Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 7

10:00 a.m. worship in person and online

with Ordination, Installation, and Commissioning of Officers

Shannon J. Kershner preaching

Worship bulletin

In person and streamed from the Sanctuary on our YouTube channel: www.bit.ly/fpcvideos

Audio available by phone (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166

Livestreamed worship services 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.

4:00 p.m. Jazz at Four worship in person

with Communion

in Buchanan Chapel

Rocky Supinger preaching

Worship bulletin

New Officers

This Sunday we will ordain, install, and commission to church office the elders, deacons, and trustees who were elected by the congregation at the February 12 Annual Meeting. Please keep them in your prayers as they embark on this important ministry!

Sermon Series

Also this Sunday we continue the sermon series “I believe...” — an opportunity for us to take a closer look at the Apostles’ Creed. This week we will focus on “I believe ... in the holy catholic church.”

Summer Worship Schedule

On Sunday, May 21 we will hold our last afternoon worship service until Sunday, September 10.

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, our 4:00 p.m. service will enter a summer sabbatical season of rest and refocusing for the future. Our afternoon service will then resume on Sunday, September 10.

Also on Sunday, September 10 we will be adding a second Sunday morning worship service. After Labor Day we will be worshiping at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Until then, and through the summer, we will continue to worship at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays.

Mark Sunday, May 28 on your calendar and plan to join us that morning as we celebrate and give thanks for Shannon Kershner’s ministry among us!

Sunday, May 28 will be Shannon’s last Sunday leading us in worship.

Immediately following the 10:00 a.m. service on that day, we will hold a congregational meeting in the Sanctuary. The meeting has been called by Session for the purpose of dissolving our pastoral relationship with Shannon.

Then after the meeting we will gather in Anderson Hall and the Commons for a reception in honor of Shannon. We hope you will join us for that festive opportunity to express our gratitude and well wishes to Shannon and her family as they prepare to move to Atlanta and Central Presbyterian Church.

At that reception we will also present Shannon with the gift of a memory box. We encourage you to contribute notes, letters, memories, and photos for Shannon, thanking her for her ministry among us and wishing her well in her new call.

Please send these private expressions of gratitude, shared memories, and well wishes by Sunday, May 21. They can be mailed to the church (Attn. Memory Box), dropped off at the church reception desk or during Coffee Hour, or emailed to memorybox@fourthchurch.org

As the Congregational Leadership Resource Team shared in their email yesterday, the following Fourth Church members will serve on the Interim Pastor Nominating Committee (IPNC):

Mark Hurley (Chair)

Jared Light

Sally Scott

Gretchen Van Natta

Jessica Wang

This five-member committee will be responsible for recommending an Interim Pastor candidate to the Personnel Council and Session. (As an intentional Interim Pastor, this person will not be our next senior pastor.)

During the transition period prior to the Interim Pastor’s arrival (and after Shannon Kershner’s departure), the co-clerks of Session and the co-chairs of the Personnel Council will work together as the Congregation Leadership Resource Team (CLRT).

That team is made up of

Arlene Faulk

Patsy Habicht

Jim Kulich

Jared Light

Allison Youngblood

They will serve as a resource to leadership to help facilitate decision-making that affects the congregation broadly. The role of Acting Moderator of Session will be filled by Lucy Forster-Smith.

Lucy will also serve as Acting Head of Staff after Shannon leaves and until the Interim Pastor arrives.

If you know members who did not receive the email announcement about this from the Congregation Leadership Resource Team, please encourage them to subscribe to the Fourth Church email newsletter to ensure they see future updates. They can sign up online at www.bit.ly/newsfromfpc or send their email address to news@fourthchurch.org

Throughout this time of transition, if you have questions or comments about this time in our life together, please send them to transition@fourthchurch.org; you can also find transition updates and information at www.fourthchurch.org/transition

“Dancing in the Darkness”

A new adult education class begins this Sunday, when Robert Crouch and Jeff Doane will lead us in a discussion of the latest book by Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ and a popular guest preacher at Fourth Church over the years.

Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times is a life-affirming guide to the practical, political, and spiritual challenges of our day.

Drawing on the teachings of Dr. King, Howard Thurman, sacred scripture, Southern wisdom, global spiritual traditions, Black culture, and his own personal experiences, Dr. Moss instructs us on how to practice spiritual resistance by combining justice and love.

This collection helps us tap the spiritual reserves we all possess but too often overlook, so we can slay our personal demons, confront our civic challenges, and reach our highest goals.

Participants are asked to get a copy of the book in advance to read along with the class.

Sundays, May 7–21

11:15 a.m.

in person only

Register here

Sangha Meditation

The Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being invites you to a monthly time of in-person Sangha meditation led by Lisa Kawalec.

No meditation experience is necessary to join in this monthly time of mindfulness.

To reserve your spot or for more information, email the Replogle Center.

Thursday, May 11

(and the second Thursday of each month)

6:00–7:30 p.m.

Boyle Conference Room

The Fourth Church Choral Society and St. James Cathedral choirs invite you to their festival concert “Orb and Sceptre: Music for the Coronation” on Sunday evening, May 21 at St. James Cathedral.

Come enjoy regal and celebrative works by Handel, Vaughan Williams, and Parry while surrounded by the music of combined choirs.

Sunday, May 21

6:30 p.m.

at St. James Cathedral (65 E. Huron)

Those graduating from eighth grade, high school, college, or a graduate or professional program in 2023 are asked to email their names to Katie Patterson by Sunday, May 28 so that we might recognize them on Baccalaureate Sunday.

Baccalaureate Sunday at Fourth Church will be June 4, and graduate names received by May 28 will appear in the worship bulletin on June 4.