If you know someone who would like to receive 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
|
|
Trinity Sunday, June 7
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.
This Sunday is also a Communion Sunday. As we do on the first Sunday of even-numbered months, we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper, although virtually.
We invite you to have some bread and juice on hand for worship this weekend so that we might together take part, from our own homes, in this shared meal.
This celebration of Communion during our online worship is a way, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has noted, that we can continue to emphasize the unity of the body, the church, in an extraordinary time when we are not able to worship together in person for an extended period.
We are delighted that with the stay-at-home order lifted for Chicago, this Sunday will also mark our return to livestreaming worship from the Sanctuary! This means that we will be able to enjoy the music of our Andrew Pipe Organ during the service, so
be sure to tune in about fifteen minutes early to hear the organ prelude.
11:00 a.m. worship online
with Communion
Organ prelude beginning shortly after 10:45 a.m.
Shannon J. Kershner preaching
If our 11:00 worship time does not fit your schedule, the service will be available for viewing throughout the week.
|
|
Have you worshiped with us online this spring? If so, we would greatly appreciate it if you would take just a couple of minutes to complete
this brief survey.
With Session having voted to have online-only worship throughout the summer, your responses to the survey will help us shape that livestreamed worship in these days when we are not able to gather in person.
While we all look forward to that time when we can worship together in the same space, we know that until then our worship will be different. Please take a moment to complete the
survey so we can make that “different” the best experience possible.
|
|
As we enter summer in this season of pandemic, the Session of Fourth Church has approved a plan for our life together as a church in the summer of 2020.
Included in that plan is the decision to have livestream-only worship throughout the summer months.
Also during that same time period—June through August—the Fourth Church campus will remain closed, and programming will take place online, from Center for Life and Learning exercise classes to VBS to Summer Day to Bible studies and more.
The meeting of essential needs by Fourth Church Meals Ministry and Chicago Lights Social Service Center will continue to be offered outdoors, as it has been since mid-March.
|
|
This Sunday is the last Sunday to send in names of those graduating from eighth grade, high school, college, or a graduate or professional program in 2020.
Graduate names sent to
Katie Patterson no later than Sunday, June 7 will appear in the worship bulletin on June 21, which is Baccalaureate Sunday.
|
|
Embodying our congregation’s strategic direction “Embrace Racial Equity” calls on us to “strive for radical hospitality and model an antiracist approach.”
Doing that requires action and education as a community of faith and as individuals. Two helpful education resources are available through our Academy for Faith and Life, which has posted videos of courses taught at Fourth Church earlier this year: “Beloved Community” and “Black History: Impact on Our Faith Traditions.” If you have not already viewed them, we encourage you to do so. We also invite you to consider attending the upcoming interfaith webinar on “Anti-Blackness among Muslims and Christians.”
Beloved Community: Shaping Our Lives Together
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned a Beloved Community where all people see one another as beloved children of God, developing loving relationships as members of God’s one family. In the Beloved Community, all forms of bigotry and discrimination are replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of belonging. In this three-week class, Barbara Ann Wilson (Director, Collaboration and Community Partnerships for the Presbytery of Chicago) explores the biblical and theological foundations for working toward racial healing, reconciliation, and justice.
Black History: Impact on Our Faith Traditions
The history many of us learned about our country and institutions—including churches—often overlooks the contributions, perspectives, and experiences of African Americans. With the help of guest lecturers, this series highlights several aspects of history in the United States to help viewers gain a more complete picture of who and what has shaped our faith communities.
“Pulling the Weeds out of Our Garden: Anti-Blackness among Muslims and Christians”
A free webinar on “Anti-Blackness among Muslims and Christians” will take place this coming Tuesday evening, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Cohosted by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago and by the Chicago Presbytery Ecumenical and Interreligious Work Group, this Muslim-Presbyterian dialogue will include our Minister of Evangelism, Joe Morrow, as a featured speaker. To register (required) for this free webinar, sign up at
www.bit.ly/pullingtheweeds
|
|
Please let us know—
- If you are feeling grief, anger, or frustration, please contact our Pastoral Care Office so that we can reach out to you.
- If you are—or someone you know is—feeling lonely, isolated, anxious, or sick or is in self-quarantine, please contact our Pastoral Care Office so that we can also reach out to you.
- If you are a medical professional or other essential worker, please let our Pastoral Care Office know who you are so we can reach out and care for you in what we know are are difficult days for you.
- 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.
- If you have a prayer request that you would like included in Morning Prayer or as part of our Deacon Prayer Ministries, we encourage you to send those requests to David Handley, our Interim Minister for Pastoral Care. Each Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m., Fourth Church staff gathers via Zoom for Morning Prayer. If you would like to join in this weekly time of prayer for those in need, please contact Carol Allerton for the Zoom information.
- If you would like to be in phone contact with one of our Stephen Ministers, who have been trained in providing emotional and spiritual care, please leave a confidential message at 312.573.3365. Stephen Ministers are available to be God’s listening presence—whether it is for just one phone conversation or more—during this season when many of us are struggling to sort things out.
- If you would like to talk with a therapist in the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being, you can schedule a teletherapy appointment by calling the Center at 312.787.2729, ext 2260.
As a connectional community committed to living out our care for one another and remaining together while apart, we very much want to hear from you!
|
|
Our online Friday Noonday Concerts are again livestreaming from the Sanctuary!
This week we enjoyed a piano-duo performance by the husband-and-wife team of Redekopp and Edwards.
These online concerts are streamed on Fridays at 12:10 p.m. at
www.bit.ly/fpcprograms, where they are also available to enjoy throughout the week.
|
|
Beginning in July, and meeting for three months, a group of six to eight men will take turns sharing their “spiritual autobiography” as part of a new Men’s Small Discussion Group led by David Handley, Interim Minister for Pastoral Care.
These reflections on faith and personal life, shared in a confidential context, will also be accompanied by opportunity for the other participants to talk about themes and experiences they have experienced that are similar.
There will also be time spent reading the Gospel according to Mark and guidance on how we might hear the scripture being read in a way that intersects with our lives.
To express interest in taking part in this new group, please contact
David Handley (312.573.3360).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
