31, 2021
- If dropped off at the church, they must be dropped off on Thursday, December 30 by 5:00 p.m. (as the church offices are closed on Friday, December 31 for the New Year’s holiday)
—in order to appear on your 2021 statement of giving.
Credit card gifts can be made online via the Fourth Church website ( www.fourthchurch.org; click on the “To Make a Gift” button at the top left). Gifts can also be made using Venmo (@Fourth-Church).
Gifts by mail should be sent to
Resource Development
Fourth Presbyterian Church
126 E. Chestnut St.
Chicago, IL 60611.2014
If you have any questions about year-end giving or if you would like information about making gifts through stock transfers or required distributions from one’s IRA or prepaying one’s 2022 pledge, please be in touch with our Resource Development team at 312.981.3380 or Katy Bever at kbever@fourthchurch.org. |
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Second Sunday after Christmas, January 2
10:00 a.m. worship in person and online
9:45 a.m. prelude
Nanette Sawyer preaching
4:00 p.m. Jazz at Four worship in person
with Communion
in Buchanan Chapel
Nanette Sawyer preaching
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In these days of Christmas we invite you to pause for Christmas “Rhythm and Word,” a seventeen-minute video of music, scripture, and prayer for the season.
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“Rhythm and Word” will be taking a break in January; watch for new “Rhythm and Word” videos in February! |
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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.
First Tuesday Book Club
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 on January 4—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.
Tuesday, January 4
7:00 p.m.
via Zoom
“The 1619 Project”
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—
- Joseph L. Morrow, Associate Pastor for Evangelism and Community Engagement
- Natalie Moore, WBEZ journalist and author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation
- David Daniels III, Professor of Church History, McCormick Theological Seminary
- Bradford Hunt, Chair of the Department of History, Loyola University
Sundays, January 9–30
11:15 a.m.
in Buchanan Chapel
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Next Sunday, January 9 will be David Handley’s last Sunday with us as Interim Minister for Caring Ministries. That morning we will take time to thank Dave for all he has done in his ministry among us and wish him Godspeed in his next ventures.
Following morning worship on January 9 there will be opportunity for you to join us in expressing that gratitude during fellowship time. For those who will not be with us in person, we encourage you to email your well wishes to Dave.
The Associate Pastor Nominating Committee—which is charged with identifying and recommending a candidate for the Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation position—continues their work.
While they do, 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.
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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.
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More about Worship . . .
In-Person Guidelines
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.
Worshiping with Us Online
Our Sunday morning worship service is livestreamed at 10:00 a.m. (Central) via
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.
Throughout the Week
Our Sunday services are available for viewing following the conclusion of worship and throughout the week at www.bit.ly/fpcvideos.
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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—
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Morning Prayer via Zoom on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m.; contact Rocky Supinger for details
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Morning Prayer in person in Buchanan Chapel on January Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.
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Opportunity to walk the labyrinth in Buchanan Chapel on January Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.
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Books by Women discussing Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers on Wednesday, January 11
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 Friday, December 31.
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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
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