Sunday, August 13

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

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush 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.

Children in Worship

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

Sunday School does not meet during August; it will resume on Sunday, September 10.

Looking Ahead

After Labor Day we will be adding a second Sunday morning worship service. Beginning Sunday, September 10, we will be worshiping at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings.

Also on September 10 our afternoon service, which is currently taking a summer break, will resume. Until then we will continue to worship at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays.

This Sunday we will welcome as guest preacher Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. An ordained Baptist minister, he is a longtime leader in the interfaith movement working to protect an inclusive vision of religious freedom for people of all faiths and none.

He has also served as senior vice president of the Auburn Seminary, the founding and executive editor of HuffPost Religion, associate dean of religious life and the chapel at Princeton University, and a founding editor of Beliefnet.com.

We look forward to his preaching at Fourth Church this weekend!

We’re having a picnic this Sunday!

Following worship on Sunday, August 13 come join us in the Michigan Avenue courtyard for intergenerational fun that will include BBQ and optional simple yard games.

We’ll also have popsicles, bubbles, and hula hoops for the kids, with grown-ups with playful spirits also welcome to join in those activities as well!

We need you to help shape the future of Fourth Church!

The Long-Range Planning Task Force asks that you please take 15 minutes to complete a survey online at www.bit.ly/fpcsurvey823

The task force will also be available at Coffee Hour this Sunday to help you access the survey and answer questions.

Your responses to this survey will be anonymous and are important in setting our course for the next five years and laying the foundation for calling our next senior pastor.

The survey deadline is Thursday, August 24 at 5:00 p.m.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions — at which our guest preacher Paul Raushenbush will also be speaking — will be taking place in Chicago next week.

In conjunction with that gathering, we are teaming up with Second Presbyterian Church to present a series of “Organ Concerts for Global Justice and Peace."

These free concerts will take place at 12:00 noon on the following dates and be based on a different theme (listed below) each day.

At Second Presbyterian Church

1936 S. Michigan

Michael Shawgo, organist

Monday, August 14: Women Composers

Wednesday, August 16: Care of the Earth

Friday, August 18: Racial Justice and Civil Rights

At Fourth Presbyterian Church

John W. W. Sherer, organist

Tuesday, August 15: Social Justice

Thursday, August 17: Indigenous People and Diverse Cultures

Ready to share a caring heart?

Join Fourth Church Stephen Ministers after worship next Sunday, August 20 to learn how this vital ministry shares Christ-centered, compassionate listening and prayer through one-on-one connections with people facing life challenges.

If you are interested in learning how to serve as a Stephen Minister, this lunch-and-learn fellowship event will be a unique opportunity to hear from past and current Stephen Ministers about how this ministry has touched their lives and how they got involved.

If you or someone you know are interested in learning whether a caring connection with a Stephen Minister might be a fit, this event is also for you.

All are welcome, including those who are simply curious about how Stephen Ministry serves at Fourth Church.

Bring your questions and your appetite, as pizza and salad will be served.

The Stephen Ministers look forward to welcoming you. If you plan to attend, please register online to help us plan appropriately.

Eighth-grade Confirmation kicks off on Sunday, September 10!

That morning there will be a gathering of students and parents at 9:30 a.m. The youth will then meet at that same time on Sundays through April.

If you have an eighth grader who is interested in participating, please register by September 10.

Thank you to all who have contributed school supplies and to those who have helped pack the items into backpacks for Chicago Lights Summer Day and Urban Farm youth!

Our School Supply Drive organized by Women at Fourth is wrapping up this month but is still in need of monetary gifts (with the designation School Supply Drive) with which we will purchase the remaining supplies needed for Chicago Lights Tutoring.

For more information, email Simon Crow.

Sunday Morning Adult Education

The fall schedule of Sunday morning Adult Education classes begins on September 10 with Vicky Curtiss teaching a class on Celtic spirituality.

You can find online information about that class and others planned for this autumn. You will also find there a link for subscribing to our adult education email newsletter.

Everyone is welcome to attend any of these classes, and there is no charge for any of them.

If you haven’t attended an Adult Education class at Fourth Church before, we hope you will give one a try this autumn!

Center for Life and Learning

Registration for the Autumn Session with the Center for Life and Learning is now open!

The session of weekday classes for those sixty and over begins on Monday, September 11 and includes twenty weekly classes as well as several Special Topic classes and events sprinkled throughout the fourteen-week term. You can learn more about the autumn offerings on the CLL web pages.

Before that term begins, the CLL will first wrap up the summer with Encore 2023!

This annual fundraising event for our Center for Life and Learning supports CLL programming and provides scholarships that make it possible for more adults sixty and over to participate in CLL activities.

To join in this evening of fun, which will feature local singer performer Peter Oprisko and his jazz ensemble, make your reservations online; for more information, call the Center at 312.981.3391.

Those interested in learning more about Fourth Church or becoming a member are invited to a one-session in-person Inquirers’ Class next Sunday, August 20 from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The class (required for membership) covers Reformed theology, polity, and Fourth Church history and congregational life. Time is also given for personal introductions and small-group interaction.

For those who would prefer to attend via Zoom, an online-only class will be offered on Wednesday, September 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Register here for the August 20 in-person class.

For more information about membership or upcoming classes, email member@fourthchurch.org.

Deaths

We give thanks to God for the gift of life eternal.

Richard P. Strubel

Died August 6, 2023

The memorial service for Marsha Heizer, whose death was previously announced, will be Friday, August 18 at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary and livestreamed at www.fourthchurch.org/watch