Our summer worship schedule continues this weekend!

Worship on Sundays

10:00 a.m.

2:00 p.m.

Both services will also be livestreamed.

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

• Sermon discussion in person this Sunday morning, June 2
• Men’s Bible Study via Zoom on Tuesday mornings
• Knitting and Crocheting in person on Tuesday morning, June 4
• Reception honoring John Sherer in person on Tuesday evening, June 4
• Benevolent Guild in person on Wednesday mornings
• In-Person Morning Prayer on Wednesday morning, June 5
• Inquirers’ Class, for those seeking to become members of Fourth Church, via Zoom on Wednesday evening, June 5
• Friday Noonday Concert in person and livestreamed, featuring violinist Rannveig Marta Sarc on June 7
• Cornerstones dinner and program with Tom Are talking about “Life at Fourth Church” on Friday evening, June 7 (registration required)
• Vacation Bible School in person June 10–14
• Books by Women discussing Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout on Tuesday evening, June 11 in person
• Horizons Women’s Bible Study via Zoom in the evening on Wednesday, June 12 discussing Bonhoeffer’s Life Together
• Saint Sabina Peace Walk on Friday evening, June 14
• LGBTQIA+Widen Our Welcome Pride Breakfast on “Why We Walk,” in person on Sunday, June 23
• Women at Fourth Paint-n-Sip evening in person on Thursday, June 27 (registration required)
• Pride Parade: Walk with Fourth Church on Sunday morning, June 30

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!

Sunday, June 2

As noted above, we will have just one morning service — at 10:00 a.m. — throughout the summer.

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

with Communion

Tom Are Jr. preaching

Worship bulletin

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

The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

Rocky Supinger preaching

Worship bulletin

This Sunday Morning’s Sermon 

In Luke 15 Jesus repeats stories to tell us what gives God joy. He tells of a lost coin, and then of a lost sheep. (Keep reading and he tells of a couple of lost sons!) These parables are repetitious: something is lost, something is found, there is rejoicing!

You may have thought about what brings you joy, and that’s good to consider. But Jesus is also interested in what brings God joy. The answer may catch you by surprise, which is why Jesus has to tell us over and over again. 

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 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, and summer Sunday school meets at 10:00 a.m. as well.

Baccalaureate Sunday

This Sunday is Baccalaureate Sunday at Fourth Church, a day when we recognize and congratulate Fourth Church members and Chicago Lights Tutoring students who are graduating in 2024.

Back by popular demand is our time of sermon discussion and fellowship.

During the summer this opportunity will take place on the first Sunday of the month, including this Sunday, June 2 when we will gather for an in-person discussion of the morning sermon.

This time of table conversation not only provides a setting in which to deepen our understanding of the text and sermon topic by listening to what others have heard but is also an occasion to build fellowship with one another. We hope you will join us!

Sundays June 2, July 7, and August 4

11:10 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Throughout June 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. There Kara will serve as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester and John will be Organist and Director of Music at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Celebratory Events

Reception Honoring John

Tuesday, June 4

5:30–7:00 p.m.

Anderson Hall

RSVPs are required, as space is limited

Join us for an evening of gratitude in honor of John Sherer this coming Tuesday, June 4 in Anderson Hall.

We will gather to give thanks for John’s remarkable work among us and for making our hearts glad with songs of praise.

Light refreshments will be served. RSVPs are required.

Noonday Organ Concert

Friday, June 14

12:10 p.m. Sanctuary and livestreamed

John plays his final Noonday Organ Concert.

Organ Recital

Friday, June 21

7:00 p.m.

Sanctuary

John plays his final organ recital at Fourth Church.

Worship

Sunday, June 23

10:00 a.m.

This will be John’s last Sunday providing music leadership 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.

Memory Book

As an expression of gratitude for John Sherer and his ministry among us, we invite you to share your well-wishes, notes, photos, and thank-yous with John through our online memory book.

Gifts in Honor of John

As a further expression of gratitude, we also invite you to make a gift in honor of John’s twenty-eight years of dedicated leadership of music ministry at Fourth Church.

Gifts given in honor of John will support key areas of this ministry of beauty, including the Director of Music and Organ Scholar positions as well as the Morning Choir. Gifts can be made online.

