Dr. Brueggemann is a commanding international biblical scholar, author of more than 100 books, and a revered teacher and inspirational preacher. As a student at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois, he was influenced by the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr. He has had a distinguished academic career, including being a professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, where he taught countless students, including Shannon Kershner. This week Dr. Brueggemann is receiving his alma mater's highest award, the Niebuhr Medal, in honor of H. Richard and Reinhold Niebuhr, also alumni.

We are honored to welcome Walter Brueggemann back to the Fourth Church pulpit this Sunday!

"It is really not an 'ask,'" says Shannon Kershner of our 2016 Annual Appeal for Fourth Church and Chicago Lights. "It is an invitation. It is an invitation to grow through our giving, as we think deeply about how God's claim on us and love for us shapes our lives."

If you have not yet read Shannon's letter that accompanies the "Give. Grow. Become!" Annual Appeal materials, you can find it at www.fourthchurch.org/giving/appeal 

Please join us in this "invitation to make a difference in our church, community, and world, because God in Jesus has made a difference in us, . . . to become transformed in our relationship to God, in our identity as Christians, and in the work we do together as Fourth Church and Chicago Lights!"

We have recently received inquiries about Presbyterian Homes being in the news--specifically the question of what is the relationship between Fourth Church and Presbyterian Homes.

While we have many members who live in the housing of Presbyterian Homes--a nonprofit organization founded in 1904 to provide residential and health care facilities for older adults--we do not have an ownership or board-membership relationship with that organization.

 

Thus the recent decisions made by Presbyterian Homes to sell three of their apartment buildings that offer subsidized housing--and to inform residents that they must move--are not decisions in which we were involved; our only connection to those buildings is that we have members who live there.

 

While our identity as a Presbyterian church therefore does not give us any special place in the decision-making process or in the conversation, a few members and staff of our World Mission and Social Justice Committee are exploring what role we might have to help the parties reach a decision that cares for the current residents, whom we especially keep in prayer in this stressful time.