Sunday, September 17

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

Nanette Sawyer preaching

Worship bulletin

11:00 a.m. worship in person only

Nanette Sawyer preaching

Worship bulletin

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

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

Rocky Supinger preaching

Worship bulletin

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 for the 9:30 service is available (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166 just prior to 9:30.

Children in Worship

Children are always welcome in worship! During the morning services nursery care is also available for infants through two-year-olds.

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00 is the new name for our afternoon service, which is also taking place at the new time of 2:00 on Sunday afternoons.

This more casual, intimate service, which features music by the instrumentalists who helped to lead the jazz service, takes place in the Sanctuary and is livestreamed. We hope you will come experience it!

As we shared in Tuesday’s email to the congregation, we are delighted to announce that the Reverend Tom Are Jr. will be joining us as our Interim Pastor.

Tom, who has been Senior Pastor / Co-Pastor at Village Presbyterian Church in the Kansas City area since 2004, will be with us beginning Sunday, October 29.

Read more on our website, where you can also view a video message from Tom.

The Officer Nominating Committee is in need of recommendations of individuals to serve in leadership positions opening in 2024 for Elder, Deacon, Trustee, Nominating Committee, and the Chicago Lights Board.

If you know any Fourth Church members — including yourself! — who have demonstrated gifts for leadership and ministry, please offer your recommendations via the online form at www.bit.ly/nominating2024 or by using the paper forms in the pew racks.

Survey Responses Requested

Those who volunteer with Fourth Church or Chicago Lights programs are asked to complete their “Volunteer Experience” survey by Friday, September 22.

Tutors Needed

Tutors are needed on weekday evenings, beginning in October, to partner with Chicago Lights Tutoring students. For details or to sign up, see the Chicago Lights website

New Zoom Small Groups will be beginning at the end of September.

The groups will have as their focus conversation one of the following

• faith journeys
• Otis Moss’s book Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times
• Daniel James Brown’s book Facing the Mountain
• C. S. Lewis’s book The Problem of Pain

If you would like to connect with five to seven other people via Zoom for a time of fellowship, relationship building, and spiritual formation while discussing the above or simply want to learn more about our small-group opportunities, please email Simon Crow.

Covenant Conversation

“Beyond Words: From Mere Welcome to True Belonging” is an all-day event sponsored by the Covenant Network of Presbyterians and the Chicago Presbytery and hosted at Fourth Church on Saturday, September 30.

The program, which will include worship, will explore how Christians can show true hospitality to anyone who walks through our church doors, especially members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Saturday, September 30

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

at Fourth Church

Register to attend

Foundations of Islam

Coming up on October 1 is a new Sunday morning Adult Education class: “Foundations of Islam: Discovering Common Ground and Debunking the Myths."

In this three-week class, Nanette Sawyer, Arshan Khalid, and Aisha Subhan will discuss the commonalities and differences between Islam and Christianity and explore the 5 pillars of Islam, the sacred Islamic texts, the role of the Imam, the role of women, and contemporary reform movements.

Sundays, October 1–15

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room and via Zoom

Register online for Zoom details

Last Sunday was a lively, joy-filled day at Fourth Church as we kicked off a new program year with our Get Connected Sunday / Neighborhood Block Party festivities.

Sunday School began a new season with Children’s Chapel, and youth reconnected after the summer.

The Get Connected tables in Coffee Hour offered opportunity for fellowship and learning about opportunities to get involved this autumn.

Throughout the morning, the Michigan Avenue courtyard was abuzz with the Neighborhood Block Party, which offered ice cream and popcorn treats, pet blessings, temporary tattoos, pet blessings, a prayer station, and photo booth fun.

If you were with us last Sunday, we hope to see you again this weekend as we continue connecting with one another and growing in faith together. And if you weren’t able to be with us for the fun, we have a wonderful day of worship, classes, and fellowship planned for this Sunday too. Come join us!

Veterans’ Support Group

The new Veterans’ Support Group will meet for the first time this Sunday, September 17 at 12:00 p.m. in the Randolph Room and via Zoom.

Led by Chaplain Mark Schimmelpfennig — a longtime Fourth Church member, a leader of the Road Home project at Rush Medical Center, and a veteran who served in the U.S. Army — the group will provide a safe, confidential space for veterans, their families, and friends to share their experiences.

For Zoom details, email Nancy Benson-Nicol.

Grief Support Group

Our lives inevitably include loss and suffering and thus grief. The four-week Grief Support Group seeks to help individuals move through that grieving experience and into the rest of their life in a heathy manner.

These support groups are hosted by our Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being, with the next one beginning Wednesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.

To register (required), email Sharon Crawford-Tucker or call the Center at 312.787.8425.

Prayer

If you would like to submit a prayer request to our Morning Prayer or Deacon Prayer Ministries, please email caringministries@fourthchurch.org

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.

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, please email caringministries@fourthchurch.org; 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.

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 Nancy Benson-Nicol, Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation, 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.

Matt Helms and Rocky Supinger invite you to tune into the new season of their “Bible Top Ten” podcast.

This lively, informative, and occasionally funny podcast about the Bible as explored through a rotating series of top ten lists has as its current theme “Top 10 Biblical Movie Adaptations.”

“Prophets and Poets” is the theme of the September series of “Rhythm and Word” videos.

Led by Matt Helms, each week’s video takes us on a journey through powerful and beautiful prophetic passages from the Old Testament, accompanied by a handful of Matt’s favorite poems.

If you have not yet had opportunity to watch the weekly videos, we invite you to take a few moments to immerse yourself in exploring these words of hope amid challenging times, seeking inspiration not only for our daily living but to the greater work God has called each one of us to.

To receive these weekly videos by email subscribe at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail

New and previous videos can also be viewed on our YouTube channel: www.bit.ly/fpcvideos

Get your pets ready for an outing to the Michigan Avenue courtyard on Saturday, October 7!

We will be gathering that morning for a Blessing of the Animals service, giving thanks to God for the creatures that bless our lives. All pets are welcome! (Please have them on leash or in a carrier.)

If you’d rather not bring your pets, please bring photographs of them and join us as we celebrate the wonders of God’s creation and our relationships with its creatures, great and small!

Saturday, October 7

10:00 a.m.

Michigan Avenue courtyard

The exterior scaffolding on the Fourth Church campus is to enable tuckpointing, flashing, and window repair being done this summer.

The scaffolding in the North Balcony of the Sanctuary is to assist in addressing the gradual delamination of some of the Frederic Clay Bartlett murals on the ceiling.