Interim Organist and Director of Music

Do you know someone who would be a good fit for our Interim Organist and Director of Music position?



We’d love to have them send in their resume: the Search Committee is reviewing materials as soon as they are submitted.

The job description and application details are posted online.

Tom Are will talk about “Life at Fourth Church” when Cornerstones gathers on Friday evening, June 7. This fellowship group for those fifty and over enjoys a monthly time of fellowship, dinner, and a program.

Friday, June 7

5:30 p.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Registration required

Summer Women’s Bible Study

Curious to explore our women’s Bible study? Why not give the summer Zoom session a try!

We’ll meet just once a month, on second Wednesdays, to study Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

This slim volume is a classic exploration of Christian community, which Bonhoeffer wrote from his experience with leading an underground seminary during the Nazi era.

Personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service are lifted up as Bonhoeffer offers practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in community.

Wednesdays, June 12, July 10, and August 14

6:30 p.m.

Zoom

For Zoom details, email Simon Crow

Men’s Bible Study

Continuing throughout the summer is our weekly Men’s Bible Study.

Meeting on Tuesday mornings via Zoom, this study typically focuses on scripture readings from the pulpit, with passages drawn from either the immediate past week’s worship service or the upcoming Sunday.

The specific text is selected by the leader for the week, with leadership rotating among the group. (There is no requirement to lead.) That text, often accompanied by discussion questions, is then emailed to the group in advance.

The group’s participants bring a wonderfully wide range of Bible study experience to the conversation, from those who have never been part of a Bible study before to those who have served as ordained clergy.

Tuesdays

7:30 a.m.

Zoom

For Zoom details, email Simon Crow

Children three years old through fifth grade are invited to travel with us to ancient Egypt as we spend time learning about Moses and the Exodus during VBS.

Our Vacation Bible School adventure will take place at the church from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the week of June 10.

Monday to Friday, June 10–14

9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

at the church

Register

Following worship on June 23 you are invited to the Pride Breakfast “Why We Walk” hosted by Fourth Church’s LGBTQIA+ Widen Our Welcome (WOW) group.

Then the following Sunday, June 30 join us as we again walk in the Pride Parade with the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches to share the message that God’s love is for everyone. The walk will kick off at 11:00 a.m. For details about when and where to meet, email Simon Crow.

Sunday, June 23

Pride Breakfast

11:30 a.m.

Borwell Dining Room

Sunday, June 30

Pride Parade

11:00 a.m.

For details, email Simon Crow

During the prelude on Dedication Commemoration Sunday, those worshiping with us online enjoyed images from our history, from before and after the 1914 dedication of our Michigan Avenue Sanctuary and Parish House.

If you were with us in person and would like to see them for the first time — or you would like to see them again! — you can find the Fourth Church history slideshow here.

The Chicago Lights Social Service Center is in need of men’s clothing, of all types and all sizes.

Items can be dropped off at the church reception desk (enter at 126 E. Chestnut) between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Civil Rights Trail Pilgrimage

This fall we are cosponsoring a Civil Rights Trail Pilgrimage to New Orleans, Jackson, Montgomery, and Birmingham the week of 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.

Last Sunday’s Introit was the African American spiritual “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” with our Voices of Light gospel choir singing an arrangement by director Cicely Perry (at left) and featuring (at far right) a pair of new young voices!

In Sunday’s Minute for Ministry, Marnie explained that she values joining Fourth Church in the Peace Walks with members of Saint Sabina Church because she enjoys “being in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on a beautiful summer night, walking with people and connecting with them as they’re showing up for their community and making a difference.”

If you would like to join us in walking with Saint Sabina, email Nancy Davis for details. Our first walk of the summer will be Friday, June 14.

In this photograph taken from the steeple, workers (in upper left and lower left) can be seen dismantling the scaffolding around the Manse as this year’s phase of stonework and tuckpointing begins to wind down.

Death

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

Susan Sumnar Scholten

Died May 21, 2024

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 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.

Grief Groups facilitated by the Replogle Center meet for four weeks via Zoom. To learn more or register for a group, contact the group facilitator, 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 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 10:00 a.m. service.

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 (June 5) 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 (10:00 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 10:00 service.