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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 Concerts, with an organ and piano concert by John Sherer and Mio Nakamura this Friday, November 27
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Men’s Bible Study on Tuesday mornings
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Morning Prayer on Wednesday mornings
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Benevolent Guild on Wednesday 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). |
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On Thanksgiving Day we invite you to join us online at 11:00 a.m. for a Thanksgiving service.
As part of this service we will receive Thanksgiving greetings from our interfaith partners as well as hear short readings and presentations representing their religious traditions.
Nanette Sawyer will also offer a sermon on interfaith relations in Christian scripture, the calling to treat our neighbors of other faiths with love and respect, and the spiritual foundation of generosity and thanksgiving
The service will include traditional Presbyterian worship as well as musical offerings from Holy Name Cathedral, the Niagara Foundation, and our own Fourth Church musicians.
Other participating partners and friends are Chicago Sinai Congregation, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, LaSalle Street Church, the Muslim Community Center, and others.
Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26
11:00 a.m.
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Worship This Week:
First Sunday of Advent, November 29
11:00 a.m. worship online
Organ prelude beginning shortly after 10:45 a.m.
Matt Helms preaching
The Season of Advent
This Sunday—which is the first of four Sundays before Christmas—marks the beginning of Advent, the first season on the liturgical calendar and thus the beginning of a new church year.
Advent is observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas as well as the return of Jesus at the second coming.
The season takes it name from the Latin word meaning “coming,” and its liturgical color is purple, to remind us that this is a season of humility and reconciliation.
Connecting to Our Online Worship Service
Our online worship service is available live at 11:00 a.m. (Central) via
For those who do not have Internet access, we also make our worship service 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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The season of Advent invites us to set aside time for daily personal prayer and reflection, creating space to prepare our hearts and lives to receive the gift that comes to us in the stable and embracing what it means to travel through life guided by the Light that darkness cannot overcome.
Our daily Advent devotions—which are written by Fourth Church members and staff—offer a resource for this meditative journey. To receive them daily by email, sign up online at www.bit.ly/fpcdevotions.
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Even though we are in a time of grief shaped by ambiguous loss, the season of Advent reminds us that we are all pregnant with the hope of possibility, joy, and revolution and that the journey to the foot of the manger is a journey marked by transitions.
Rituals help us make sense of those transitions, and they can bring us to the other side of loss and grief if we let them, to a place of healing.
In an online workshop, “Rites of Passage: Creating Sacred Ritual in a Time of Pandemic,” Lois Snavely will lead an exploration of what it means to create ritual for ourselves and our communities (even virtually) and to navigate through the transitory waters of life. She will also invite us to think about how to use ritual-making as a way to reconnect us to ourselves, our faith, and our God.
For more information about the Saturday, December 5 workshop hosted by the Spiritual Formation Council, watch this short video message from Lois, who recently served as a seminary intern at Fourth Church.
Saturday, December 5
10:00 a.m. via Zoom
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Give thanks for those who are special in your life and remember loved ones through contributions toward the purchase of Christmas flowers and garlands. These will decorate the Sanctuary for our online services this coming Advent and Christmas season.
A list of those remembered will be printed in the Christmas bulletin. Contributions must be received by Friday, December 11 in order for names to be included in that bulletin.
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In this season of gratitude and giving, we invite you to join us in making preparations to share Christmas joy with those in need.
Christmas Wishes
Again this year Women at Fourth is coordinating our Christmas Wishes efforts to provide gifts for Chicago Lights Tutoring students. This year each student will receive a gift card, a book, and a mask.
Contributions toward Christmas Wishes gift cards can be made online at www.fourthchurch.org/give-online (choose “Congregational Life” as your designation, and type “Christmas Wishes” in the comments).
Christmas Gift Bags
Sunday and Monday Night Supper guests will again be receiving Christmas gift bags from Fourth Church, this year prepared by staff and volunteers.
Donations are needed to cover the cost of the items to be included in the bags: a food gift card, gloves, hygiene items, and a mask. These donations can be made online at www.bit.ly/giftbags2020
Christmas Cookies
Although we will not have our annual Cookies-and-Cocoa reception this year, Women at Fourth is still inviting individuals to bake cookies, brownies, and other sturdy sweets to share with our Sunday Night Supper guests on December 20. For details, email
“Light Up a Life” Offering
Throughout Advent we are receiving a “Light Up a Life” offering, which helps shine God’s light of love on those who need it most this season, including those in need of the warmth, clothing, and nourishment provided by our Fourth Church Meals Ministry and Chicago Lights Social Service Center programs.
Gifts can be made to this offering online at www.fourthchurch.org/give-online (type “Light Up a Life” in the comments) or by writing “Light Up a Life” on the memo line of a check made payable to Fourth Presbyterian Church (and mailed to the church at 126 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, IL 60611.2014). |
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Each year we begin Advent with a Fair Trade Bazaar weekend planned by our World Mission and Social Justice Committee. Since we cannot host the event on site this year, the opportunity to browse handcrafted goods, including folk art, ceramics, textiles, baskets, jewelry, skin care products, and more from Chicago and around the world, has moved online.
Every purchase of a fair trade gift has a ripple effect of benefits. Artisans produce their products in safe working conditions and earn a fair wage for their labor, which enables them to provide food, shelter, education, and health care for their families. The environment is sustainably treated through healthy soil practices and the minimal use of chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). And we, the consumers, make a conscious choice to be part of a community striving for a more just world.
As you are shopping for holiday gifts this year, the World Mission and Social Justice Committee invites you to shop with these vendors—many of which you will recognize from our previous bazaars—and make a difference for humanity.
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Cornerstones
Friday, December 4
5:30 p.m. via Zoom
Cornerstones, a fellowship opportunity for those fifty and older, will next gather via Zoom on Friday, December 4 for a Christmas concert by John Sherer and tenor Cole Seaton.
Coffee Hour
Following worship each Sunday we hope you will join us via Zoom for virtual Coffee Hour, an opportunity to connect online with one another and share in a time of fellowship.
Zoom Coffee Hour
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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Prayer: The Heartbeat of Christian Faith
Sundays, through December 6
9:30 a.m. via Zoom
On Sunday mornings, Dave Handley is leading a discussion of Harry Emerson Fosdick’s The Meaning of Prayer. This classic book on prayer is aimed at both the seeker and the believer as we long to deepen our personal connection with God.
First Tuesday Book Club
Tuesday, December 1
7:00 p.m. via Zoom
This book group hosted by the Adult Education Committee examines the ethical and social issues facing Christians today.
Nanette Sawyer will continue our discussion, which we began in November, of The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone.
Books by Women
Tuesday, December 8
6:00 p.m. via Zoom
All women are invited to join in monthly Books by Women discussions whenever their schedules allow and the books are of interest.
December book: An Invisible Thread by Laura Schoff
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Stephen Ministry is a one-to-one ministry of care and supportive listening for those who are experiencing life’s challenges.
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