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January 2018
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Fourth Church Links
 
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Sunday School Resumes 
 
Sunday, January 7 
Fourth Floor Gratz Center   
 
We hope you all are enjoying a wonderful Christmas break right now and that your 2018 gets off to a great start!  
 
As a reminder, there is no Sunday School this Sunday, December 31, as we continue to give our Sunday School teachers some well-deserved time off. All children are invited to attend worship with their parents (family worship bulletins are available from the ushers); children aged 5 and under are also welcome in the Nursery during the 9:30 and 11:00 services.
 
Our second semester of Sunday School will resume on Sunday, January 7, with our normal Sunday School schedule, as well as a few other fun events: the start of our second wave of Parenting TED Talks and our Chili Cook-off Fundraiser!
              
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Parenting TED Talks
 
Sunday, January 7
9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
The Loft
 
The return of Sunday School also means the return of our Parenting TED Talks series. We'll be gathering on Sunday, January 7 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Loft , which is just past Room 4A on the Sunday School floor.  
 
We'll kick off this new semester with two fun and short TED talks: "Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do" and "A Father-Daughter Bond, One Picture at a Time."
 
As always, we'll take some time for small groups of families to connect with one another before having a chance to watch and discuss our videos for the morning.
 
If you've never been to one of our TED Talk gatherings, our typical structure is
  • Twenty minutes of socializing and meeting other parents
  • Twenty minutes of watching a TED talk on parenting
  • Twenty minutes in small groups, using a handout with prepared questions to discuss themes and ideas from the talk
We hope you'll join us for coffee, muffins and bagels, and some great conversation! For more information, please contact Matt Helms
           
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Children and Youth Chili Cook-off Fundraiser
 
Sunday, January 7 
12:15 to 1:00 p.m.
Borwell Dining Room

The start of our second semester also means it's time for our Chili Cook-Off Fundraiser, a fantastic showcase of the best chili that Fourth Church families have to offer!
 
Last year, families brought in around twenty different chili recipes to compete for the Golden Ladle--awarded to the winner of the fan vote for Best Fourth Church Chili--and we had our first ever tie, as both the Reome and Stracks families claimed the big prize!
 
We are in need of some more chili chefs, so we hope that you'll bring in some chili to share. We look forward to sampling as many recipes as we can and to having plenty to share with the congregation! All families interested in competing in the Chili Cook-off are asked to sign up by clicking here no later than this Monday, January 1. 
 
Then on Sunday, January 7 we will be gathering in Borwell Dining Room immediately following the 11:00 a.m. service to enjoy a chili lunch. We do have Borwell reserved the entire morning (along with a ton of power strips) so that you can plug in your crockpots or drop off your chili when you arrive. 
 
We will be asking for a $15 donation per dining person. All of the money we collect will go to help create scholarships and reduce the overall trip costs for our Youth Ministry's 2018 Summer Mission Trips.
 
We can't wait to sample some amazing chili with you all!
           
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Children in Worship
 
Sunday, January 14
During the 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. worship services
Sanctuary

All Sunday School-aged children are invited to attend worship with their parents for the first half of the hour on Sunday, January 14, as we continue having kids in "big church" on Baptism Sundays.
 
If you have not had a chance to experience this before, here's everything you need to know:
  • All children who would normally attend Sunday School on the fourth floor (age 3 through grade 5) should instead stay with you as you attend worship that morning--nursery-aged children (ages 2 and younger) are welcome in the nursery as usual.
  • Before the sermon begins, all Sunday School children will be invited to come forward to the front of the Sanctuary for a short liturgical piece before heading off to their regular classrooms. Our teachers will meet them at the front of the Sanctuary and help make sure everyone gets where they need to go as we exit and head to the Gratz Center.
  • After worship, you will pick up your children from their fourth floor classroom just like you would on any other Sunday.
If your child attends Cherub Choir, you can plan to walk down to worship with them rather than dropping them off on the fourth floor.
 
For any questions or clarifications, please contact Matt Helms. 
           
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Ice Skating at Maggie Daley Park
 
Sunday, January 21
12:30 p.m.
Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon
 
Rather than host our usual third Friday Family Night in January, we will instead head out for one of our favorite January traditions: ice skating after church!  
 
This year, we'll be headed down to the Maggie Daley Ice Skating Ribbon on Sunday, January 21, after the 11:00 a.m. Sunday School hour concludes.  
 
You'll need to take separate transportation down to the rink (bus lines 146, 147, or 151, or using the parking garage at Maggie Daley), but hopefully it won't be too hard to find each other once we're there. Please know that while admission is free, skate rentals are $14. (Plan to bring your own skates if you can!) There's also a park nearby, so even nonskaters should have plenty to do--plus, Matt will buy a hot chocolate for anyone who'd like one!
 
Hope to see you for some skating! For more info, please contact Matt Helms or check out the Skating Ribbon's website.
           
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Save the Date!

  • Spring Family Camp--May 18-20
  • Vacation Bible School--August 6-10

Contact information