It was to a standing ovation that Shannon Johnson Kershner was introduced to the congregation last Sunday as the candidate for Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church.

It was with another standing ovation that her remarks to those gathered were received and with yet another that she was reintroduced as the newly elected Pastor of this congregation.

Now we stand ready to warmly welcome Shannon and her husband,Greg; daughter, Hannah; and son, Ryan into our midst as part of the Fourth Church family.

Shannon will begin her ministry here in May and will preach her first sermon at Fourth Church on Sunday, May 18, when we celebrate our Sanctuary's 100th anniversary and kick off our second century on Michigan Avenue.

Her family will join us in June, after school is out. We were delighted to have them, along with Shannon's parents, Jimmie and Sherry Johnson, with us this past weekend.

As we eagerly look forward to embracing our future with Shannon as Pastor and her family as part of ours, we also keep in our prayers Shannon's current congregation, Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, as they grieve the Kershners' departure later this spring.

More information about Shannon's joining us and opportunities to greet and welcome her and her family will be available in the weeks ahead. Watch this newsletter, the website, and Facebook for details.

We are deeply grateful to the Pastor Nominating Committee for all of their work the past two years! The enthusiasm with which we received Shannon last week is certainly a ringing endorsement of a job well done on the part of the PNC. It is also a heartfelt expression of our additional gratitude that they recommended Shannon!

We appreciate the dedication and commitment they devoted to this task and this congregation, as they met nearly weekly throughout the process, reviewed materials from more than 200 candidates, traveled to hear several candidates preach, interviewed them, and worked together to discern with whom Fourth Church was being called to partner in ministry.

If you've not yet had opportunity to thank the committee for their wonderful work on our behalf, please take a moment to add your thanks to our thank-you post on Facebook.  

Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, March 9. Be sure to set clocks ahead an hour as we "spring forward"! We don't want to begin worship without you!

It's not too late to RSVP for this Sunday's screening of the documentary A Place at the Table!

The film, which explores the issue of food insecurity in the United States and the struggles of low-income Americans to put healthy food on the table, will be shown at 12:15 p.m. in Borwell Dining Room.

Sponsored by the Mission Committee, this event will include a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)-based meal of rice and beans. Donations will be accepted at the door.

To RSVP, contact Nancy Davis by this Saturday, March 8.

Time: Sunday, March 9 at 12:15 p.m.

Place: Borwell Dining Room

Receive Lenten devotions in your Facebook news feed--and share them with your friends! Devotions for Lent, written by Fourth Church members and staff, are posted daily on Facebook. Simply "Like" www.facebook.com/fourthchurch to receive them.

Or sign up to receive them by email and find them daily in your inbox. Just send your email address to devotions@fourthchurch.org.

Devotions are also available on the Fourth Church website and in printed format in the literature racks.

Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, last Friday's Carnaval was our most successful mission benefit ever! That success translates directly into critical financial support of the life-changing work of Chicago Lights, the community outreach arm of Fourth Church; the Center for Life and Learning; and the Counseling Center.

So to all of you who supported Carnaval 2014--whether through volunteering or attending, buying drawing tickets or contributing auction items, staffing the event or making donations, placing a winning bid or raising your paddle--thank you!

Did you win a Silent Auction item at Carnaval? Unclaimed Silent Auction items will be available for pickup during Coffee Hour this Sunday morning. For more information, contact Andrea Miller.

To all who supported Carnaval 2014, thank you!

Last Sunday, a number of people talked about NEXT Church and our new Pastor-Elect's strategic leadership in that movement.

What is NEXT Church? It's a movement committed to "sparking imaginations, connecting congregations, and offering a distinctively Presbyterian witness to Jesus Christ." As Shannon describes it, it is "a platform for folks who are doing innovative and good ministry to tell their story so that all of us can learn from it."

Want to learn more? Shannon--and Adam Fronczek, who is also a member of the NEXT strategy team--invite everyone to come be part of the upcoming NEXT gathering, taking place March 31-April 2 in Minneapolis.

Registration details are available online. 

This Sunday--and each Sunday through March--Women@Fourth Connect will be collecting materials and funds for hygiene kits for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), which cares for communities affected by crises and catastrophic events. One way PDA does this is by working with Church World Service (CWS), a cooperative ministry of thirty-seven Christian-based communions, to provide hygiene kits to areas affected by disaster.

Each kit is estimated to cost about $10 to put together. Materials and funds for the hygiene kits will also be collected during the week, at the reception desk.

A list of materials needed for each kit is available online.

Join the Center for Life and Learning for a tour of Second Presbyterian Church--and learn about the unique artistic works there--on Friday, March 28. Adults sixty and more are invited to enjoy this docent-led tour, which will include more than twenty stained-glass windows by such artists as Louis C. Tiffany and Healy and Millet.

Following the tour, participants will enjoy a private lunch at the Firehouse Restaurant.

To register (required in advance), contact Ashley Elskus (312.981.3387) by Thursday, March 20.

Time: Friday, March 28 at 10:15 a.m.

Place: Meet at Second Presbyterian Church (1936 S. Michigan Ave.)

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Friday, March 14, 2014
12:10 p.m. in the Sanctuary
Thomas E. Gouwens, organist
(Associate Organist at Fourth Church)

Friday, March 21, 2014
12:10 p.m. in the Sanctuary
Orpheus Choir   

Friday, March 28, 2014
12:10 p.m. in the Sanctuary
John W. W. Sherer, organist
(Organist and Director of Music at Fourth Church)

Friday, April 4, 2014
12:10 p.m. in the Sanctuary    

Svetlana Krasnova, pianist
Cosponsored by the Musicians Club of Women