On the church calendar are many opportunities to connect online (or, where noted, in person) 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).

For information about additional opportunities, keep reading!

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

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

in Buchanan Chapel

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

Following worship on Sunday mornings the Deacons are praying in Stone Chapel with individuals who would like to offer prayers of praise or concern. The Deacons are available for this time of prayer immediately following the 10:00 a.m. service.

Wearing masks is required of everyone on the Fourth Church campus. The front section of the Sanctuary is for those required to or choosing to practice social distancing. Since everyone is fully masked throughout the service, the congregation is invited to sing.

We are not checking vaccination status, but anyone coming on site certifies by doing so that (a) they do not currently have COVID-19; (b) they are not experiencing COVID symptoms; (c) they have no reason to quarantine; and (d) they will practice social distancing if they are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

To read about all of the guidelines that are in place for in-person worship, see www.fourthchurch.org/reopening

The service is also available online any time afterwards on YouTube.

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.

Our Sunday services are available for viewing following the conclusion of worship and throughout the week at www.bit.ly/fpcvideos.

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.

We hope you will join us in the Gratz Center this Saturday morning as we continue our Michigan Avenue Forum conversation from Tuesday evening with curated in-depth, in-person conversations focused on “The Church in the City: The Next 150 Years.”

Whether you were with us Tuesday evening, watched the Forum online, or are new to the topic, all are invited to this Saturday’s exchange of ideas. Conversations will be led by Fourth Church members and program partners focusing on arts and culture, community, racial justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, and well-being.

After an introductory greeting from Shannon Kershner, two breakout sessions will be held, and after a break, a second pair of sessions will convene. For more information, contact Lewis Hamer.

8:30–11:30 a.m.

in the Gratz Center

One of our most popular adult education classes in recent years, “God in the Modern Wing” explored spiritual and artistic expression in the work of outstanding modern abstract artists. Now InterVarsity Press is releasing a collection of essays that extend and heighten this conversation, with work from both class leaders and other art experts.

This December 5 class will be conducted by the collection’s co-editor, Walter Hansen, with presentations by some of the book’s contributors.

The class will be followed by an optional walk to the Art Institute of Chicago to experience some of the art in person.

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room

followed by an optional walk to the Art Institute

Register at www.bit.ly/modernwing1205

Plan to join us next Friday evening, November 19 when we will celebrate the sixth anniversary of the dedication of the Andrew Pipe Organ and John Sherer’s twenty-fifth anniversary as Organist and Director of Music at Fourth Church.

To mark the occasion, organist Aaron David Miller will present a concert in the Sanctuary, which will also be livestreamed.

Included in the program will be the premier of “Sonata for a Sacred Space,” a composition by Aaron David Miller that was commissioned by the congregation in celebration of John Sherer’s twenty-five years of ministry at Fourth Church.

7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary

and also livestreamed at www.bit.ly/fpcprograms

To limit the aerosol spread while singing, we ask that all joining us in caroling wear a mask while doing so.

In the upcoming season of gratitude and giving, we invite you to join us in making preparations to share Christmas joy with those in need.

Again this year Women at Fourth is coordinating our Christmas Wishes efforts to provide gifts for Chicago Lights Tutoring students. This year each student will receive a gift card and a book.

To support the Christmas Wishes project, we are collecting gift cards to Target, Amazon, and Walmart. If you are dropping off gift cards at the church, please mark them to the attention of Simon Crow and designate the amount on the card(s). (We are giving $30 worth of gift cards to each student.)

Due to current shipping delays, Women at Fourth is purchasing all the books that will be given to students but would appreciate monetary contributions to support the book purchases.

Monetary gifts can be made to Fourth Church, noting “Christmas Wishes” in the comments/memo line.

For more information, contact Simon Crow.

On Thanksgiving Day 2021 we will not be gathering in person for worship.

Instead we will be sharing a Thanksgiving-themed “Rhythm and Word” video on our YouTube channel (www.bit.ly/fpcvideos) on Thursday, November 25.

When you or those with whom you may be gathering on Thanksgiving Day are looking for 15 minutes of spiritual reflection during which to pause to give thanks, we invite you to view this music-and-word worship experience.

In December the online First Tuesday Book Club will discuss IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives by Chris Stedman.

7:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, email Lewis Hamer

For their December conversation Books by Women invites women to read an Agatha Christie book and share a summary of it during next month’s discussion.

6:00 p.m. via Zoom

For Zoom details, email Simon Crow

Matt Helms and Joe Morrow invite you to join them this month for our midweek worship videos, “Rhythm and Word,” a pause for spiritual reflection in the middle of the week. You can watch the newest worship video in this series here:

If you want to be reminded of these weekly video offerings, we invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel (www.bit.ly/fpcvideos) or receive the videos by email by signing up at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail.

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 David Handley, Interim Minister for Caring Ministries, 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 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.

Married November 6, 2021

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