The year 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of not only the Great Chicago Fire but also the founding of Fourth Presbyterian Church!

This Sunday, February 14, our morning worship service will kick off our celebration of our 150th anniversary. Pastor Emeritus John Buchanan will join us as a worship leader, and an octet from the Morning Choir will premiere a choral anthem commissioned by Fourth Church for this anniversary occasion. Photographs from Fourth Church history will be shown during the prelude, which will begin around 10:40 a.m. and will feature organ, trumpet, and handbell music.

In the weeks and months ahead we will also be sharing stories from our history as well as greetings from former pastors and other partners in ministry. Watch your inbox for the latest updates! (If you know someone who would like to receive these updates from us but currently is not subscribed to our email newsletter, please encourage them to add their email address to our distribution list by signing up at www.bit.ly/newsfromfpc)

And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see, throughout the year, photos from our history, including the letter written by President Nixon fifty years ago yesterday on the occasion of our centennial.

Shannon J. Kershner preaching

The worship bulletin will be available to download and print on Friday

Streamed from the Sanctuary at www.bit.ly/FPCworship

As we do each Sunday before Ash Wednesday, this Sunday we will celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord. In this mountaintop experience with the disciples that is described in Mark 9, Jesus is seen as the manifestation of the law (Moses) and prophets (Elijah) and is once again named by God as “my Son, the Beloved.” This is a transitional event in Jesus’ ministry, as he will then “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) on the journey that will lead to Good Friday.

For information about worship on Ash Wednesday, see the story below.

 

Our online worship services are available live at 11:00 a.m. (Central) (prelude begins at approximately 10:40 a.m.) 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.

The Sunday service is available for viewing throughout the week at www.bit.ly/FPCworship.

Worship and sermon podcasts are available via iTunes and Spotify, and you can sign up to receive the text of the weekly sermon by email.

On the second Sunday of February in 1871 the congregations of North Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church met to unite and form the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago.

Now 150 years later, on the second Sunday of February 2021—February 14—we will continue that legacy by gathering online after worship for the Annual Meeting of the Congregation.

As part of that meeting, the congregation will elect new officers. The slate of candidates that will be presented by the Nominating Committee is posted online.

The meeting will also include remarks reflecting on the previous year and looking ahead to the year to come.

All members are encouraged to attend the annual meeting in order to take part in this important activity in the life of Fourth Church!

12:00 p.m.

Online at www.bit.ly/fpcprograms

To connect to audio of the meeting by phone, call 888.916.9166.

The Lenten season calls Christians to embrace the faith journey by reflecting upon and deepening their relationship with God and by acting upon their Christian beliefs. It is a season when we are invited to thoughtfully take up the gifts of faith—worship, study, prayer, and service—in preparation for Holy Week and Christ’s journey to the cross.

In addition to the Lenten devotions available for your daily reflections, we will also have weekly opportunities for Lenten study and conversation in small groups.

Are you interested in joining one of the new small groups that will meet via Zoom during Lent? These groups will offer space to connect with one another and build relationships as we get to know ourselves and each other better.

There will be three types of groups:

Bible study and discipleship groups, which will focus conversation and reflection on Bible passages and their application to our daily lives

Race conversation groups, which will use discussion of The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby to practice having meaningful conversations about race, racism, and being an anti-racist church

Self-improvement groups, which will use Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone to guide conversation and reflection on developing virtues, such as setting boundaries and developing courage

To express interest in being part of a new group, email Anne Ellis. Please indicate which type of group you would like to join.

6:00–7:30 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, register at www.bit.ly/fpcpod2021 soon,

as only a few spaces remain!

The Spiritual Formation Council invites you to join them online for their annual “Path of Discipleship” series, a six-week Lenten opportunity to share in fellowship, discernment, and worship in preparation for the Easter celebration.

This year the Zoom series will be grounded in the book Entering the Passion of Jesus by Amy Jill-Levine (which is available online in ebook, audio, and printed formats). The Tuesday evening studies will be led by the pastoral staff and will include small-group discussions facilitated by members of the Spiritual Formation Council and Adult Education Committee.

Thank you to all who contributed to the 2021 Souper Bowl of Caring!

Fourth Church youth again championed our annual participation in this national campaign to end hunger. And the generosity of those who made donations resulted in our raising four times the original goal of $2,500, with a final total of $10,055!

These important funds will help our Fourth Church Meals Ministry program and the food pantry of the Chicago Lights Social Service Center provide meals and food bags to those in need this season. Thank you!

In addition to relying on this financial support, Meals Ministry also depends on in-person assistance. In particular, our Sunday Night Supper is in need of cooks, servers, and runners to assist with these “grab and go” meals.

Those interested in volunteering with Sunday Night Supper are asked to contact Robert Crouch, Director of Volunteer Ministry. Safety and health standards are strictly followed.

How does faith drive us to continue Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of the “Beloved Community” of inclusion and respect? What verses from our scriptures will guide us to be less polarized and see each other as neighbors, as colleagues, as brothers and sisters?

A February 23 online interfaith dialogue hosted by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago and Fourth Presbyterian Church will discuss, in the context of scripture, theology, and faith tradition, ways to build that Beloved Community as a faithful act.

Nanette Sawyer will join Dilnaz Waraich of the Muslim Community Center in moderating the event, which will feature as speakers the Reverend Barbara Wilson, who is the Presbytery of Chicago’s Director of Collaboration and Community Partnerships, and Dr. Syed Rizwan, the Director of the Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at Catholic Theological Union.

The evening will include presentations as well as small-group discussions to help participants get to know each other. We hope you will join us!

7:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, register at www.bit.ly/building0221

7:00 p.m. online

For details, register at chicagolights.org/gala

The Gala of Hope, which will be virtual this year, annually benefits the life-changing youth development and social service programs of Chicago Lights—the community outreach arm of Fourth Church—and the community support efforts of our Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being.

This year’s online event, for which registration is free, will be hosted by Ron Magers, include music by the Ken Arlen Evolution Orchestra, and raise funds for Chicago Lights and the Replogle Center. We hope you will join us!

For details about becoming an event sponsor, contact Laura Woods.

Died January 29, 2021

On the church calendar are many opportunities to connect online with the Fourth Church community and one another. Included among them are—

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).