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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Friday Noonday Concert, featuring an organ recital by John Sherer on May 28
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Sacred Pause on Saturday and Tuesday mornings
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Men’s Bible Study on Tuesday mornings
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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Trinity Sunday, May 30
11:00 a.m. worship online
10:45 a.m. prelude
Lucy Forster-Smith preaching
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the day when the church celebrates the mystery of God as Three in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; one God who is Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter.
Connecting to Our Online Worship Services
Our online Sunday 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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Next week keep an eye out for an email invitation to watch “Rhythm and Word: Midweek Music and Prayer,” a new online opportunity for perceiving God and the sacred through spoken word and vernacular forms of music offered by the Jazz at Four Quartet.
A weekly summer offering on YouTube, “Rhythm and Word” will weave together scripture, prayer, and American vernacular music, specifically jazz and its related genres blues, soul, and Gospel.
Joe Morrow, Rocky Supinger, and the Jazz at Four Quartet are putting together the first of these online midweek worship experiences—about 15 minutes in length and made available on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.—which will invite us into an experience bringing together the sacred and everyday life.
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We will be gradually reopening our campus this summer, including offering two in-person worship services each Sunday, beginning Sunday, June 20.
These two services will be a 10:00 a.m. service in the Sanctuary and 4:00 p.m. Jazz at Four service in Buchanan Chapel.
Because there will be limited seating for both services (250 in the Sanctuary)—as well as self-certification requirements—those who would like to worship in person will be asked to preregister online. We are currently working on setting up the registration system.
When registration is open for use, we will email details to subscribers on this News @ Fourth Church email list (if you do not already receive this newsletter weekly, you can subscribe at www.bit.ly/newsfromfpc). We will also post an easily accessible preregistration link on the website.
A limited number of seats will be available for on-site registration for visitors and those without a way to access technology. Those individuals will need to register at the door, in order to provide name and contact information as well as complete the necessary self-certification, so anyone who can preregister online will find that to be the fastest and easiest way to reserve a seat.
Masks will be required at all times for all present in the building, and social distancing will be required as well.
We will also continue to livestream our morning worship service.
You can read more about the guidelines that will be in place for in-person worship as well as information about continued online opportunities at www.fourthchurch.org/reopening
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Our calendar includes a variety of opportunities for connecting online with one another for fellowship. These are just a few of them!
Women at Fourth
Thursday, May 27 (tonight!)
6:00 p.m. via Zoom
All women are invited to join Nanette Sawyer online for an exploration of the spiritual side of conversation. Together we’ll look at how to hold sacred intention for our conversations, how to prepare spiritually, and how to build compassion in community through practicing skillful conversations.
Cornerstones
Friday, June 4
5:30 p.m. via Zoom
A fellowship group of those fifty and over, Cornerstones will meet online on Friday, June 4 for the program “LGBT+ Pride: Why We Keep Marching” presented by Ed Miller, Roger Wilson, and Nanette Sawyer.
Books by Women
Tuesday, June 8
6:00 p.m. via Zoom
Susan Meissner’s As Bright as Heaven—a novel about a family in Philadelphia during the 1918 influenza pandemic—will be the topic of the June Books by Women conversation.
The contact for many of our fellowship and small group ministry opportunities—our longtime colleague whom you have known as Anne Ellis—is now using his correct name, Simon Crow, and pronouns, which are he/him; his email address and phone directory listing reflect this. One of our most cherished Fourth Church values is that we fully affirm each person’s worth and dignity, and so we fully support Simon and celebrate that he has come forward to claim this for himself.
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Our Neighbors: Deepening Interfaith Relationships
Chicago Sinai Congregation and Fourth Presbyterian Church
Wednesday, June 2
6:00 p.m. via Zoom
You are invited to gather online with our neighbors from Chicago Sinai Congregation to share stories of life and faith.
In a time of great divisiveness and isolation, it’s vitally important to get to know others and strengthen our connections. So we hope you will join Fourth Church and Chicago Sinai via Zoom for a time of conversation, making new friends, and deepening the bonds we already have.
Music Mission Trip to the Middle East
Together with interfaith partners we are planning a Music Mission Trip to the Middle East for 2022. To learn more or express interest, contact John Sherer or Nanette Sawyer. |
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Thanks to the generosity of many, Fourth Church Meals Ministry is expanding!
Beginning Saturday, June 5, we will offer a to-go breakfast for our guests on Saturdays, a day when there are very few meals programs in the city.
Three to four volunteers will be needed each Saturday to assemble and distribute this cold breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know via VOMO, our Volunteer Ministry sign-up platform.
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Each Sunday after worship we offer opportunity to connect with familiar friends or meet new people during virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom.
We hope you will take a few moments to join us for this casual time of Sunday fellowship and conversation!
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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God never intended that we struggle through life’s crises alone. For one-to-one spiritual and emotional support through difficult times, be it death, loss, illness, financial insecurity, pandemic fatigue, or other life challenges, we encourage you to consider being paired (virtually for now) with one of our congregation’s trained and caring Stephen Ministers.
To request a match with a Stephen Minister or to learn more about this opportunity, contact David Handley, Interim Minister for Caring Ministries, or leave a confidential message for a Stephen Minister at 312.573.3365.
As many of us are looking for healthy ways to cope with stresses and anxiety, anger and frustration, grief and uncertainty, the staff of our Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being is also available to offer suggestions and support through phone appointments or teletherapy, whether for just a few sessions or on an ongoing basis.
To set up a time to talk or for more information about how the Center can be a resource for you, call the Center at 312.787.2729, ext. 2260.
Additionally, 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.
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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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