Today is Maundy Thursday, the day we commemorate the Last Supper.

The day takes its name from the Latin mandatum novum do vobis: “a new commandment I give to you.” This new commandment, given by Jesus when — during supper, he washed the disciples’ feet — was “to love one another just as I have loved you.” It is his example and thus our call to love and serve that we remember on Maundy Thursday.

As our Holy Week journey continues this holy day, we will gather for worship at 12:10 and 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary, with the 6:30 service also livestreamed.

Both services will include Communion, and so we invite those who will be worshiping with us online in the evening to have bread and juice on hand.

The noonday service will also include the option for foot- or handwashing.

The evening service follows the ancient Office of Tenebrae (from the Latin for “shadows”). This service — one of the most meaningful of the year for many — portrays the progression from light to darkness in the passion of Jesus, beginning with his abandonment on Thursday and concluding with his crucifixion. The service ends with the Sanctuary in complete darkness.

Maundy Thursday | March 28

12:10 p.m. worship with Communion

and optional foot- and handwashing

Joseph L. Morrow preaching

in person only

Worship bulletin

6:30 p.m. Tenebrae with Communion

Tom Are Jr. preaching

in person and online

Worship bulletin

On Good Friday, the most solemn day of the church year, we gather for two worship opportunities: a 12:10 p.m. service and a 6:30 p.m. Choral Service.

At 5:30 p.m. we also have a Good Friday Children’s Program in Buchanan Chapel, offering an opportunity to introduce children to Jesus’ death without overwhelming them with details.

This year the Choral Service will feature the Morning Choir singing Stabat Mater by Francis Poulenc. The evening will conclude with the bells tolling thirty-three times — once for each year of Jesus’ life on earth.

At the last toll, the flickering Christ candle will be extinguished, and we will enter the solemn observance of the weekend.

Good Friday | March 29

12:10 p.m. Good Friday Service

Nancy Benson-Nicol preaching

in person only

Worship bulletin

5:30 p.m. Children’s Program

in Buchanan Chapel

in person only

6:30 p.m. Choral Service

featuring Stabat Mater by Francis Poulenc

sung by the Morning Choir

in person and online

Worship bulletin

The Saturday evening Easter vigil — an ancient tradition of the church — invites us into the story of salvation as we mark the conclusion of Lent and the dawning of Easter.

Beginning in the Michigan Avenue courtyard, we will process by candlelight into the darkened Sanctuary.

There, together with our friends from First Presbyterian Church and Edgewater Presbyterian Church, we will hear readings from scripture that cover the story of salvation, from creation through redemption, and join together in sacred song.

Holy Saturday| March 30

7:00 p.m. Easter Vigil

with Communion

Joseph L. Morrow preaching

in person only

Worship bulletin

Join us this Easter Sunday as we gather in festive celebration of the resurrection of the Lord!

Easter Sunrise Service

6:30 a.m. at Oak Street Beach

with Communion

Matt Helms preaching

in person only

Worship bulletin

We’ll celebrate the dawning of a new day and of new life when we gather for the annual Easter Sunrise Service at Oak Street Beach.

Members of Tower Brass will be on hand to accompany our singing, and we’ll celebrate Communion as we worship together at sunrise on the lakeshore.

Easter Children’s Program

9:30 a.m. in the Gratz Center

in person only

As on every Sunday, children are invited to worship with their parents at any of the services. Those children age 3 to fifth grade who are looking for an alternative Easter experience are invited to join us at 9:30 a.m. for a fun Easter program in the Gratz Center.

There will be opportunity to meet biblical characters in the Easter story, make crafts — and have an Easter egg hunt!

Easter Morning Worship

Tom Are Jr. preaching

Worship bulletin

9:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary

in person and online

11:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary

in person only

From the stirring sounds of a Tower Brass prelude to the Morning Choir singing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” and the Andrew Pipe Organ sending us out into the world with Widor’s “Toccata,” our morning services will reverberate with the joyous good news that Jesus Christ is risen today!

Please note that to accommodate the number of worshipers, the second service in the Sanctuary starts a half hour later on Easter than on other Sundays.

