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Adult Education Opportunities

The adult education programs of Fourth Church provide short-term and ongoing education for our members, friends of the church, and the wider community, through both in-person and Zoom options.

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CURRENT CLASS OFFERINGS

Adult Ed Fall 2026 Master Schedule and Promos

Sundays at 11:00 AM CT  (All sessions will be live-streamed and available for replay on YouTube)

Sunday, September 13 and 20 – 11:00am
Shame of Chicago: Unequal Neighborhoods, Unfair Property Taxes, and What We Do About It

Why does Chicago look the way it does? Why do some neighborhoods experience plenty while others struggle?  In this two-week class series, we will consider practical ways to advocate for fairer policies and support communities affected by generations of wealth extraction.

Session 1 of this series, led by member Margy LaFreniere, will screen part of the documentary "Shame of Chicago" which details how housing policy of the 1960s siphoned wealth out of Black neighborhoods, leaving scars that can still be seen today.  

Session 2 will feature Associate Pastor Joe Morrow facilitating a conversation with several of our Mission and Justice partners from Breakthrough Urban Ministries, The Leaders Network, and Imagine Englewood IF, as together we reflect on how to advocate for a fairer property tax system and invest directly in neighborhoods that have been harmed over the course of decades by unfair policies.

Information about our presenters:

• Session 1 – Margy Lafreniere, church member and the Program Manager of Teaching and Learning at Illinois Humanities
• Session 2 –
  • Rev. Joe Morrow, Associate Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church
  • Cheron Massonburg, Chief Program Officer, Housing, Health and Wellness at Breakthrough
  • Gwendolyn Pettis, Housing Director at Breakthrough
  • David Cherry, President of The Leaders Network
  • Michelle Rashad, Executive Director of Imagine Englewood IF

Sunday, September 27 – 11:00am
Freedom Struggles by China’s Christian Rights Lawyers

As President of the Global Faculty Initiative, a special focus of Terry Halliday’s work has been around struggles for political liberalism in China – and in 2008, he was surprised to discover that a disproportionate number of human rights lawyers were Protestant Christians and that their Christian beliefs strongly influenced their legal practices. However, in 2015, a nationwide crackdown on over 300 human rights lawyers sought to crush their movement.  In this class, Halliday will discuss the current state of the struggle and his involvement in it.

Information about our presenter:

• Terry Halliday is the research professor emeritus at the American Bar Foundation and an Honorary Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance (REGNET) at Australian National University.
  

Sunday, October 4 – 11:00am
Cuba Partner Visit

Join us as we welcome Rev. Alison Infante, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Havana, Cuba, for a conversation about the ministry, challenges, and opportunities facing Christian communities in Cuba today. This class will reflect on Fourth Church’s long-standing relationship with First Presbyterian Havana and the blessing this partnership has been to our church, as well as the wider Chicago Presbytery.

Information about our presenter:

• Rev. Alison Infante is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Havana, Cuba.
  

Sunday, October 11 – 11:15am
“Election: The Frozen Chosen?”

One of the "great themes" of the Reformed tradition of Protestant Christianity is "The election of the people of God for service as well as for salvation." This is sometimes referred to as the doctrine of "predestination” - but what does it mean to understand ourselves as God's "elect" in light of religious diversity?   Led by Associate Pastor Rocky Supinger, this class will explore one of the most foundational yet frequently misunderstood doctrines within our tradition.

Information about our presenter:

• Rev. Dr. Rocky Supinger, Senior Associate Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church

Sunday, October 18, 25, and November 1 – 11:00am
Pope Francis and Pope Leo: A Different Kind of Pope

Something has changed in the Roman Catholic Church. What can we learn from it?

Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have each signaled important shifts in how the papacy is understood and exercised in the modern world. In this three-week series, Professor Steven P. Millies will explore recent developments in the Catholic Church, the challenges and opportunities shaping its future, and why the papacy may never look quite the same again.

 Information about our presenter:

• Stephen P. Millies is the Professor of Public Theology and Director of the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union

If you want to tap into the rich resources of previous classes, simply click on this link to find all the adult education classes that were recorded.

Give Us Your Input

To make an inquiry for information or to send evaluative comments, or to suggest a future course offering, email the Adult Education office.

Recommendation Form for a class or speaker
Proposal Form to submit a class of your own for consideration

Staff/Contact Information

Matt Helms
Associate Pastor
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