Interfaith Relations
About Interfaith Relations at Fourth Church
Upcoming Interfaith Opportunities
Ongoing Interfaith Opportunities with Fourth Church
Holidays of the Abrahamic Faiths
Previous Interfaith Opportunities with Fourth Church
For More Information
Interfaith Photos
Fourth Presbyterian Church has a long history of vibrant and mutually beneficial relationships with neighboring communities from the Jewish, Muslim, and other faith traditions.
The Interfaith Resource Committee of Fourth Church supports our community’s efforts to deepen our Christian faith by engaging the faith traditions of others. We serve as a resource to our church’s members, ministries, and friends in seeking to promote understanding, fellowship, and service for the common good among all people of faith.
The Interfaith Resource Committee invites you to join the committee’s email list by contacting Anne Ellis (312.573.3369) to learn more about upcoming interfaith opportunities at Fourth Church, including
• Book discussions and public presentations on interfaith topics
• Interfaith worship services
• Tours of places of worship
• Joint service and advocacy projects
• Education on other faith traditions’ practices and celebrations
• Fine arts performances
• Festival meals to celebrate the Jewish High Holy Days and the Muslim month of Ramadan
• Classes with interfaith themes, offered by the Academy for Faith and Life
You can also find us on Facebook at Interfaith at Fourth Church.
Upcoming Interfaith Opportunities
“Interfaith Homes” Conversations
Soul Space Interfaith Retreat
Religion in Interfaith Homes: A Series for Couples and Families
Sundays, through May 19
1:00–2:00 p.m.
April and May at Fourth Presbyterian Church
(126 E. Chestnut Street)
As more and more people marry someone from a different faith, change faiths, or choose to embrace more than one faith, religious homes have become complex. This joint program between Chicago Sinai Congregation and Fourth Presbyterian Church explores many of the questions and issues that arise when more than one faith is a part of a religious home.
Team-taught by a Reform rabbi and Presbyterian minister, with a Catholic priest and an imam as guest teachers, the class takes an open and nonjudgmental approach to questions such as these: How do you talk to your kids about God when parents think differently about the Divine? What are we going to to do this December? How do we respond to parents and in-laws about our religious choices?
The “Religion in Interfaith Homes” series is co-taught by Joyce Shin, Associate Pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church, and David Levinsky, Associate Rabbi at Chicago Sinai Congregation, with Imam Omer Mozaffar of the Mohammed Webb Foundation, and Richard Jakubik, Priest at St. Francis Xavier Parish
Upcoming Topics
May 19
“Minority Religions vs. Majority Religions” (with Omer Mozzafar)
For more information about this series, contact Joyce Shin at 312.274.3835.
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Soul Space Interfaith Spring 2013 Retreat
-- How Women of Faith Care for the Sick, the Dying, and Those Who Survive: Perspectives from Judaism, Christianity, and Isalm
Sunday, May 19
2:00 p.m. at the Muslim Education Center, Morton Grove
Register at www.soulspaceinterfaith.org
Women of all ages and faith backgrounds are invited to attend the Soul Space Interfaith Spring 2013 Retreat on Sunday, May 19 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Muslim Education Center (8601 Menard Ave., Morton Grove). Participants will explore the topic “How Women of Faith Care for the Sick, the Dying, and Those Who Survive: Perspectives from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam” from the perspective of various traditions of scripture, prayer, ritual, and values that comfort those who are ill and those who care for them.
The retreat will include panelists Sister Karen Danielson, Rabbi Suzuanne Griffel, and Sue Nebel.
There is a suggested donation of $10 for this retreat.
To register, visit www.soulspaceinterfaith.org.
Sister Karen Danielson, Director of Outreach with Muslim American Society in Bridgeview, has a master’s degree in Islamic studies from the University of Jordan Institute for the study of Islam in the modern world. Sister Karen has also taught Islamic studies at Universal and Aqsa Schools.