See below for more “Notes about Easter Worship”

“The Gathering” on Easter

2:00 p.m. with Communion

Nancy Benson-Nicol preaching

in person and online

Worship bulletin

On Easter “The Gathering: Communion at 2:00” brings together joy-filled music led by our Gathering ensemble, scripture, prayer, and Communion, as our worship echoes with “Christ is risen!”

Notes about Easter Worship

The 9:30 a.m. Easter service will be livestreamed, with the prelude beginning around 9:15 a.m., and will be available to watch anytime later that morning or afterwards.

The 2:00 p.m. Gathering service will also be livestreamed.

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.

For those without Internet access, audio only is available by phone (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166 at 9:30 a.m.

Entrance for the 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Easter services will be through the glass Loggia doors on Michigan Avenue, next to the courtyard. Seating will begin a half hour prior to each of those two services.

Nursery care will be available between 9:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. 

On Palm/Passion Sunday, the Sunday School children presented their fish banks, in which they had saved their Lenten offerings.

You too can make your gift to our Holy Week and Easter offering by using the envelopes in the pew racks or by designating “OGHS Offering” when giving at fourthchurch.org/give or via Venmo. You can also note that designation on the memo line of a check made payable to Fourth Presbyterian Church.

This year our One Great Hour of Sharing Offering supports

• Fourth Church Meals Ministry
• Chicago Lights Tutoring
• Chicago Lights Social Service Center
• Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
• Presbyterian Hunger Program
• Presbyterian Self-Development of People

Through the work of those six programs, your gifts touch the lives of those in need, respond to injustice, provide shelter, and feed the hungry, both here in our city and around the world.

On Palm/Passion Sunday we entered Holy Week with waving palm branches, loud hosannas, and refrains of “all glory, laud, and honor,” as we told again the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, one that will by week’s end lead to the cross.

The first step in our search for a new pastor will be the election of a Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) later this spring.

To help the Nominating Committee prepare a slate of recommended PNC candidates, the committee asks that you take a moment between now and next Sunday, April 7 to submit your suggestions of individuals to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee.

You can complete online a form to indicate your willingness to be considered for the PNC or to recommend someone else.

There’s a lot going on at Fourth Church!

There is the formation of the Pastor Nominating Committee as well as the Long-Range Planning work, all in addition to worship services, classes, trips, concerts, gatherings, and more.

We want to make sure you feel connected to all of these initiatives and have all the latest information about them.

So we ask that you please take 1 minute to reply to a simple survey to let us know how you want to access the latest news and information from Fourth Church in the days ahead!

“Dying Well”

By popular demand, returning as an Adult Education instructor is HD Mitchell, Spiritual Director at the Clare, who previously taught the class “Aging Gracefully.” Now he will help us explore the art of “Dying Well.”

According to the popular theologian Richard Rohr, “Death is largely a threat to those who have not yet lived their lives.”

As Easter people, how can we cultivate the courage and compassion to face our finitude and strengthen our capacity to live each day more fully with gratitude and awareness?

Come join HD as we dive into that question and more about dying well.

Sunday, April 7 

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room and via Zoom

For Zoom details, register here

“Sermon Discussion and Fellowship”

One suggestion that came up multiple times in our Long-Range Planning listening sessions was a yearning for opportunity to discuss, in a group setting, Sunday sermons. Beginning April 7, we will be doing just that!

On April Sundays, Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children, Family, and Welcoming Ministries, will lead us in table group discussions of the Sunday sermon and lectionary texts while we also share refreshments and get to know one another.

Together we will grow our faith, build fellowship, and deepen our understanding of the text and sermon topic by listening to what others have heard.

So that we can ensure we have enough refreshments, we kindly request that you register in advance for whichever sessions you plan to attend.

Sundays, April 7, 14, 21, and 28

12:15 p.m.

Borwell Dining Room (in person only)

Please register here

“Christian Nationalism: 

How Did It Evolve, and What Does It Mean Today?” 

Over the past two decades one of our most popular and engaging Adult Education teachers has been Tom Dozeman, Emeritus Professor of Hebrew Bible Studies at United Theological Seminary and the author of eight books, including The Pentateuch: Introducing the Torah.

In April he will be joining Cornerstones — a fellowship group for those fifty and over — to talk about how Christian Nationalism evolved and what it means today.

