May has arrived, and with it a full calendar of celebrations at Fourth Church!

There is the annual Dedication Commemoration Sunday on May 18, the day we pause to give thanks for the vision to build our Sanctuary on Michigan Avenue and the ministry it has enabled and then recommit to carrying into the future our legacy of loving God and one another.

There is also Confirmation Sunday on May 11, when we recognize and welcome into the wider life of the congregation our eighth-grade confirmands. Sunday school, youth groups, and Chicago Lights Tutoring will mark the end of another wonderful year of growing and learning together as well.

May is also the month when we ordain, install, and commission the church officers you elected to leadership roles at the February Annual Meeting. At the Session meeting last week, the newly elected officers were examined in preparation for Ordination/Installation Sunday on May 18. We hope you will be with us that morning to support our new leaders and to express your gratitude to those officers who will be concluding their three-year term.

In other news from Session —

The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) has reported that they are continuing to meet weekly as they further narrow a field of excellent candidates in preparation for bringing a recommendation to the congregation.

With the PNC entering the last steps of their search and with the celebration of a wonderful Holy Week at Fourth Church now past, the Reverend Tom Are shared with Session last Friday that the time has come to look toward the coming transition.

The timing of a new pastor’s joining us is still unknown, but since it is best to have some time between the departure of an interim pastor and the arrival of the new pastor, Tom Are’s last day with us will be June 15. 

What’s next for Tom? He and Carol plan to retire back in Kansas City, where both of their children live.

About Fourth Church, Tom said, “I was honored and a bit surprised when invited to serve this amazing congregation as Interim Pastor in this important season both for Fourth Church and for Christian witness in our nation. I have always admired the ministry here. Walking with you these past twenty months has only increased my appreciation and admiration. More than that, I have come to love this church. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve with you.” 

Please watch for information in the near future about plans to celebrate Tom and Carol and opportunities for expressing our profound gratitude to them for their ministry with and among us.

Also shared at Session was the alignment of pastoral staff responsibilities to reflect our four ministry priorities arising from the long-range plan:

• Connection and Belonging
• Faith Formation
• Community Engagement and Partnerships
• Church Sustainability

In this alignment —

The Pastor (currently the Interim Pastor) will lead Worship as well as Stewardship and Giving.

The Senior Associate Pastor — Rocky Supinger — will lead Connecting Ministries, including the new member process.

The four Associate Pastors will divide responsibilities as follows:

Nancy Benson-Nicol will lead Caring Ministries.

Matt Helms will lead Faith Formation Ministry, from our youngest children to our adults, and will work with the staff for youth, young adults, and adult education.

Joe Morrow will lead our Mission and Community Engagement Ministry.

Nanette Sawyer will lead our emerging Online Ministry and Belonging Ministry, including fellowship groups, as well as work with our Racial Equity Committee and Volunteer Ministry staff.

Over the next few months, Session will be redesigning its committee structure to better align with these pastoral responsibilities.

An integral part of our Caring Ministries, the Board of Deacons created in 1965 what we know today as the Center for Life and Learning (CLL). It offers lifelong learning opportunities — from Zoom fitness and foreign language classes to in-person lectures and discussion groups — as well as personal, caring connections for adults sixty and over.

This May — when Older Americans Month is observed — we are also marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Center for Life and Learning.

On Saturday, May 10 you are invited to join in celebrating this longtime Fourth Church program by attending the CLL’s Encore benefit from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The festivities will include an art show by CLL artists as well as a lively cabaret performance by singers who are part of the cabaret community and also CLL instructors. There will be refreshments and fellowship as well, with wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres, and opportunity to connect with one other.

Show your support of the CLL by getting your Encore tickets today!

The end of this month will bring us to Memorial Day weekend and a change in rhythms as summer approaches.

It is on that final Sunday — May 25 — when we move to our summer worship schedule:

Sundays, May 25 – August 31 10:00 a.m.

in person and via Zoom

As we gather for one worship service each Sunday, both in person and livestreamed, we hope you will join us whether you are in town or are traveling.

We also hope you will mark your calendar for two summer congregational picnics:

Sunday, July 13

Sunday, August 10

11:00 a.m.

in the courtyard (weather permitting) and Anderson Hall

We hope to see you there — and throughout the coming months — as together we build community and nurture connections, grow in faith, and live out our love of God and neighbor!