Lent and Easter



Palm/Passion Sunday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday
Daily Lenten and Easter Devotions
Weekly “Rhythm and Word” Videos
One Great Hour of Sharing
Ash Wednesday
Path of Discipleship
Easter Flowers


Palm/Passion Sunday

Sunday, March 24
9:30 a.m.
in person and online
with palm procession

11:00 a.m. in person
with palm procession

2:00 p.m in person and online
The Gathering: Communion at 2:00

One of Fourth Church’s most beloved traditions takes place during morning worship on on Palm/Passion Sunday: the processional of children entering the Sanctuary waving palms. Those worshiping with us from home were invited to join the festive opening to worship by having on hand a printed and colored palm.

On this first day of Holy Week — the most important week on the Christian calendar — we celebrate with palms and loud hosannas Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But the tone quickly changes, as shouts of “Hosanna!” gave way to the cries of “Crucify him!” and we remember where this journey leads: to the cross of Good Friday.

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Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday, March 28
12:10 p.m.
in person
with Communion and optional foot and handwashing

6:30 p.m. in person and online
Tenebrae, with Communion

Maundy Thursday receives its name from the Latin mandatum novum do vobis, “A new commandment I give you.” This new commandment, given by Jesus on the night he washed the disciples’ feet, was “to love one another just as I have loved you.” It is his example of — and our call to — love and service that we remember on Maundy Thursday.

It is also the day we commemorate the Last Supper.

Our 6:30 p.m. service on Maundy Thursday follows the ancient Office of Tenebrae (from the Latin for “shadows”), a worship opportunity that many find particularly meaningful. The service portrays the progression from light to darkness in the passion of Jesus, beginning with his abandonment on Thursday and concluding with his crucifixion. The service ends with the Sanctuary in complete darkness.

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Good Friday

Good Friday, March 29
12:10 p.m.
in person

5:30 p.m. in person
Children’s program

6:30 p.m. in person and online
Choral Service featuring Stabat Mater by Francis Poulenc

On this most solemn day of the church year, we gather for two Good Friday worship opportunities: a 12:10 p.m. service and a 6:30 p.m. service.

The evening service, which is also livestreamed, includes choral works sung by the Morning Choir. Then, as we extinguish the flickering Christ candle and enter the solemn observance of the weekend, the bells toll thirty-three times, once for each year of Jesus’ life on earth.

At 5:30 p.m. we also have a Good Friday Children’s Program in Buchanan Chapel, offering an opportunity to introduce children to Jesus’ death without overwhelming them with details.

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Easter Vigil

Holy Saturday, March 30
7:00 p.m.
in person

An ancient tradition of the church, the Saturday evening Easter vigil invites us into the story of salvation as we mark the conclusion of Lent and the dawning of Easter.

At this 7:00 p.m. service we hear readings from scripture that cover the story of salvation, from creation through redemption, and join together in sacred song. We also reaffirm our baptismal vows and celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

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Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday, March 31
6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service
in person
with Commuion
at Oak Street Beach

9:30 a.m. Children’s Program
in the Gratz Center

9:30 a.m. Easter Service in person and online

11:30 a.m. Easter Worship in person

2:00 p.m. Gathering Service in person and online
with Communion

Each Easter Sunday we gather for a festive celebration of the resurrection of the Lord.

This year we will come together for a 6:30 a.m. Easter sunrise service at Oak Street Beach; two festive Easter morning services in the Sanctuary at 9:30 (also livestreamed) and 11:30; and a more casual and intimate afternoon service, The Gathering: Communion at 2:00 (which is livestreamed as well).

A Children’s Easter Program also takes place at 9:30 a.m. in the Gratz Center.

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Daily Lenten and Easter Devotions

A resource for meditation and prayer, our daily Lenten devotions include reflections written by Fourth Church members and staff. Devotions are available in a variety of ways:

by email (sign up at www.bit.ly/fpcdevotions or send email addresses to devotions@fourthchurch.org)

via Facebook

via Twitter

online

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Weekly “Rhythm and Word” Videos

Also available for your reflection during the Lenten season is our “Rhythm and Word” video series. These 10-minute worship experiences, which weave together scripture, prayer, and music, are released on our YouTube channel on Lenten 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.

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One Great Hour of Sharing Offering

Each year throughout Lent and on Easter we receive the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Your gifts to the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering touch the lives of those in need, respond to injustice, provide shelter, and feed the hungry, both here in our city and around the world.

Your gifts support

You can designate a gift to a “One Great Hour of Sharing” when making a gift online.

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Ash Wednesday | February 14

To begin our Lenten journey, we gathered for two worship services on Ash Wednesday. Both services included Communion and the opportunity to receive the imposition of ashes. You can view the 6:30 p.m. service here.

We also made the imposition of ashes available outside the Sanctuary throughout the day. This was offered for those in our community who were unable to be with us for worship but who find the ashes to be a meaningful way to mark the beginning of this season of repentance and reflection.

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Path of Discipleship

Registration for this weekly series is now closed.

The season of Lent invites us to thoughtfully take up the gifts of faith — worship, study, prayer, and service — in preparation for Holy Week and Christ’s journey to the cross. Our weekly Path of Discipleship series offers an opportunity to do so in the company of others, in person and online.

In 2024, this opportunity to deepen our relationship with God while making meaningful connections with others is grounded in James Martin’s New York Times bestselling work Jesus: A Pilgrimage.

As we focus on a sampling of chapters of this marvelous and sweeping work, the group shares in both in-person and online experiences of discussion, spiritual practices, shared meals, special guests, and other activities.

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Memorial Gifts for Easter Flowers

Each year we are invited to recognize those who are special in our life by making contributions toward the purchase of Easter flowers to decorate the Sanctuary. The names of those honored or remembered by the gifts are printed in the Easter bulletin.

The deadline for making gifts for Easter 2024 flowers has now passed. We invite you to watch for information in November about honoring loved ones through contributions to Christmas wreaths and flowers.

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FIND US

126 E. Chestnut Street
(at Michigan Avenue)
Chicago, Illinois 60611.2014
(Across from the Hancock)

For events in the Sanctuary,
enter from Michigan Avenue

Getting to Fourth Church

Receptionist: 312.787.4570

Directory: 312.787.2729

 

 

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