What’s coming up on the church
calendar? Quite a variety of things, including—
- A Cornerstones dinner on Friday, November 1 with a panel presentation by Fourth Church senior high youth (registration is required by Tuesday, October 29)
- A “Keeping Calm during the Holidays” workshop offered by the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being on Saturday, November 2
- A new Sunday morning adult education class—“Philippians: Addressing a Divided Church in a Hostile Culture”—led by Water Hansen beginning Sunday, November 3
- A Grief Group for those who have experienced significant loss, beginning on Monday, November 4
- PhotoYoga with Tom Schemper on Tuesday, November 12
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).
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Reformation Sunday, October 27
8:00 a.m. Communion
Rocky Supinger preaching
9:30 a.m.
Lucy Forster-Smith preaching
11:00 a.m.
Lucy Forster-Smith preaching
4:00 p.m. Jazz Communion
Lucy Forster-Smith preaching
Reformation Sunday
This Sunday is Reformation Sunday, a day when we recall the rich heritage of the Protestant tradition.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) grew out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century under leaders such as John Calvin and John Knox. It was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, the watershed event sparking the Reformation.
Reformation Day is also a day when we remember and give thanks for Reformation leaders and all others who have kept the faith.
“Remembering Our Past, Inspiring Our Future”
Particularly relevant for Reformation Sunday and our celebration of a church reformed and always reforming is the theme of our current six-week sermon series: “Remembering Our Past, Inspiring Our Future.”
This week that series will invite us to look at ways in which our faith is informed and illumined by a healthy, robust life of the mind.
If you missed the first four 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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This Friday evening candles; easy-to-learn songs from various countries, traditions, and languages; and a period of silence will contribute to a time to reflect and open oneself to God at our Taizé service.
We will gather for this service of quiet contemplation on Friday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel.
The service will be preceded by opportunity to walk the labyrinth in Anderson Hall between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.
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Next Sunday, November 3—All Saints’ Sunday—we will remember the faithful who have gone before us and honor departed loved ones.
As part of our observances that day, 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.
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This coming Monday evening we are delighted to be cohosting with Congregation Sinai a presentation by Roots, a nonprofit initiative that builds Jewish-Palestinian relationships as a necessary prerequisite for a future peace settlement.
On Monday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary we will have opportunity to hear firsthand from Shadi Abu Awwad, the Roots Palestinian youth director, and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, one of the founders of Roots.
Come hear their personal, interconnected stories and learn about the groundbreaking work of their Roots initiative, which is fostering a movement of understanding, nonviolence, and transformation among Israelis and Palestinians.
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The following week three notable Chicago religious leaders—Cardinal Blase Cupich, Rabbi Wendi Geffen, and Eboo Patel—will continue our interfaith conversations at a special Michigan Avenue Forum on Tuesday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary.
Cardinal Cupich, Rabbi Geffen, and Eboo Patel will share their own interfaith stories as well, and as they do so, they will explore how each person’s religious tradition motivates him or her to love God and work toward community.
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.
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In just over a week we will present our 2020 Annual Appeal pledges during worship and celebrate the particular ways in which this faith community is committed to actively participating in God’s re-creating and reconciling work in this world.
So in the days ahead please prayerfully consider the investment you will make in the work of Fourth Church and Chicago Lights in 2020 and
make a pledge by Sunday, November 3: Commitment Sunday.
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Might one of the following opportunities fit into your autumn schedule? We could use your help!
- Beginning November 3, Fourth Church will be implementing a permanent churchwide composting program; volunteers are needed for a variety of shifts to help with this effort during Coffee Hours and during Sunday Night Supper
- Individuals to assist in hosting the Presbytery Assembly meeting here at the church on Saturday, November 16 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
- 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.
- Tutors to mentor Chicago Lights Tutoring students one evening a week at the church: We still have several students who are waiting for a tutor for this school year; if you or someone you know can help, you can learn more at www.bit.ly/cltutor2019
Sign up or learn more by contacting
Robert Crouch, Director of Volunteer Ministry.
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A spooktacular Halloween program is on the calendar for this Friday’s free Noonday concert. Come “Watch out for Bats in the Belfry” while keeping your ears alert for “Monsters of the Deep” and “Dancing Spiders”!
Friday, October 25 at 12:10 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
John Sherer, organ
Coming up in November, we will be welcoming a string quartet for next Friday’s Noonday concert, and we have two special choral performances on the calendar as well!
Friday, November 1 at 12:10 p.m.
in Buchanan Chapel
Kontras Quartet #1
Sunday, November 3 at 6:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
The Morning Choir singing
Requiem
by Herbert Howells
Part of the All Saints’ Sunday Service of Remembrance
Friday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
The Fourth Church Choral Society singing
music celebrating 1969
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Births
We give thanks to God for the gift of new life.
Frederick Walter Haley
Child of Julie Heintzelman and Tom Haley
Bella Elizabeth Wiedegreen
Child of Karl and Liz Wiedegreen
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Fourth Presbyterian Church | 312.787.4570 | www.fourthchurch.org
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