Fourth Sunday of Epiphany, January 28

9:30 a.m. worship in person and online

Tom Are Jr. preaching

Worship bulletin

11:00 a.m. worship in person

Tom Are Jr. preaching

Worship bulletin

2:00 p.m. worship in person and online

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

Nancy Benson-Nicol preaching

Worship bulletin

We were delighted to welcome as our guest preacher at the January 21 Gathering the Reverend Izett Sama Hernandez, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Los Palos (and former moderator of the Presbytery of Havana) as well as the Executive Coordinator of the Martin Luther King Center in Havana.

This Sunday, January 28 at the 9:30 a.m. service, we will commission Robert Crouch to begin service as a Stephen Leader in our congregation. Stephen Leaders bring their gifts for leadership, vision, wisdom, administration, discernment, and teaching to select and equip those who will be Stephen Ministers — lay Christian caregivers — in our congregation.

Please join us as we pray for and show our support for this caring ministry and these people whom God has called and equipped for this important role. Following worship on January 28, Stephen Ministers will host a special Coffee Hour in Anderson Hall, providing opportunity to learn more about the work of Stephen Ministry in our congregation. 

For those looking for one-to-one spiritual and emotional support through life challenges, you can also learn more about being paired with a Stephen Minister by contacting Nancy Benson-Nicol, Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation, or leaving a confidential message for a Stephen Minister at 312.573.3365.

After many months of work, the Long Range Planning Task Force is excited to share the proposed strategic directions and goals with the congregation.

Please plan to join them at one of the remaining sessions (listed below), where the task force will invite your feedback to the proposed strategic directions and goals.

To ensure everyone has a chance to participate, we are requiring preregistration to manage group sizes and we ask that you sign up for only one of the sessions. (All sessions will present the same material.)

We also encourage you to read the summary materials in advance.

Sunday, January 28 

12:30 p.m. in person

Borwell Dining Room

Register

Sunday, February 4

12:30 p.m. in person

Borwell Dining Room

Register

The previously published January 30 Zoom session is now closed, as it is at capacity. If you are unable to join us in person, please email the task force your questions, ideas, or reactions to the proposed directions and goals found in the summary materials.

We look forward to your participation, as your continued input is essential to the long-range planning process!

Youth and adults gathered this past Sunday to share their “I like…,” “I wish…,” and “I wonder…” statements during a long-range planning feedback session.

“The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Future of American Democracy”

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 31 and plan to join us that evening when we are honored to welcome Robert P. Jones, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, as the speaker at our next Michigan Avenue Forum.

In a presentation moderated by Fourth Church member Cynthia Johnson, Mr. Jones will explain how the founders of the United States could build the philosophical framework for a democratic society on a foundation of mass racial violence — and why this paradox survives today in the form of white Christian nationalism.

Through stories of people navigating these contradictions in three communities, Jones illuminates the possibility of a new American future in which we finally fulfill the promise of a pluralistic democracy.

Robert P. Jones, president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for the Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is also the author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity and The End of White Christian America. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University and an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Wednesday, January 31 

6:30 p.m. 

Sanctuary and livestreamed

5:30 p.m. Book Signing in the Commons

Pilgrimage is a spiritual practice that spans many faith traditions, one that can be a source of healing, a tool for discernment, and a foundation for spiritual renewal.

This June 9–17 we are excited to offer opportunity to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain, one of Christianity’s oldest and most popular pilgrimage routes, as part of an intergenerational group of members and friends of Fourth Church.

For six days, we will walk a portion of the Camino Portuguese, a relatively level route that can accommodate walkers with a wide range of experience and ability. Each day we will walk between eight to seventeen miles, stopping when necessary for rest, meals, and sightseeing and staying at simple but comfortable hostels or bed-and-breakfasts.

We will also have opportunities for excursions, worship at local churches, and daily time for devotion and reflection. Our destination will be the city of Santiago de Compostela, the legendary resting place of the apostle James the Elder.

Registration for this trip will be due Wednesday, February 14. If you are interested in learning more about this trip, attend an information session this Sunday or contact Associate Pastor Joe Morrow.

Sunday, January 28

12:00 p.m.

Room 5F

To let us know you will be attending this session, register here

This Sunday we will begin a three-week Adult Education class that will continue the discussion started at the November 2 Michigan Avenue Forum about our role in combatting antisemitism.

Topics will include the scriptures used as the justification for antisemitism, the historical roots of antisemitism, and the rise of antisemitism today.

