Becoming a Stephen Minister

Do you have gifts of mercy, encouragement, and listening? Are you a person who feels compassion for others in their life challenges but wonders what you can do? Are you interested in people?
       These are just some of the qualities of a person who pursues Stephen Ministry training.
       This October, Fourth Church will offer the fifty-hour training course required for new Stephen Ministers. To learn more about this program, visit the “Stephen Ministry” page on our website.
       Those who would like to apply to take part in the class and make a two-year commitment to serve the Fourth Church community as a Stephen Minister are asked to download and return this Stephen Minister application form.

Thank You for Supporting the Youth Bake Sale!

       
Thank you to all who stopped by during Coffee Hour on Sunday to enjoy homemade baked goods, including gluten-free options, and at the same time help Fourth Church Senior Highs raise funds for their July 6–14 work trip to New Orleans. Proceeds from the youth’s Coffee Hour Bake Sale will go toward travel and other expenses related to their New Orleans work with Project Homecoming (which is supported by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) to help with home repairs and new home construction.

Giving Thanks to God for John Boyle
       and John’s Ministry among Us

With the singing of choir and congregation and the words of John Buchanan, we gathered as a community on Wednesday, June 12 to bear witness to the resurrection in celebration of the life of John Boyle (1926–2013).
       The funeral service lifted up Dr. Boyle’s faithful pastoral presence with so many in the darkest hours of their lives. It also movingly wove together elements from his Celtic heritage, long-standing position in the Reformed tradition of the Christian faith, and his life-changing military service in World War II. Photos from the service, including the presentation of the flag by the military honor guard, are posted online.
       Also online is a web page dedicated to John Boyle, which includes an archive of prayers and sermons by him.
       Tributes to and remembrances of John are posted on our page on Facebook. We invite you as as a community to share these reflections with the family and one another.
       In honoring John, the family has asked that any memorial gifts in his name be made to Fourth Church’s Lorene Replogle Counseling Center, of which he was the founding director. These gifts can be made online (in the “John Boyle Memorial” section under “Other Gifts”) or by writing “John Boyle Memorial” on the memo line of a check made payable to Fourth Presbyterian Church.     
        Together we give thanks to God for John’s ministry among us; for his good and faithful life; and for the promise of eternal life we’ve been given in Christ.

About the website banner photo: This week’s banner photograph depicts the tulips in full bloom on the Michigan Avenue median in front of the church.