Join us this Sunday for the 11:00 a.m. worship service when Shannon Kershner will be formally installed as Pastor of Fourth Church. After worship, all are invited to attend a reception in Shannon's honor and to welcome her family to the Fourth Church community.

Among the refreshments at the reception--which will be held in Anderson Hall and the Commons--will be cookies and cupcakes homemade by church members.

We hope you'll join us for this historic event in the life of Fourth Church!

Time:

     Sunday, September 21, during 11:00 a.m. worship

Place:

     Sanctuary

     Reception to follow in Anderson Hall and the Commons

All are invited to join Chicago Lights Tutoring on Saturday, September 27 as we celebrate the program's fiftieth anniversary! Refreshments will be served, noted Chicago journalist and author Alex Kotlowitz will speak, and you'll have a wonderful opportunity to see how Tutoring has evolved over the years as well as hear stories of life-changing impact and amazing bonds--many still intact--that have formed through one-to-one tutoring and mentoring sessions.

Whether you're part of a current or past student-tutor pair, a family member, volunteer, community member, or friend and supporter of Chicago Lights Tutoring, you're invited to gather in the Gratz Center for an afternoon of memories, history, and celebration.

Reserve your complimentary ticket online here; please note that tickets and space are limited.

Time:

     Saturday, September 27, 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Place:

     Gratz Center

To all who sponsored the new Fourth Church hymnals, Glory to God, thank you! The hymnals, which were approved for purchase by Session in December of last year, have all been sponsored and will be used during worship beginning the first Sunday of Advent. (Want to learn more about the new hymnal? Come to an introduction session led by John Sherer!)

Also thanks to your generosity, the Chicago Lights Associates Board bake sale last Sunday during Coffee Hour raised $1,200! Proceeds will support the six programs of Chicago Lights, the community outreach arm of Fourth Church.

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Join us for a weekend of fun and fellowship at Fall Family Camp next weekend at Covenant Harbor in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!

If you haven't registered yet, you have until Sunday to do so.

From Friday evening, September 26 through Sunday afternoon, September 28, we'll be enjoying structured activities as well as plenty of downtime, including opportunity to canoe and scale a climbing wall. Come bring your family and join us!

An online registration form is available here. A paper copy to download and drop off at reception is available here.

We hope you'll join us for one of our favorite weekends of family fun!

Time:

     Friday-Sunday, September 26-28

Place:

     Covenant Harbor, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

The Academy for Faith and Life kicks off fall programming this month with a class exploring the connection between World War I and faith in the twentieth century and a series on creative writing and biblical storytelling. Additional opportunities for enrichment begin in October. To register, visit www.fourthchurch.org/academy.

Classes starting Sunday, September 28

Led by Claudia Boatright, Fourth Church member

In observance of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914, this course will explore an often overlooked aspect of the Great War: Did it ignite a global religious revolution?

Led by Layton Williams, Fourth Church Pastoral Resident

Each of the four sessions will focus on one or two biblical stories and invite participants to reflect on how their own experience informs their reading of the story and to lift up another voice in the story through prose, poetry, or narrative.

Class beginning Sunday, October 12

   at United Theological Seminary (Dayton, Ohio)

All religious experience derives from the holiness of God. This course will use research on the meaning of holiness from contemporary Jewish and Christian writers as a resource for identifying the varieties of religious experience that are described in the Bible.

Also--

Led by John W. W. Sherer, Organist and Director of Music

On Sunday, November 30, the first Sunday in Advent, Fourth Church will begin using the new hymnal Glory to God, which was approved by the Session of Fourth Church last December. In this special class, John Sherer will introduce the participants to this wonderful collection of hymns and songs.

At the meeting of Chicago Presbytery this past Tuesday, Layton Williams, our new Pastoral Resident, was approved for ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. She will be ordained in Texas in November, and we will have the privilege of journeying with her on the first two years of her ordained ministry.

Congratulations, Layton!

Next week Fourth Church is honored to host Chicago Sinai Congregation as they hold their community Rosh Hashanah services here in the Sanctuary. A Rosh Hashanah Eve service will be held on Wednesday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m., and a Rosh Hashanah morning service will be held on Thursday, September 25 at 11:00 a.m.

We are delighted to be continuing our several-year tradition of welcoming the Chicago Sinai community for these High Holy Days services.

Mission trip participants, including members from Fourth Church, will travel to Colombia this Sunday to spend a week learning about the impact of microfinance in alleviating poverty, supporting families, and transforming communities. You can read about their experiences online at www.opportunity.org/blog.

Please keep these travelers in your prayers as they participate in the worldwide mission and ministry of the church of Jesus Christ.

Sermons

from previous weeks are posted online at www.fourthchurch.org/sermons 

Friday, September 26, 2014
12:10 p.m. in the Sanctuary
John W. W. Sherer, organist
(Organist and Director of Music at Fourth Church)

Friday, October 3, 2014

12:10 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel
Sara Su Jones, violinist
Cosponsored by the Musicians Club of Women

Friday, October 10, 2014
12:10 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel
Euclid Quartet 

Friday, October 10, 2014
7:00 p.m. in Buchanan Chapel
Camerata Chicago Orchestra
conducted by Drostan Hall
with Joshua Roman, cellist

   Dvoř�k Cello Concerto
   Beethoven Symphony no. 5
   Rossini Overture to Barber of Seville
Tickets available through Camerata Chicago
cameratachicago.org | 630.221.5555

Friday, October 17, 2014
12:10 p.m. in the Sanctuary
Thomas Gouwens, organist
(Associate Organist at Fourth Church)

This volunteer opportunity is available immediately. Training will be provided.