Christmas Eve Services
This year on Christmas Eve we will gather for a Fourth Sunday of Advent service in the morning followed by four candlelight services in the afternoon and evening.
Sunday, December 24
10:00 a.m. Fourth Sunday of Advent Service
in the Sanctuary and livestreamed
Tom Are Jr., Interim Pastor, preaching
View the worship bulletin
4:00 p.m. Children’s Pageant
in the Sanctuary
Matt Helms, Associate Pastor, preaching
View the worship bulletin
6:00 p.m. Family Service
in the Sanctuary
Children’s message by Rocky Supinger, Associate Pastor
Tom Are Jr., Interim Pastor, preaching
View the worship bulletin
8:00 p.m. Service of Lessons and Carols
in the Sanctuary and livestreamed (also available for viewing later)
Tom Are Jr., Interim Pastor, preaching
View the worship bulletin
10:00 p.m. Service of Lessons and Carols
Identical to the 8:00 service (but in person only)
Tom Are Jr., Interim Pastor, preaching
View the worship bulletin
For Afternoon and Evening Services
Entry to the Sanctuary will be through the glass Loggia doors next to the courtyard on Michigan Avenue.
Seating will begin at 3:15 p.m. for the Pageant; seating for the other three services will begin forty-five to thirty minutes prior to the start of each service.
Discounted parking will be available at the 900 N. Michigan garage only, at the rate of $9 for 6 hours (and $18 for up to 12 hours). Discount validation tickets can be picked up from the ushers on Christmas Eve.
There will not be nursery care in the afternoon or evening. As on every Sunday, children are invited to be with their parents in worship.
For those who do not have Internet access, our livestreamed services are available to listen to via the phone. If you know of someone for whom this audio opportunity would be welcome, please encourage them to call 888.916.9166 (toll-free) at the time of the service.
Christmas Day Service
Monday, December 25
10:00 a.m.
in the Sanctuary (in person only)
Rocky Supinger, Associate Pastor, preaching
View the worship bulletin
On Christmas morning we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with this festive in-person service.
Discounted Christmas Day parking will be available at the 900 N. Michigan garage only and will cost $20. Parking validations can be purchased in the Commons on Christmas morning prior to returning to the garage.
There will not be nursery care on Christmas Day. As with our Sunday services, children are invited to be with their parents in worship.
For those who would appreciate an online worship option on Christmas Day, we invite you to view the Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols service from the evening before or the Christmas Day service from 2022. We will also sharing a short Christmas “Rhythm and Word” video on our YouTube channel, with music, scripture, and reflection.
New Year’s Eve Services
Sunday, December 31
10:00 a.m. First Sunday of Christmas Service
in the Sanctuary and livestreamed
Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor, preaching
6:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve Taizé Service
in the Sanctuary (in person only)
At the turning of the year we come together for two services: the Sunday morning service and our annual New Year’s Eve service in the style of Taizé.
This quiet evening service — when we gather with our friends from Holy Name Cathedral and other neighbors — offers moving music, space for prayer, and meditative pause for reflecting on the year past and looking ahead to the year to come.
Other Advent and Christmas Information
Daily Advent Devotions
Weekly Advent “Rhythm and Word” Videos
Memorial Gifts for Christmas Flowers
Christmas Wishes for Tutoring Students
Holiday Gift Bags for Meals Ministry Guests
Light Up a Life
Caroling on Michigan Avenue
Holiday Concerts
Festival of Advent Lessons and Music
“Longest Night” Service
Christmas Cantata
Daily Advent and Christmas Devotions
The season of Advent is not simply about readying ourselves for the observances of Christmas but about setting aside time to prepare our hearts and lives to receive the gift that comes to us in the stable.
Thus on this Advent journey, we invite you to join with us in using our Advent and Christmas devotions, which are written by members and staff of Fourth Church.
Daily Advent — and Christmas — devotions are available in a variety of ways:
Via email: Sign up by clicking here (or send addresses to devotions@fourthchurch.org)
Facebook | Twitter | On our website
Weekly “Rhythm and Word” Videos
Also available for your reflection are our Advent and Christmas “Rhythm and Word” video series. These 10-minute worship experiences, which weave together scripture, prayer, and music, are released on our YouTube channel on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
To receive notification when new videos are released, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or sign up at www.bit.ly/rhythmandwordemail to receive the videos by email.
Memorial Gifts for Christmas Flowers
Each year we are invited to recognize those who are special in our life by making contributions toward the purchase of Christmas flowers, wreaths, and garland to decorate the Sanctuary and Gratz Center. The names of those honored or remembered by the gifts are printed in the Christmas bulletin.
The deadline for making contributions toward the purchase of 2023 Christmas flowers, wreaths, and garland has passed. We invite you to look for information in February 2024 about the opportunity to remember loved ones through gifts toward Easter flowers.
Christmas Wishes
Women at Fourth coordinates our annual Christmas Wishes project, which in 2023 again provided gifts of books and gift cards for Chicago Lights Tutoring students.
In the summer, Women at Fourth will sponsor another project for the students: our annual School Supply Drive.
For more information about these projects of Women at Fourth, contact Simon Crow.
Holiday Gift Bags for Meals Ministry Guests
Our Meals Ministry Christmas Gift Bag Drive provides gift bags for meal guests. In 2023 we filled and distributed 475 bags, including 75 gift bags for children.
Contributions to support Meals Ministry can be made year round, from items to volunteer time.
Light Up a Life
In response to God’s gift to us, we too seek to give to others in this season, to share the love that came down at Christmas. One way we can share that Christmas joy is through the “Light Up a Life” offering.
Gifts to this offering provide funds for Fourth Church programs that support our neighbors and congregation; Chicago Lights, as it extends kindness and love to those who are most vulnerable; Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; and the Presbyterian Church (USA) Joy Offering, which supports current and retired church workers as well as leadership development for communities of color.
Gifts can be made online, selecting “Light Up a Life” in the Designations field.
Caroling on Michigan Avenue
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving we carol on the Sanctuary steps prior to the Tree-Lighting Parade, part of the annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. As we sing in the season we spread holiday cheer to those gathered for the Michigan Avenue festivities!
Holiday Concerts
The sounds of music fill Fourth Church each December, from “A Chanticleer Christmas” to “Christmas with Tower Brass.” If you are looking for a musical treat to add to your holiday celebrations, you will find a variety of in-person opportunities on our concert calendar!
Festival of Advent Lessons and Music
Each Advent we gather on a Sunday evening to hear the music and readings of the season that recall the promises of God throughout the ages and lead us on our journey to the manger.
You can view here the 2023 Festival, which took place on December 10.
“Longest Night” Service
Held on a weeknight the week prior to Christmas — typically on a night close to the winter solistice, the longest night of the year — this worship opportunity, which is also known as a “Blue Christmas” service, acknowledges that grief, loss, struggles, and darkness can make it difficult to share in the traditional joyous celebrations of Christmas.
It is also preceded by opportunity for a time of meditation while walking the labyrinth.
Christmas Cantata
As we begin to look toward Christmas, the Morning Choir sings a Christmas cantata during a morning worship service late in Advent. In 2023 the choir sang A Christmas Cantata by Daniel Pinkham.