First Sunday of Epiphany, January 7

9:30 a.m. worship in person and online

John W. W. Sherer, Organist and Director of Music, preaching

Worship bulletin

11:00 a.m. worship in person and online

John W. W. Sherer, Organist and Director of Music, preaching

Worship bulletin

2:00 p.m. worship in person and online

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

Rocky Supinger preaching

Worship bulletin

John Sherer Preaching

This Sunday morning we look forward to having as our preacher John Sherer, our Organist and Director of Music.

Weekly we have opportunity to hear John share his gifts from the organ bench and the choir loft. Those who subscribe to our daily devotions have also been regularly invited into reflection by his written word. This weekend we have the added treat of listening to John from the pulpit.

We hope you will be with us for his sermon “Arise, Shine!” as we celebrate Epiphany and the magi following the light of the star to worship Jesus as king of all people.

“Finding Faith in Hard Times: 

When Bad Things Happen to Good People”

This Sunday we invite you to join Amy Pagliarella, Parish Associate for Caring Ministries, in taking a closer look at the age-old question: If God is all-loving, how can Christians make sense of personal trauma and collective evil in the world?

Together we will explore the different ways Christians and people of other faiths have attempted to explain this over the years, examining both historical and contemporary perspectives.

Our companions in this course will include theologians and writers who have asked these questions (e.g., Rabbi Harold Kushner, Kate Bowler, Viktor Frankl, Elie Wiesel, Delores Williams, and others from the Black Womanist tradition). Ultimately we will look at how our theology of evil and tragedy can help sustain us and support others during tough times.

Sundays, January 7–21 

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room and via Zoom

For Zoom details, register here 

“Finding Faith in Hard Times” is the latest in our Adult Education offerings. In December Elizabeth Kendall and Peter Schoemann of Parma Conservation, who led the recent restoration process of our Sanctuary murals, taught a class on “Conserving Historic Murals by Frederic Clay Bartlett: A Primer in Art Conservation.”

Afterwards there was opportunity to look at the pair’s restoration work on the historic murals above the North Balcony.

In just over a week, on Sunday, January 14, Senior Associate Pastor Lucy Forster-Smith will be retiring.

Next Sunday Lucy will preach at both morning services, and we will have a reception in her honor during Coffee Hour that day.

Please plan to join us that morning in gathering to thank Lucy for her ministry among us and to wish her and her husband, Tom Forster-Smith, well in this next chapter in their lives.

Also that day we will come together for a congregational meeting called by Session for Sunday, January 14 following the 11:00 a.m. service.

The purpose of the meeting will be to formally dissolve the pastoral relationship between Lucy and Fourth Church and will take place both in the Sanctuary and online.

After many months of work, the Long Range Planning Task Force is excited to share the proposed strategic directions with the congregation.

Please plan to join them at one of the upcoming listening sessions (listed below), where the task force will share the proposed strategic directions and welcome your feedback.

To ensure group sizes enabling all to be heard, registration is required.

Thursday, January 18

6:30 p.m. via Zoom

Register

Sunday, January 21

10:45 a.m. in person

Register

Sunday, January 28 

12:30 p.m. in person

Register

Tuesday, January 30

8:00 p.m. via Zoom

Register

Sunday, February 4

12:30 p.m. in person

Register

We look forward to your participation, as your continued input is essential to the long-range planning process!

To learn more or to pass along comments, email longrange@fourthchurch.org.

At the December Session meeting, Elders had opportunity to learn about the proposed strategic directions and share their feedback.

During these twelve days of Christmas, the songs of the season still echo in our minds. Not only did our Christmas services give us the gift of glorious music, but our spaces were alive with the sounds of numerous holiday concerts as well, as we hosted 10,000 concertgoers in two weeks!

Chicago a cappella returned to Buchanan Chapel for their annual performance of Holidays a cappella.

On seven nights, crowds lined up to attend one of Andrew Bird’s sold-out Gezelligheid holiday concerts.

While an Andrew Bird performance was taking place in the Sanctuary, in Buchanan Chapel Chicago Camerata presented a concert of Part 1 of Messiah (Christmas).

The Sounds Good! Choir, which provides a choral opportunity for older adults in the Chicago area who like to sing and which rehearses weekly at Fourth Church, presented its holiday concert —

— which included a rousing rendition of the Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila.”

Of course the December music season would not have been complete without our concluding concert of the season: “Christmas with Tower Brass”!

“The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Future of American Democracy”

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 31 and plan to join us that evening when we are honored to welcome Robert P. Jones, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, as the speaker at our next Michigan Avenue Forum.

In a presentation moderated by Fourth Church member Cynthia Johnson, Mr. Jones will explain how the founders of the United States could build the philosophical framework for a democratic society on a foundation of mass racial violence — and why this paradox survives today in the form of white Christian nationalism.

Through stories of people navigating these contradictions in three communities, Jones illuminates the possibility of a new American future in which we finally fulfill the promise of a pluralistic democracy.

Robert P. Jones, president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for the Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is also the author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity and The End of White Christian America. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University and an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Wednesday, January 31 

6:30 p.m. 

in the Sanctuary and livestreamed

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 one of our upcoming one-session Inquirers’ Classes!

Sunday, January 14

In person | Room 5F

12:15 – 2:30 p.m.

Register

Wednesday, February 7

Via Zoom

6:30–8:30 p.m.

Register

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.

Death

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

Sandra Kay Holben

Died December 22, 2023

A memorial service will be held in the Sanctuary on Friday, April 12 at 2:00 p.m.

Challenges and Opportunities

The turning of the year can be a challenging time as well a season of opportunity.

As we face and embrace change and possibilities, Fourth Church’s Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being offers various resources and a supportive environment for reflecting, exploring, and walking alongside us in this season.

To learn how the Replogle Center can help, call the Center at 312.787.8425 or visit the Center’s website: www.reploglecenter.org

Conversation and Presence

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.

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.

To join a Grief Group facilitated by our Replogle Center, email Sharon Crawford-Tucker.

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 at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom or at 10:00 a.m. in person. 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.