Our presenter this week will be Rabbi Michael Weinberg of Chicago Sinai Congregation.

He will be followed next week by Dr. Robert Cathey, Professor Emeritus, McCormick Theological Seminary, and by Joe Grant, Organizer at Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, on February 11.

Sundays, January 28 – February 11

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room and via Zoom

For Zoom details, register here

Zoom Small Groups are starting again!

Following on Robert P. Jones’ presentation at the January 31 Michigan Avenue Forum, the first Zoom Small Group of 2024 will discuss Jones’ book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy.

Additional groups on a variety of topics will start after Easter.

If you are interested in being part of a group of six to ten people meeting for four to six weeks via Zoom to explore a topic together and connect with others, please let Simon Crow know.

Zoom Small Groups are but one of the many ways to connect with others through Fourth Church. Some of the upcoming fellowship opportunities include —

LGBTQIA+ Widen Our Welcome

The January gathering of LGBTQIA+ Widen Our Welcome (WOW) will include pizza, fellowship, and a movie: State of Pride.

In this film, made fifty years after the Stonewall uprising, Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and host Raymond Braun travel to three diverse communities — Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama — for an unflinching look at LGBTQ Pride from the perspective of a younger generation.

Sunday, January 28

12:15 p.m.

Bumpus Room

Cornerstones

“A Discussion of Microaggressions: ‘Do You Hear What You’re Saying?’” will be the topic of the February gathering of Cornerstones, a fellowship group for those fifty and over.

Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional, interactions or behaviors that communicate a bias toward historically marginalized groups, and people who commit microaggressions may not actually be aware of what they are doing.

Robert Crouch, Director of Fourth Church Volunteer Ministry, and Regan Burke, Member of Fourth Church Racial Equity Council, will share examples of everyday microaggressions. They will also offer recommendations to help us each be more aware of our biases and their impact on others.  

Friday, February 2

5:30 p.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Registration required

Books by Women

For more than thirty years Books by Women has met monthly to discuss classic and contemporary works by women authors. Participants join the conversation when their schedule allows and the book is of interest to them.

In February the topic of discussion will be West with Giraffes: A Novel by Lynda Rutledge.

Tuesday, February 13

6:00 p.m.

Bumpus Room

Another way to connect with others in 2024, to live out your faith, and to make a difference in the community, is through volunteering.

It’s volunteers who assembled and distributed the Holiday Gift Bags for our Meals Ministry guests last month.

To all the volunteers and all who contributed the items that filled the bags, a very big thank you!

It’s volunteers who prepared and served a holiday dinner at Monday Night Supper...

...and volunteers who served a special Christmas Eve lunch for our Sunday Night Supper guests.

We also filled Christmas Wishes for Chicago Lights Tutoring students thanks to the generous contributions of many of you and the time and commitment of Women at Fourth volunteers gathering and packaging the gifts.

Women at Fourth also joined with our refugee team volunteers to host a baby shower for Flora and Paul, a refugee family originally from the Ivory Coast and Cameroon with whom we have been in partnership for the past year.

Curious to learn about the variety of volunteer opportunities in which you might get involved this year? You can find information on Vomo, our volunteer management software. Why not give one a try this year?

And if you are already participating in one, why not invite a friend to join you!

The annual Chicago Lights Gala of Hope will be held on Friday evening, March 1, beginning at 6:00 p.m., this year at a new location: The Old Post Office!

This annual event supports the life-changing work of Chicago Lights, the nonprofit community outreach arm of Fourth Church, which includes the Tutoring and Summer Day, Urban Farm, and Social Service Center programs.

To reserve tickets or become an event sponsor, visit one.bidpal.net/galaofhope2024 or stop by Coffee Hour this Sunday.

For more information, contact Caryn Blomquist.

Friday, March 1, 2024

6:00 p.m.

at the Old Post Office (433 W. Van Buren)

RSVP by February 24

Fourth Church is headed to Florida in less than two weeks!

If you live in or are traveling to the Ft. Lauderdale or Naples regions in early February, please plan to join Tom Are as well as other Fourth Church members and friends for a gathering.

To learn more about Florida events planned for February 6–8, email Shawn Fiedler.

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation, at which we will elect new officers, will be held in person and via Zoom at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, February 11.

The Zoom link will be posted on our website closer to the date of the meeting. The recommended slate of officers that will be presented by the Nominating Committee will also be posted on our website prior to the meeting.

