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

• Breakthrough Hunger Walk this Saturday morning, April 27
• “Troublesome Texts and Gender” Adult Education class on Sunday morning, April 28, in person and via Zoom
• “Sermon Discussion and Fellowship” in person on Sunday, April 28
• Men’s Bible Study via Zoom on Tuesday mornings
• Benevolent Guild in person on Wednesday mornings
• Choral Society rehearsals on Thursday evenings
• Friday Noonday Concert, in person and livestreamed, featuring pianist Mingfei Li on Friday, May 3
• Cornerstones in person on Friday evening, May 3, featuring Ron Bottrell speaking about Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
• “Food and Religion” on Sunday morning, May 5 in person and via Zoom
• Staged reading of Perseverance of the Saints, written by Kat Evans, at the Chicago Temple on Sunday afternoon, May 5 and Tuesday evening, May 7
• Knitting and Crocheting in person on Tuesday morning, May 7
• Horizons Women’s Bible Study via Zoom at noon and in the evening on Wednesday, May 8
• Inquirers’ Class, for those seeking to become members of Fourth Church, in person on Sunday, May 12 
• Books by Women discussing Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson in person on Tuesday evening, May 14

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).

For highlights about additional opportunities, keep reading!

Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 28

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

Amy Pagliarella preaching

Worship bulletin

11:00 a.m. worship in person

Amy Pagliarella preaching

Worship bulletin

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

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

Amy Pagliarella preaching

Worship bulletin

There’s still time to join our youth and our World Mission and Social Justice Council in helping put an end to hunger!

This Saturday morning we will be walking for hunger with Breakthrough, one of our community partners, in East Garfield Park.

Thanks to generous sponsors, every registered walker will earn $27 for Breakthrough’s efforts to provide much-needed food for the community. 

Register here for Breakthrough’s 2024 Hunger Walk, indicating Fourth Presbyterian Church in the box marked “Church.”

Saturday April 27

9:00–10:00 a.m. Check-in

10:00 a.m. Walk starts

Followed by food and fellowship

at Breakthrough Ministries FamilyPlex

3219 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago

We’re hoping for a big turnout of singers for the Choral Society this spring — from former choir members to those who just enjoy joining in song — as we prepare for John Sherer’s final season directing this choir.

Come lend your voice to the Fourth Church Choral Society, which is rehearsing on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. in preparation for singing during the morning worship services on Pentecost: Sunday, May 19.

Thursdays

Rehearsals: 7:00–8:00 p.m.

Buchanan Chapel

Sunday, May 19

Singing in 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. worship

In the coming weeks we will be celebrating John Sherer’s music ministry at Fourth Church and wish him Godspeed as he and his wife, Kara, relocate to Rochester, New York, in late June.

Mark these dates on your calendar and plan to join us for some wonderful music!

Sunday, May 19

Choral Society sings in morning worship

Friday, May 31

Friday, June 14

12:10 p.m. John Sherer plays his final Noonday Organ Concerts 

Friday, June 21

7:00 p.m. Organ Recital played by John, followed by a festive reception

Sunday, June 23

John’s last Sunday at Fourth Church

Anyone who would like to sing in the choir that morning is invited to do so; we’ll rehearse at 8:45 a.m. prior to worship.

Interim Music Director Search

With John Sherer leaving after nearly three decades of leading our music ministry, an Interim Music Director Search Committee has been formed to look for someone to lead us in music on an interim basis.

That committee is made up of Robert Sinclair (chair), Laura Perkett, Dala Lucas, Jeanne Griffin, and Clyde Yancy.

This will provide opportunity to shape the search for the next Organist and Director of Music.

We are grateful that Organ Scholar Michael Rees will be leading worship music while the interim search committee undertakes its work!

Pastor Nominating Committee

Thank you to all who submitted recommendations of individuals to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee is currently reviewing those submissions in preparation for presenting a slate of candidates to serve on the PNC.

The committee anticipates concluding their work by mid-May, and thus Session has called a congregational meeting for Sunday, May 19 at 12:15 p.m. for the purpose of electing a Pastor Nominating Committee.

Sunday, May 19

12:15 p.m.

Sanctuary and via Zoom

Cornerstones

On Friday evening, May 3, the monthly gathering of Cornerstones — a fellowship opportunity for those fifty and over — will feature Ron Bottrell, who will describe the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program.

Ron is a member of the PDA National Response Team, which provides help to congregations impacted by traumatic events, such as natural disasters and acts of violence. The team was recently deployed to Hawaii to provide emotional and spiritual care to homeless survivors of the wildfires in Maui.

