The Fourth Church and Chicago Lights offices will be closed this Friday, June 18 in observance of Juneteenth, which this year falls on a weekend.

On this day that marks the moment in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned they had been emancipated from the evil of slavery—a decision that had been made two-and-a-half years earlier by President Lincoln—we celebrate emancipation. We hold in prayer all the lives through all the generations affected by the atrocities of slavery. And we recommit ourselves to the work of anti-racism and, in the words of our mission statement, “ministries of healing, reconciliation, and justice,” so that all of God’s children might flourish.

This Sunday, June 20 we move to our summer worship schedule, with morning worship beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The worship bulletin will be available to download and print on Friday

Streamed from the Sanctuary at www.bit.ly/FPCworship

in Buchanan Chapel

The worship bulletin will be available to download and print on Friday

This Sunday we will continue our sermon series on Jeremiah, “A Prophet of Loss and Hope,” with a focus this week on Jeremiah

For those who have grown accustomed to worshiping online at 11:00, the service will also be available online at 11:00 (and 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.

Beginning this Sunday, June 20 we are offering two in-person worship services each Sunday as we gradually reopen our campus this summer.

4:00 p.m. Jazz at Four service

There will be no capacity limits, and preregistration is no longer necessary.

Masks and social distancing will be required for those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. For those who have received the COVID vaccine, the wearing of masks is optional.

The front section of the Sanctuary will be for those required to or choosing to wear masks, with socially distant seating by households. The remainder of the Sanctuary will be open seating, with masks optional.

We will not be checking vaccination status, but by coming on site you will certify that (a) you do not currently have COVID-19; (b) you are not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms; (c) you have no reason to quarantine, and (d) you will wear a mask and practice social distancing if you are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Doors will open a half hour before each service.

Access will be by Michigan Avenue doors only for the morning service and by the Delaware doors to the Gratz Center only for the Jazz at Four service.

Nursery care and child care will not be available; Sunday School will continue to be held online.

There will be no congregational singing, though worshipers are invited to hum along during the hymns if they like.

We will continue to livestream our morning worship service via our website, YouTube, and Facebook Live, though the time will change to 10:00 a.m. beginning this Sunday.

For those who have grown accustomed to watching worship at 11:00, the service will also be available online at 11:00 (and any time afterwards) on YouTube for those who prefer to watch it at a different time.

You can read more about the guidelines that will be in place for in-person worship as well as information about continued online opportunities at www.fourthchurch.org/reopening

You are invited to “Embracing Racial Equity: A Congregational Conversation” this Tuesday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom.

During our time together, members of Session will talk about our ongoing work in support of the Strategic Direction to ”Embrace Racial Equity: Fourth Church will purposely include all people, striving for radical hospitality and modeling an anti-racist approach in all areas.”

The evening will include time to ask questions and engage in small group discussion.

6:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, register at www.bit.ly/racialequity0622

Those graduating from eighth grade, high school, college, or a graduate or professional program in 2021 are asked to send their names to Katie Patterson no later than this Sunday, June 20.

Graduate names received by June 20 will appear in the worship bulletin next Sunday, June 27, which is Baccalaureate Sunday.

During this season when we have not been able to have our choirs join together in person in joyful song, we are grateful for all the musicians who have served as soloists in worship or participated in the creation of virtual anthems.

While the YouTube recording of our June 13 service includes this anthem—the Introit “Sing to the Lord” by members of our Children’s and Youth Choirs—it unfortunately was left out of the service that was streamed on Sunday morning. If you were watching with us then, we didn’t want you to miss it!

This past Sunday we commissioned seven new Stephen Ministers:

Kat Evans

Vivien Lee

Kelley Lynch

Roel Mason-Vivit

Arlene Raine

Paul Urbanick

Deborah Zak

We are grateful to all the Stephen Ministers for their commitment of time and compassion and for the ongoing listening presence and spiritual support they provide. Please hold them, their care receivers, and this ministry in your prayers.

If you are interested in meeting with a Stephen Minister or know someone experiencing life challenges who would benefit from such a caring, confidential relationship, please leave a message on the Stephen Ministry confidential voicemail at 312.573.3365

Together with interfaith partners we are planning a trip to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan for a year from now, June 2022.

Registration is open through this September 1, 2021, for those interested in joining us for “Peace and Compassion: A Music and Travel Seminar Trip to the Middle East,” an opportunity to share the gift of music, to learn about daily life in the Middle East, and to build community among ourselves and all we encounter.

To register or to learn more about fees, travel arrangements, and other logistics, contact John Sherer or Nanette Sawyer.

Each Wednesday we continue to share a new “Rhythm and Word: Midweek Music and Prayer” video, an opportunity to pause for fifteen minutes to immerse ourselves in bringing together the sacred and everyday life.

If you would like us to email you the “Rhythm and Word” videos each week, simply add your email address to our list at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail

Fourth Church Meals Ministry is looking for volunteers to help with Saturday breakfast to-go, weekday Bag Lunch program, Sunday Night Supper, and Monday Night Supper.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of these opportunities, please let us know via VOMO, our Volunteer Ministry sign-up platform.

On the church calendar are many opportunities to connect online 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).

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