Immediately following the 11:00 service, while we set up for the 12:15 p.m. meeting, we will enjoy a time of singing favorite hymns. Would you like to suggest a hymn for the hymn sing? Email your recommendation to info@fourthchurch.org, and we’ll add it to the list of possibilities!

Sunday, February 11

12:15 p.m.

in the Sanctuary and via Zoom

February 11 will be a big day at Fourth Church: not only will we hold our Annual Meeting and be led in worship by our youth, but it is also Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday!

You can help score a victory in the Souper Bowl by bringing cans of soup, nonperishable food items, or monetary contributions to the church that day.

Our youth will be on hand that morning to collect the donations, which will support Fourth Church Meals Ministry and the Chicago Lights Social Service Center Food Pantry.

You can also make a Souper Bowl of Caring gift online, selecting the “Youth Ministry (Souper Bowl)” designation.

Curious to discover more about this congregation, and the opportunities and resources available to you here, as well as learn about the Presbyterian Church (USA)?

Interested in becoming a member of Fourth Church?

Join us for one of our upcoming one-session Inquirers’ Classes!

Wednesday, February 7

Via Zoom

6:30–8:30 p.m.

Register

Sunday, March 24

In person | Room 5F

12:15–2:30 p.m.

Register

For additional information about Fourth Church membership, visit our website or reach out to Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children, Family, and Welcoming Ministries, who would welcome hearing from you.

This year Ash Wednesday falls on February 14. To observe that solemn day we invite you to take part in one or more of the following opportunities.

Ash Wednesday Services

Wednesday, February 14

12:10 p.m. in person

6:30 p.m. in person and livestreamed

To begin our Lenten journey, we will gather for worship on Ash Wednesday. Both the 12:10 and 6:30 p.m. services will include Communion and the opportunity to receive the imposition of ashes.

Lenten Devotions

Beginning Wednesday, February 14

Offered as a resource for personal meditation and prayer, our daily Lenten devotions are written by Fourth Church members and staff. If you would like to receive them in your inbox each day during Lent (and do not already receive our daily devotions), simply sign up at www.bit.ly/fpcdevotions or email devotions@fourthchurch.org.

Lenten Rhythm and Word

Also available for your reflection during the season will be a Lenten “Rhythm and Word” video series.

These brief online worship experiences (approximately ten minutes each) weave together scripture, prayer, and music and will be released on our YouTube channel on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. beginning on February 14. To receive them by email, sign up online at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail

Path of Discipleship

Tuesdays, February 20–March 26

6:30–8:00 p.m.

in Anderson Hall and via Zoom

Registration required

If you're yearning for a dynamic way to learn more about the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels, absorb firsthand experiences of pilgrimages through the Holy Land and other lands, deepen your relationship with God, and make meaningful connections with others, then please join Pastors Nancy Benson-Nicol and Joe Morrow along with members of the Spiritual Formation Council as we explore James Martin’s New York Times bestselling work Jesus: A Pilgrimage.

This six-week course will focus on a sampling of chapters of this marvelous and sweeping work, guiding us through Lent with both in-person and online experiences of discussion, spiritual practices, shared meals, special guests, and other activities.

Conversation and Presence

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.

If you would like to alert pastoral staff to emerging pastoral care needs, illnesses, hospitalizations, or deaths, please email Gloria Fleming, Assistant for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation; however, if the situation is an emergency or requires immediate attention, please call the church at 312.787.4570 to be connected to the Minister on Call.

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.

To join a Grief Group facilitated by our Replogle Center, email Sharon Crawford-Tucker.

Prayer

If you would like to submit a prayer request to our Morning Prayer or Deacon Prayer Ministries, please email Gloria Fleming or Nancy Benson-Nicol.

If you would like to join in praying for others—members of Fourth Church and those in need—we invite you to gather with us for Wednesday Morning Prayer at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom or at 10:00 a.m. in person. For Zoom details, email Nancy Benson-Nicol.

Children in Worship

Children are always welcome in worship at Fourth Church! If you need to step out to comfort your child, the Hospitality Suite, on the second floor of the Gratz Center, is a quiet space for families where worship is livestreamed.

During Sunday morning services nursery care is available on the fourth floor of the Gratz Center for infants through two-year-olds.

Livestreamed Services

Livestreamed worship services (9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) 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.

These livestreams are available to view anytime after the service begins if you would prefer to connect online at a later time. For tips on how to watch — from the beginning — a service already in progress, see www.fourthchurch.org/watch-from-the-beginning

Audio-only by phone is available (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166 just prior to the start of the service 9:30 service.