Christian Nationalism supports the movement that claims that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. Those who describe themselves as Christian nationalists support the idea of the United States becoming a Christian nation and seek to erase the wall between church and state.

Come join Tom as he talks about the evolution and implications of Christian Nationalism.

Friday, April 5

5:30 p.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Preregistration required; register here by Monday, April 1

A Civil Rights Trail Pilgrimage to New Orleans, Jackson, Montgomery, and Birmingham is on our calendar for October 18–27.

Cosponsored by Fourth Church and the Community Presbyterian Church of Clarendon Hills, this curated journey will take travelers to locations central to our nation’s civil rights movement. 

The ten-day pilgrimage to the South — Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi — promises to deliver a deeper understanding of and insights into the historic movers and movements of the historic and ongoing civil rights struggles as travelers learn personal stories, visit museums and historical sites, and experience cultural immersion. 

Learn more, and download a trip brochure, on our website.

To join the pilgrimage, apply online.

Curious to discover more about this congregation, and the opportunities and resources available to you here, as well as learn about the Presbyterian Church (USA)?

Interested in becoming a member of Fourth Church?

Join us for an upcoming one-session Inquirers’ Class:

Wednesday, April 10

6:30 p.m. | via zoom

Register here

For additional information about Fourth Church membership, visit our website or reach out to Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children, Family, and Welcoming Ministries, who would welcome hearing from you.

Looking for ways to connect with the Fourth Church community and one another? On the church calendar you will find many opportunities to do so. Included among them are

• Men’s Bible Study via Zoom on Tuesday mornings
• Knitting and Crocheting in person on Tuesday morning, April 2
• Benevolent Guild in person on Wednesday mornings
• Cornerstones in person on Friday evening, April 5 for a program by Tom Dozeman on “Christian Nationalism: How Did It Evolve, and What Does It Mean Today?” (registration required)
•  “Dying Well,” an Adult Education class with HD Mitchell, in person and via Zoom on Sunday, April 7
• “Sermon Discussion and Fellowship” in person on April Sundays
• Books by Women discussing Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus in person on Tuesday evening, April 9
• Horizons Women’s Bible Study via Zoom at noon and in the evening on Wednesday, April 10
• Inquirers’ Class, for those seeking to become members of Fourth Church, via Zoom on Wednesday evening, April 10

For information about whom to contact for an event’s Zoom details or the link to register for an event, simply click on the down “arrow” to the right of the event name in the calendar (which is easily accessible from the “Calendar” at the top of the menu on our website).

Conversation and Presence

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 Nancy Benson-Nicol, Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation, or leave a confidential message for a Stephen Minister at 312.573.3365.

Grief Groups facilitated by the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being meet for four weeks via Zoom, with the next one beginning Wednesday, May 15. To learn more or register for a group, contact the group facilitator, Sharon Crawford-Tucker.

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 would like to alert pastoral staff to emerging pastoral care needs, illnesses, hospitalizations, or deaths, please email Gloria Fleming, Assistant for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation; however, if the situation is an emergency or requires immediate attention, please call the church at 312.787.4570 to be connected to the Minister on Call.

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.

Prayer

If you would like to submit a prayer request to our Morning Prayer or Deacon Prayer Ministries, please email Gloria Fleming or Nancy Benson-Nicol.

If you would like to join in praying for others — members of Fourth Church and those in need — we invite you to gather with us for Wednesday Morning Prayer weekly at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. On the first Wednesday of the month (April 3) we also gather at 10:00 a.m. for in-person Morning Prayer in Buchanan Chapel. For Zoom details, email Nancy Benson-Nicol.

Children in Worship

Children are always welcome in worship at Fourth Church! If you need to step out to comfort your child, the Hospitality Suite, on the second floor of the Gratz Center, is a quiet space for families where worship is livestreamed.

During Sunday morning services nursery care is available on the fourth floor of the Gratz Center for infants through two-year-olds.

Livestreamed Services

Livestreamed worship services (9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) 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.

These livestreams are available to view anytime after the service begins if you would prefer to connect online at a later time. For tips on how to watch — from the beginning — a service already in progress, see www.fourthchurch.org/watch-from-the-beginning

Audio-only by phone is available (toll free) by calling 888.916.9166 just prior to the start of the service 9:30 service.