Sunday, September 3

10:00 a.m. worship in person and online

with Communion

Rocky Supinger preaching

Worship bulletin

In person and streamed from the Sanctuary on our YouTube channel: www.bit.ly/fpcvideos

Audio available by phone (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166

In planning your route to church this Sunday, please keep in mind that DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be closed throughout the morning from Bryn Mawr Avenue to 57th Street for Chicago’s annual Bike the Drive.

Livestreamed worship services are accessible by going to www.bit.ly/fpcvideos, subscribing to our YouTube channel, or clicking on the photo with a “Play” arrow on the home page of the Fourth Church website.

The Lord’s Supper

This Sunday we celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Those who are worshiping with us from home are encouraged to have bread and juice on hand so we might share in this meal together, wherever we are.

Children in Worship

Children are always welcome in worship! During the service nursery care is also available for infants through two-year-olds.

Sunday School does not meet this Sunday but kicks off a new program year next Sunday, September 10 at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.

We are eagerly looking forward to the new worship schedule that will begin next Sunday!

Starting Sunday, September 10 we will be worshiping at

9:30 a.m.

Worship with organ and the Morning Choir

In the Sanctuary and livestreamed

11:00 a.m.

Worship with organ and the Chancel Choir

In the Sanctuary

2:00 p.m.

The Gathering, with Communion

In the Sanctuary and livestreamed

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00 is the new name for our afternoon service, which will also be taking place at the new time of 2:00 on Sunday afternoons. This more casual, intimate service, which will feature music by the instrumentalists who helped to lead the jazz service, will take place in the Sanctuary and be livestreamed. We hope you will come experience it!

As with the current livestream of worship, the livestreams of the 9:30 and 2:00 services will be available to view anytime after the service begins if you would prefer to connect online at a later time.

Get Connected Sunday is less than 10 days away!

Come join us on Sunday, September 10 between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., when we will have information tables for you to learn about opportunities to connect with Fourth Church and one another this autumn.

Always a high energy day, Get Connected Sunday is also the day when Sunday School, youth gatherings, and adult education classes resume.

We hope to see you for this festive start to a new program year!

We are also looking for volunteers to assist with Get Connected setup on Saturday, September 9. If you can help, please contact Simon Crow.

Invite a friend and join us for our Neighborhood Block Party, which also will be held next Sunday, September 10!

It will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Michigan Avenue courtyard.

There will be music, games, ice cream, a pet blessing, temporary tattoos, a bounce house, and more!

Sunday Morning Adult Education

Also kicking off on September 10 is Sunday morning Adult Education, which begins with Vicky Curtiss teaching a class on Celtic spirituality at 11:00 a.m. in person and via Zoom. For Zoom details, register online

The class will include a discussion of the Christians of ancient Britain and Ireland who developed their lively spiritual tradition apart from the influence of the Roman Church. It will also explore the Celtic life-affirming theology of creation, daily life and work, incarnation, friendship, pilgrimage, blessing, social justice, and prayer.

You can find online the information about that class and others planned for this autumn. You will also find there a link for subscribing to our Adult Education email newsletter.

Everyone is welcome to attend any of the Sunday morning classes, and there is no charge for any of them.

If you haven’t attended an Adult Education class at Fourth Church before, we hope you will give one a try this autumn!

Center for Life and Learning

Right around the corner as well is the launch of the Autumn Session of the Center for Life and Learning, which begins on Monday, September 11.

This session of weekday classes for those sixty and over includes twenty weekly classes as well as several Special Topic classes and events sprinkled throughout the fourteen-week term.

You can learn more about the autumn offerings on the CLL web pages.

There you can also register to become a CLL member.

Eighth-grade Confirmation kicks off on Sunday, September 10 too.

That morning there will be a gathering of students and parents at 9:30 a.m. The youth will then meet at that same time on Sundays through April.

If you have an eighth grader who is interested in participating, please register by next Sunday.

Cornerstones

On Friday evening, September 8, Cornerstones begins its new season of monthly dinner programs for adults fifty and over.

The first program will be presented by Jay Tunney, son of Gene Tunney, the famous American boxer who defeated Jack Dempsey to become World Heavyweight Champion in 1926.

Jay will talk about the highly acclaimed book he authored, The Prizefighter and the Playwright, which brings to life the close friendship his father shared with Nobel prize-winning playwright George Bernard Shaw.

Friday, September 8 

5:30–7:30 p.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Registration required

Zoom Small Groups

New Zoom Small Groups will be beginning later this autumn.

If you would like to connect with five to seven other people via Zoom for a time of fellowship, relationship building, and spiritual formation or simply want to learn more about our small-group opportunities, please email Simon Crow.

The Fourth Church Day School is enrolling children ages 1–4 years old for the upcoming 2023–2024 school year.

More information about our part-time preschool programs can be found at www.bit.ly/fpcdayschoolprograms

Those interested in learning more about Fourth Church or becoming a member are invited to a one-session Inquirers’ Class via Zoom this Wednesday, September 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The class (required for membership) covers Reformed theology, polity, and Fourth Church history and congregational life. Time is also given for personal introductions and small-group interaction.

For Zoom details, register online.

For more information about membership or upcoming classes, email member@fourthchurch.org.

Several of our programs have current needs for item donations. Might you be able to help?

Social Service Center

The Chicago Lights Social Service Center has an urgent need for men’s casual clothing in all sizes — new or gently used — as well as for walking shoes for men and women. 

Shower Ministry

Fourth Church Shower Ministry is in need of unused, hotel-sized toiletries, including bottles of body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant; razors; toothbrushes; and lip balm.

Meals Ministry

Fourth Church Meals Ministry is requesting donations for its Bag Lunch and Sunday and Monday Night Suppers, as the number of guests at all of these programs is increasing. Needed items can be ordered online and shipped directly to the church.

Volunteer assistance in preparing and serving these meals is also appreciated. You can explore the opportunities and sign up online.

Items can be dropped off at the church reception desk seven days a week between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (except this Monday, when the office will be closed for Labor Day.) Please mark donations to the attention of the ministry for which they are intended.

The exterior scaffolding on the Fourth Church campus is to enable tuckpointing, flashing, and window repair being done this summer.

The scaffolding in the North Balcony of the Sanctuary is to assist in addressing the gradual delamination of some of the Frederic Clay Bartlett murals on the ceiling.

Deaths

We give thanks to God for the gift of life eternal.

Bryan Albert Erler

Died August 27, 2023

Jane Heenan

Died August 30, 2023

Jeanne M. Sullivan

August 29, 2023