Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 15

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

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 and concerts 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

Nancy Benson-Nicol preaching

Worship bulletin

Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This Sunday we join congregations and communities across the nation in honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was born ninety-four years ago, on January 15, 1929.

As we do so, we recall these words Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham Jail in April 1963:

“Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless effort of men and women willing to be coworkers with God, and without the hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”

Signs with Dr. King’s words and image stand outside our buildings along Michigan Avenue as public witness for all who pass by. They are a continued expression of our commitment to embrace racial equity by purposely including all people, striving for radical hospitality, and modeling an antiracist approach in all areas. We remain steadfast in our theological conviction that the lives of our Black siblings matter to both God and to us and that their lives are sacred. We are committed to putting that theological conviction into practice and continuing to express it in a variety of ways.

His words will also be a central part of our 10:00 a.m. worship service this weekend: text from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech will be sung as a musical reflection, in an arrangement by Lee Hoiby.

A Fourth Church trip to Cuba to visit our sister congregation the First Presbyterian Church of Havana will take place May 29–June 5.

To learn more or express interest in participating in this trip, join us for an information session next Sunday, January 22 at 11:15 a.m. in Room 5F or email Joe Morrow.

Another trip that is being planned is a Fourth Church Choir trip to India in February 2024. Both singers and non-singers alike are invited to participate.

To learn more, attend the information session being held on Sunday, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel. For more information, email Emily Cox.

In this new year, we invite you to explore opportunities to connect with others in the Fourth Church community. Two occasions to do that — Zoom Small Groups and Deep Listening Dinners — will both be starting up soon.

New Zoom Small Groups

New Zoom Small Groups are beginning again this month, and there are still openings in groups that will be using the book The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby as a resource.

If you would like to connect with five to seven other people via Zoom for a time of fellowship, relationship building, and spiritual formation or would like more information about small group opportunities, please email Simon Crow.

Deep Listening Dinners

Are you interested in taking part in Deep Listening Dinners in the coming weeks?

Groups of six to ten people each will dine together twice in home settings, gathering for a time of discovering and better understanding our differences while honoring our shared humanity and telling our life experiences to one another.

To express interest in this opportunity to get to know each other more deeply, please fill out the form at www.bit.ly/deeplistening123, or for more information, email Simon Crow.

Mayoral Forum on Aging

The Center for Life and Learning, along with Skyline Village Chicago, has invited all of the Chicago mayoral candidates to participate in a Mayoral Forum on Aging this Wednesday, January 18 at 12:00 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel.

Candidates Kam Buckner, Ja’Mal Green, Brandon Johnson, Sophia King, and Roderick Sawyer will be participating as likely will be Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Paul Vallas. The format will be one of questions prepared in advance by the moderator, with no questions from the audience.

Although the Mayoral Forum on Aging is free (and will also be available to watch via Zoom), for planning purposes registration is required at www.bit.ly/agingforum1823

“A Sittler Sampler: Ecology, Faith, and Much More”

A new adult education class will begin on Sunday, January 29. Led by Jeff Doane, “A Sittler Sampler: Ecology, Faith, and Much More” will consider the works of Joseph Sittler, who was a pioneering figure in addressing the deep need to care for the ecological order from a Christian perspective and who was also a leader in medical ethics and placed emphasis on how we frame our faith through language. Registration details will be available in the coming week.

Path of Discipleship

The Spiritual Formation Council will again host a six-week Path of Discipleship series during Lent. This year the weekly series will begin on Tuesday evening, February 28 and will explore The Spiritual Resilience Handbook by Connie Fourre. Registration details will be available in February.

Are you incorporating a time of prayer and reflection into your daily routine this year?

The second video in our Winter “Rhythm and Word” video series invites you to reflect on the poetry of the prophet Isaiah and the awakening of new life and new light.

To view this newest video in the series, click here (or on the image below). To receive the videos by email, sign up online at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail

Also available as a resource for personal meditation and prayer are daily devotions written by Fourth Church members and staff.

To receive the devotions daily by email sign up at www.bit.ly/fpcdevotions; you can also read them online on our website.