On the church calendar are many opportunities to connect online with the Fourth Church community and one another. Included among them are—
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Men’s Bible Study on Tuesday mornings
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Morning Prayer on Wednesday mornings
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Benevolent Guild on Wednesday mornings
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Cornerstones on Friday, April 9, with Andrea Denney talking about “Our House: Managing and Caring for Fourth Church’s Physical Spaces”
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Inquirers’ Class on Sunday, April 11 for those interested in becoming members of Fourth Church
For information about whom to contact for an event’s Zoom details, simply click on the down “arrow” to the right of the event name in the calendar (which is easily accessible from the “Calendar” button in the upper left corner of our website).
For highlights of some of the opportunities you will find on the calendar, keep reading!
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This week has taken us from the shouts of hosanna and the waving of palm branches on Sunday to today, Maundy Thursday, when we remember Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples.
Maundy Thursday, April 1
Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service
with Communion
Prelude begins at 7:15 p.m.
Maundy Thursday takes its name from the Latin mandatum novum do vobis: “a new commandment I give to you.” This new commandment, given by Jesus when—during supper, he washed the disciples’ feet—was “to love one another just as I have loved you.” It is his example and thus our call to love and serve that we recall on this day.
Our Maundy Thursday online service will follow the ancient Office of Tenebrae (from the Latin for “shadows”).
As our pastors read the Passion narrative texts and extinguish candles, this service will portray the progression from light to darkness in the passion of Jesus, beginning with his abandonment on Thursday and concluding with his crucifixion.
As is traditional on Maundy Thursday, we will also be celebrating the Lord’s Supper during the service. We invite you to have some bread and juice on hand so that we might together take part, from our own homes, in this shared meal.
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This Friday we observe the most solemn day on the church calendar.
Good Friday, April 2
Good Friday Service
Prelude begins at 7:20 p.m.
Meditations on each of the Seven Last Words of Christ—offered by our pastors—will guide our Good Friday worship service online this year.
The service will conclude with the church bells tolling 33 times—once for each of the years of Jesus’ life at the time he was crucified—followed by the extinguishing of the Christ candle.
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Our Holy Week journey, which takes us from the Last Supper to the cross, will ultimately lead us to the tomb, as together we keep vigil on Holy Saturday.
Holy Saturday, April 3
Easter Vigil
8:00 p.m. via Zoom
Have you registered for the Easter Vigil yet?
This Vigil service will only be available via Zoom, so please be sure to register to receive the Zoom link.
Then join us via Zoom for this ancient tradition of the church, the Easter Vigil, which invites us into the story of salvation as we mark the conclusion of Lent and the dawning of Easter. We will hear readings from the story of salvation, from creation through redemption.
During this service we will remember our baptism and also celebrate together from our own homes the Lord’s Supper, and so we invite you to have bread and juice on hand before joining us online.
There are a few additional things you might gather as well that will help you to participate most fully:
- a candle, which you can light (if it is safe to do so) as a way for spreading the light of Christ
- a noisemaker for celebrating the resurrection (this could be keys on a key ring, or a bell, or percussion of any kind)
- a small bowl of water for remembering our baptism
- the bread and juice for sharing Communion
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We hope you and your loved ones near and far will join us online on Easter Sunday as we gather in festive celebration of the resurrection of the Lord!
Easter Sunday, April 4
11:00 a.m. worship online
10:45 a.m. prelude
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
The service will include the stirring music of brass and organ, handbells and jazz, and the joyous hymns of Easter. This year we will also be celebrating Communion as part of our Easter service.
We invite you to have bread and juice on hand as we share in the Lord’s Supper from our homes.
Connecting to Our Online Worship Services
Our online worship services are available live at 11:00 a.m. (Central) via
For those who do not have Internet access, we also make our worship services available to listen to via the phone. If you know of someone for whom this audio opportunity would be welcome, please encourage them to call 888.916.9166 (toll-free) at the time of the service.
Throughout the Week
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This Sunday join us online after worship for a time of Easter fellowship, when we gather for virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom!
Following the postlude
Meeting ID: 963 5583 1751
Passcode: 631276
Phone: Call 1 312.626.6799
and enter Meeting ID 963 5583 1751#
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Throughout Holy Week and also on Easter Sunday we are receiving gifts to the special One Great Hour of Sharing offering, which supports the work of
Fourth Church Meals Ministry
Chicago Lights Tutoring and Elam Davies Social Service Center
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Hunger, and Self-Development of People Programs
Gifts to this offering can be made by
• writing “OGHS” on the memo line of a check made payable to Fourth Presbyterian Church and mailed to Resource Development, Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut, Chicago, IL 60611.2014.
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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month, and as part of our public witness to all affected by this issue, we will have blue bows outside the church, this year along the fence at the corner of Chestnut and Michigan.
Please join us in holding in prayer all those affected by domestic violence and lifting up the efforts of those working to address and prevent this violence.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence issues, there is a toll-free Illinois State hotline available 24 hours a day to receive confidential calls about domestic violence: 1.877.TO.END.DV (1.877.863.6338, voice) or 1.877.863.6339 (TTY).
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Congregational leaders are working to develop the guidelines that will inform our future reopening of the Fourth Church campus.
Alongside that process, we would find it helpful to know what criteria you will use to inform your participation choices in the months ahead.
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If you’re looking to read ahead, here is what our book groups have planned for their April discussions.
First Tuesday Book Club
Tuesday, April 6
7:00 p.m. via Zoom
This book group hosted by the Adult Education Committee examines the ethical and social issues facing Christians today.
April book: Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity by Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons
Join us for a conversation with the author Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons as he talks about Just Faith, a book in which he explains how a strong religious left has accompanied every major progressive advance in our society. In it he resurrects the long history of progressive Christianity to show how it can and must link arms with progressive Muslims and Jews to make the moral case for pluralism, human dignity, and the common good.
Books by Women
Tuesday, April 13
6:00 p.m. via Zoom
All women are invited to join in monthly Books by Women discussions whenever their schedules allow and the books are of interest.
April book: Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout
Olive Again continues the story begun in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge, bringing moments of grace as we follow the protagonist and her neighbors in Crosby, Maine.
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On Tuesday, April 13, in addition to the Books by Women discussion (see above), we will also be hosting Zoom conversations about generosity and interfaith dialogue.
“Generosity as a Spiritual Practice”
Tuesdays, April 13–May 4
6:00 p.m. via Zoom
A new four-week series, “Generosity as a Spiritual Practice” examines how generosity can enrich our lives and deepen our faith. Offering insights and lively discussion on ways to live generously in a spirit of abundance, each 90-minute session will focus on one chapter of the book edited by Adam J. Copeland, Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship.
A Fourth Church pastor will present concepts from the chapter and offer insights into how we might integrate them into our spiritual practices. Small groups will then break out for interaction, reflection, and to foster trust and sharing as we explore how different faith traditions and family cultural backgrounds affect our relationship with generosity and faith.
Purchasing the book is suggested but not required. It is available in e-reader or print formats at www.christianbooks.com and elsewhere.
“Why Do Presbyterians Do Interfaith?”
Tuesday, April 13
7:00 p.m. via Zoom
In this online conversation and learning opportunity, Nanette Sawyer will explore the scriptural and theological foundations of the Presbyterian commitment to interfaith dialogue.
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Birth
We give thanks to God for the gift of new life.
Cassian Woo Tian Xue Cornell Wilson
Child of Cornell Wilson and Samantha Woo
Death
We give thanks to God for the gift of life eternal.
Michael J. Patterson
Died March 25, 2021
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