January 27, 2023

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Looking for ways to connect with the Fourth Church community and one another? On the church calendar you will find many opportunities to do so. Included among them are—


  • TwentiesThirties Trivia Brunch Sunday mornings following worship
  • Men’s Bible Study via Zoom on Tuesday mornings
  • Friday Noonday Concert featuring soprano Alicia Berneche on Friday, February 3, in person and livestreamed
  • Cornerstones in person on Friday evening, February 3 for dinner and a program by Debbie Frisch, founder of HelloBaby (register by January 31 at www.bit.ly/cornerstones223)
  • Knitting and Crocheting in person on Tuesday morning, February 7
  • Women’s Bible Study via Zoom at noon and in the evening on Wednesday, February 8
  • Books by Women in person and via Zoom on Tuesday evening, February 14
  • LGBTQIA+ Widen Our Welcome Brunch in person following worship on Sunday, February 19


For information about whom to contact for an event’s Zoom details or the link to register for an event, simply click on the down “arrow” to the right of the event name in the calendar (which is easily accessible from the “Calendar” at the top of the menu on our website).


For highlights about additional opportunities, keep reading!

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 29


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

Joseph L. Morrow 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

Rocky Supinger preaching

Worship bulletin

Spanish Translators

The City of Chicago has occupied rooms for more than 350 asylum seekers at the Selena Hotel, located immediately next door to Fourth Church. The Chicago Lights Social Service Center is providing services to those who come to the Center but very much needs Spanish-speaking translators to assist with those efforts.


Volunteers are needed Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the church.


Translator tasks include assisting with registration, helping in the Food Pantry and Clothing Shop, and speaking with families to assist with resource distribution.


If you can help, please sign up on VOMO.



Coffee Hour Hosts

Do you enjoy expressing your faith through hospitality? Are you interested in being a welcoming presence to new and familiar faces at Coffee Hour?


We are looking for people to sign up on VOMO to be a Hospitality Coordinator, Cookie Table Host, or Cookie Server. The time commitment is minimal, and the experience is rewarding!



Meals Ministry Volunteers

Fourth Church Meals Ministry is in need of volunteers to assist in preparing and serving meals for our neighbors who are hungry and food insecure.


To learn more or explore the various Meals Ministry volunteer needs, see our Volunteer Ministry platform, VOMO (www.bit.ly/fpcvolunteers).



Tutors

Chicago Lights Tutoring is in need of in-person (at Fourth Church) and online mentors to connect one-to-one with a student (grades 1–12) one evening a week. There are volunteer openings for weekly tutors as well as substitute tutors.


If you would like to learn more about how you can make a difference in the life of a child (and in yours!), please contact Mark Dennison or visit chicagolights.org/volunteer/#tutoring



Chaperones for Summer Youth Trips

Adult volunteers are what make our summer youth mission trips possible. We are currently recruiting chaperones for the St. Louis (June 25–30) and Paris (July 5–11) mission trips as well as Montreat Youth Conference (July 29–August 5).


If you are interested in chaperoning, please fill out the application here. For more information, contact Katie Patterson.

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


The trip application can be completed online.


For more information about the trip, see the website 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 next Sunday, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel; see the trip brochure; or email Emily Cox.

We invite you to explore opportunities to connect with others in the Fourth Church community this year.


Deep Listening Dinners offer one way in which to get to know others better.


Groups of six to ten people each 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.

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

A new adult education class will begin this Sunday, January 29 at 11:15 a.m.


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.


This class will meet in person only; to receive the reading materials prior to the class, please register online.



Path of Discipleship

The Spiritual Formation Council will be hosting a six-week Lenten Path of Discipleship series via Zoom on Tuesdays, February 28 through April 4 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.


This year Associate Pastors Nancy Benson-Nicol and Joe Morrow will lead our exploration of Connie Fourre’s eighty-seven-page book The Spiritual Resilience Handbook.


Look for registration details the weekend of February 5.

The annual Chicago Lights Gala of Hope will be held at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago (160 E. Pearson) on Friday, March 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m.


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/galaofhope2023 or stop by Coffee Hour on Sunday.


Gala planners are also looking for donations for the silent auction and the Mystery Wine event. For details, stop by Coffee Hour on Sunday or contact Caryn Blomquist.

This week we began a new “Rhythm and Word” video series, one in which Matt Helms and the Fourth Church Jazz Quartet lead us in reflecting on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and what it means for our daily living.


If you have not yet done so already, you can watch their brief video reflection here.


Rhythm and Word Video

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


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.

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.


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.

If you know someone who would like to receive email updates from us but currently is not, please encourage them to add their email address to our distribution list by signing up at www.bit.ly/newsfromfpc

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Fourth Presbyterian Church | 312.787.4570 | www.fourthchurch.org