Rabbi Suzanne Griffel is a chaplain in the Jewish Care Services program at Midwest Palliative and Hospice Care Center, providing spiritual care to Jewish hospice patients and their families. She completed her residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago in 2004. She previously served as a rabbi at Congregation Or Chadash in Chicago and at the University of Chicago Hillel.
Sue Nebel, chaplain at Rainbow Hospice and Palliative Care, provides support to people with terminal illnesses and their families. She is a deacon in the Episcopal Church, serving at Grace Place in the South Loop in Chicago. She has an M.Div. from Seabury Western Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
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Ongoing Interfaith Opportunties with Fourth Church
Interfaith Community Thanksgiving Service
Each Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago Sinai Congregation, and Holy Name Cathedral gather for a service of thanksgiving. Each congregation takes a turn hosting the service, with the other congregations providing music and worship leadership.
Interfaith Passover Seder
Each spring, Chicago Sinai Congregation graciously hosts guests from Fourth Church and other congregations at a Passover Seder.
Book Discussions
Discussions of books on interfaith topics, such as Bruce Feiler’s Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, as well as discussions with interfaith partners are among the ways in which we learn about and engage the faith traditions of others.
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Holidays of the Abrahamic Faiths
A complete listing of religous holidays for this year and future years can be found at www.interfaithcalendar.org/. All Jewish holidays begin at sundown of the day prior to the date listed.
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Previous Interfaith Opportunities with Fourth Church
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine accompanying an Interfaith Dialogue presented by Interfaith Youth Core
During the Sunday, November 15, 2009, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. worship services
As part of the 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. worship services, world-renowned Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine accompanied an interfaith dialogue presented by two members of the Interfaith Youth Core, Hind Makki, Outreach Education and Training Associate, and Erin Williams, Chicago Projects Coordinator and the author of the dialogue.
Interfaith Youth Core (IYC) works on college and university campuses to make sure that as religiously diverse young people interact, this interaction leads to positive, cooperative relationships in local communities by inspiring, networking, and resourcing young people to build new relationships built on mutual respect. Instead of focusing a dialogue on political or theological differences, IYC builds relationships on shared values, such as hospitality and caring for the earth, and how those values can be lived out together to contribute to the betterment of the community.
Evolving Faith: Meaning, Faith, and Ethics
An Interview of Public Radio’s Krista Tippet by Eboo Patel, Founder of Interfaith Youth Core
On Monday evening, November 16, in collaboration with Chicago Public Radio and American Public Media
Krista Tippett, who spends much of her time interviewing others on public radio’s Speaking of Faith, became the interviewee for an evening. Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, ill asked the questions of Ms. Tippett, who hosts American Public Media’s weekly program on “religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas,” drawing out compelling and challenging voices of wisdom on the most important subjects of twenty-first-century life. She is also the author of the book Speaking of Faith, which she wrote, in part, to answer the question she is often asked: how she went from a life and career of geopolitical engagement to becoming a religious person again and studying theology.
An Interfaith Service of Commemoration Marking the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11
On Sunday, September 11, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at Fourth Church
This service for the community was hosted by Chicago Sinai Congregation, the Downtown Islamic Center, Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Holy Name Cathedral. Youth from each community read during the service, leaders from the communities offered reflections, and a combined ninety-five member choir premiered Aaron David Miller’s “Voices of Peace,” based on poems by children on the topic of peace. A children’s choir from the Downtown Islamic Center also sang, and all worshipers participated in candlelighting. Afterwards a reception was held in Anderson Hall, with each of the cohosts bringing refreshments. A recording of the service is available online.
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If you wish to receive periodic updates of upcoming interfaith events, please send your email address to Anne Ellis.
For more information about interfaith relations and opportunities, contact Joyce Shin, Associate Pastor for Congregational Life (312.274.3835).
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Interfaith Photos
Interfaith Sacred Solidarity Event | June 10, 2012
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