What’s coming up on the church
calendar? Quite a variety of things, including—
- A SoulCollage and Poetry Workshop through the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being this Saturday, October 12
- Listening sessions about racial equity work that Fourth Church is undertaking; those who are interested in participating in the sessions are asked to email racialequity@fourthchurch.org
- Knitting and Crocheting on Tuesday, October 22
- A Women at Fourth monthly gathering on Thursday, October 24, with a program presented by the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being on the topic of transitions
- A candlelit Taizé service of prayer, song, and silent meditation on Friday evening, October 25
- A Cornerstones dinner on Friday, November 1 with a panel presentation by Fourth Church senior high youth
The calendar, which is easily accessible from the home page of our website, also includes direct links to any online registrations (along with an option to make online payment of any registration fees).
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Sunday, October 13: Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
8:00 a.m. Communion
Rocky Supinger preaching
9:30 a.m. Baptisms
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
11:00 a.m. Baptisms
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
4:00 p.m. Jazz Communion
Nanette Sawyer preaching
As we gather for worship this Sunday, we will continue our six-week sermon series,
“Remembering Our Past, Inspiring Our Future,” with a focus this week on our interfaith relationships.
If you missed the first sermons in the series—“Seek the Welfare of the City” and “Lift Up Your Voice: Our Public Witness”—you can find them
online.
If you would like to
receive the 9:30/11:00 a.m. sermon in your inbox every week, you can subscribe at
www.bit.ly/fpcsermons
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Are you interested in exploring membership at Fourth Church?
Do you know someone who is?
This Sunday, October 13 we will begin a two-week Inquirers’ Class during which we will explore faith stories and backgrounds. We will also learn more about Fourth Church and how to connect with the community in ways that match your interests and gifts.
The class meets from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. on Sundays, October 13 and October 20 and will include a light lunch. Come join us!
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We have two urgent volunteer needs with which we could use your help:
- 60 tutors to mentor Chicago Lights Tutoring students one evening a week at the church: We have students who are still waiting for a tutor for this school year; if you or someone you know can help, you can learn more at www.bit.ly/cltutor2019
- Sunday Night Supper servers: We are currently short on volunteers to help us with our weekly Sunday Night Supper for those in our community who are hungry.
Sign up or learn more by contacting
Robert Crouch, Director of Volunteer Ministry.
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With many aspects of today’s America tending to emphasize division and exclusion, with often destructive consequences, opportunities to come together as an interfaith community become ever more important. We seek inspiration to regain a sense of common ground that promotes both
civil discourse and faithful living together.
On Tuesday, November 5 join Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago; Rabbi Wendi Geffen, Senior Rabbi at North Shore Congregation Israel; and Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core as they engage in dialogue about how love for God asks us to embrace rather than exclude each other.
Cardinal Cupich, Rabbi Geffen, and Eboo Patel will be with us for this special Michigan Avenue Forum at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary on November 5, when they will share their own interfaith stories and explore how each person’s religious tradition motivates them to love God and work toward community.
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A new class—“The Cosmic Significance of Christ in Our Everyday Lives:
Richard Rohr’s
The Universal Christ”—begins this Sunday, October 13 at 11:00 a.m.
Led by former Associate Pastor Carol J. Allen, this four-week course will help us bring together our thinking about Jesus, the historical person, and Christ, the savior, in order to recognize God’s presence in all of creation, in everything and everyone we encounter. Together we’ll examine the implications of this incarnational view of the world—with Jesus Christ the embodiment of God’s constant, unfolding work—for living, believing, and relating to the world and others around us.
The “Job, Suffering, and the Limits of Pastoral Care” class also continues at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday, with
John Buchanan joining Tom Dozeman in leading the presentation.
Additionally, there are still openings for the
men’s small-group faith discussion gathering that will meet weekly for three months beginning on October 18. For details, or to sign up, contact
Anne Ellis.
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Each year our Annual Appeal gives us opportunity to celebrate the particular ways in which this faith community is committed to actively participating in God’s re-creating and reconciling work in this world.