Friday, May 3

5:30 p.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Register here

On Thursday Women at Fourth gathered for a short-film screening of James Coney’s There Are No Words, starring Fourth Church’s Jessica Wang and Connie Chang. 

“Food and Religion”

On Sunday, May 5, Sarah Kernan, food historian and Scholar in Residence at Newberry Library, will be with us to talk about the role of food in religion through the ages.

In particular, we will look at how, in everyday and extraordinary culinary customs, Christians in medieval Europe acted out their faith through food, continually shaping and understanding liturgical practices.

Come explore how the liturgical year and the calendar of saints partly determined what, when, and how people ate. See how personal prayer and sacrifice were reflected by fasting and abstinence from specific foods and how every church celebration, however solemn or joyous, was demonstrated by culinary practices.

Sunday, May 5

11:00 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room and via Zoom

For Zoom details, register here

“Perseverance of the Saints”

On Sunday afternoon, May 5 and again on Tuesday evening, May 7 we will have opportunity to see a staged reading of Perseverance of the Saints, written by Fourth Church member Kat Evans and presented at the Chicago Temple in the Loop.

The play is set in 1874 during a period of Fourth Church history that includes the heresy trial of its pastor, the Reverend David Swing. As the synopsis explains, “Thanks to the Ladies Society and the Fourth Church’s progressive pastor David Swing, Jennie begins to utilize her gifts, help others, and make her first true friend, Maggie. Jennie’s place with the ladies, her relationship with Maggie, and the entire Presbytery of Chicago is thrown into turmoil when the head of McCormick Theological Seminary charges David Swing with heresy.”

These two performances will be followed by a discussion of the play with playwright Kat Evans on Sunday morning, May 12 in Borwell Dining Room.

Staged Readings

Sunday, May 5

3:00 p.m.

Register here

Tuesday, May 7

7:30 p.m.

Register here

The May 5 and May 7 readings will take place at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple (77 W. Washington St.).

The running time is 2 hours 20 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.

Susan Ross, Professor Emerita from the Department of Theology at Loyola University of Chicago, leads “Troublesome Texts and Gender: Interpretive Strategies across the Abrahamic Faiths,” a Sunday morning class that concludes this weekend.

We are grateful to all who have made gifts in support of our mission and ministry this year. Thank you!

You can learn more about giving at Fourth Church on our website, where you can also make online gifts.

It’s only a month until our summer worship schedule begins.

From May 26 through September 1 — Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend — we will gather for two worship services each summer Sunday: at 10:00 a.m. and at 2:00 p.m.

This will give us greater opportunity to experience community during a season when many travel or have different schedules, impacting not only service attendance but also the number of worship volunteers available.

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.

Volunteering connects others with God’s love through our service. It also links us with one another through that shared cause while forging valuable relationships and establishing a sense of belonging and community.

To explore ways to make those connections, you can learn about our varied volunteer opportunities at fourthchurch.org/volunteer.

Particularly needed this season are individuals to serve as Coffee Hour hosts. For details, contact Simon Crow.

Also needed is an individual with digital marketing expertise to help the Replogle Center for Counseling and Well-Being. If interested, please contact Robert Crouch, Director of Volunteer Ministry.

Last Sunday was Volunteer Appreciation Sunday at Fourth Church. During worship we recognized and gave thanks for all who so generously give of their time and talent to bring to life the mission and ministry of Fourth Church and Chicago Lights. We also had opportunity to hear from one of our ushers why that is a meaningful volunteer experience for him.

Afterwards we continued our expressions of gratitude as we gathered for a special Coffee Hour honoring our volunteers.

Also on Sunday the families of our second and third graders gathered for a Family Communion Service in Buchanan Chapel. This annual service provides opportunity for the children to learn about the sacrament and share in it with their parents.

We were honored to again welcome to Buchanan Chapel the annual Lurie Children’s Hospital Memorial Service, held for families who have experienced the death of a child.

Preservation work continues on the Fourth Church campus. At left, a worker on a boom lift inspects the south face of the sanctuary. At right, specialists from Botti Studio remove a large window (foreground) above a Chestnut Street entrance. The window is being releaded for the first time in 110 years.

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 offer individual prayers of praise or concern with a Deacon, you are invited to do so on Sunday mornings in Stone Chapel (through the Sanctuary door to the right of the pulpit) following the 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. services.

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 (May 1) 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.

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!