Michigan Avenue Forums at Fourth Presbyterian Church promote civic formation within the Chicagoland community by presenting a series of events, open and free to the public, that feature important thinkers and public leaders in live lecture or debate format, discussing current issues of civic and ethical priority. There is some opportunity for audience participation through a structured question and answer session.

Upcoming Michigan Avenue forums include

• Understanding Black Churches and Their Traditions
Wednesday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary       

What should Fourth Church members and friends make of news reports, like the ones we have seen lately, about black churches and their preachers? Pastor John Buchanan helped us begin to think about that with his March 30 comments on the stories about Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ (www.fourthchurch.org/JMBonJeremiahWright.html).

On Wednesday evening, May 21, the Reverend Dr. Dwight Hopkins will help us to think further about what to make of the reports. Dr. Hopkins, who is Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School, works in the areas of contemporary models of theology, black theology, and liberation theologies and is the author of several books, including Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion.

This lecture will follow on the three-week Sunday course by the same title.