“Called to Be a Church Alive”—the theme for our Annual Appeal—is also an invitation to each one of us to join in that work through our financial support.
In the days ahead, please prayerfully consider the investment you will make in your Fourth Church family and its work in 2020 and
make a pledge by Sunday, November 3: Commitment Sunday.
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One of our favorite Family Nights of the year returns next Friday: our annual
Pumpkin-Decorating Night!
Parents and children are invited to join us in enjoying a fall-themed dinner menu, a visit to our indoor “pumpkin patch,” and plenty of awesome crafts and pumpkin painting!
We’ll be gathering on Friday, October 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Borwell Dining Room. Come join us!
Another fun opportunity on our calendar for the youngest among us is
Wednesday morning story time.
Those three and under (accompanied by their caregivers) are invited to an hour of stories read by our Day School staff on Wednesday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Join us any Wednesdays this autumn that fit your schedule—and invite other three-and-unders you know in the community as well!
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Grief Support Groups
For those dealing with significant loss in their life, the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being offers Grief Support Groups several times throughout the year at no charge. The next group will start on Monday evening, November 4.
For details, to preregister
(required), or to put your name on the list for a future group, please call the Replogle Center at 312.787.8425.
Breast Cancer Support Group
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer or are navigating the treatments and aftermath, you are not alone. Going Fourth is a group of women who have had the same experience and are willing to offer support.
Keeping Calm during the Holidays
In the weeks to come we will be entering the holiday season, which, while wonderful, can also be a challenging time filled with expectations and obligations, over-scheduling, financial stress, grief, and loneliness.
In a two-hour workshop on Saturday, November 2, the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being will help you learn self-care tools based on mindful self-compassion, yoga, and qi gong. There will also be opportunity to examine what’s important to you and set an intention for the upcoming season. You can
register online for this November 2 workshop.
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Due next Friday, October 18 are recommendations of members to serve in leadership roles as Elder, Deacon, Trustee, or a member of the Officer Nominating Committee or the Chicago Lights Board.
Please help the Nominating Committee prepare a strong slate of candidates for these offices by taking a moment this week to submit recommendations, either by using the cards in the pew racks, by talking with a committee member during Coffee Hour, or by using this simple
online form.
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In the West Bank, Palestinians and Israelis live in separate universes without real human contact. However, Roots is changing that reality, fostering a movement of understanding, nonviolence, and transformation among Israelis and Palestinians.
This nonprofit initiative builds
grassroots Jewish-Palestinian relationships as a necessary prerequisite for a future peace settlement. Come learn more on Monday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary when we join cohosts Congregation Sinai in welcoming Shadi Abu Awwad, the Roots Palestinian youth director, and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, one of the founders of Roots.
Together they will share their personal, interconnected stories and present the important groundbreaking grassroots work of their initiative.
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Coming up next on our weekly Friday Noonday Concert schedule: two organ concerts.
Friday, October 18 at 12:10 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
Patrick Scott, organ
Friday, October 25 at 12:10 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
John Sherer, organ
Looking ahead, be sure to save the date for two special choral performances in November:
Sunday, November 3 at 6:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
The Morning Choir singing
Requiem by Herbert Howells
Part of the All Saints’ Sunday Service of Remembrance
Friday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
The Fourth Church Choral Society singing music celebrating 1969
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Deaths
We give thanks to God for the gift of life eternal.
Laurel (Laurie) Leigh
Died on September 29, 2019
A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary. A reception will be held at the Admiral.
Kathlyn Maguire
Died on October 1, 2019
A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 26 at 10:00 a.m. in Buchanan Chapel.
Nancy Niemi
Died on October 1, 2019
A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 19 at 11:00 a.m. at the Clare.
A memorial service for
Patty Lenters, whose death was previously announced, will be held Monday, November 11 at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary, followed by a reception in Anderson Hall.
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Fourth Presbyterian Church | 312.787.4570 | www.fourthchurch.org
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