Adult Education
Upcoming Class Offerings
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
Shame of Chicago: Unequal Neighborhoods, Unfair Property Taxes, and What We Do About It
September 13 and September 20
11:00 a.m.
Borwell Dining Room and livestreamed
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:
Freedom Struggles by China's Christian Rights Lawyers
September 27
11:00 a.m.
Borwell Dining Room and livestreamed
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.
From Havana to Chicago: A Conversation with our Cuban Partners
October 4
11:00 a.m.
Borwell Dining Room and livestreamed
Join us as we welcome Rev. Alison Infante, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Havana, Cuba, and his wife, Sarahi, for a conversation about the ministry, challenges, and opportunities facing Christian communities in Cuba today. This class will reflect on Fourth Church’s 25-year 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 presenters:
Election: The Frozen Chosen?
October 11
11:15 a.m.
Borwell Dining Room and livestreamed
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. Please note that this class will begin at 11:15 a.m. due to the church holding a single 10:00 a.m. service on Marathon Sunday.
Information about our presenter:
Pope Francis and Pope Leo: A Different Kind of Pope
October 18, October 25, and November 1
11:00 a.m.
Borwell Dining Room and livestreamed
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:
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.
To make an inquiry for information or to send evaluative comments, or to suggest a future course offering, email the Adult Education office.
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Matt Helms
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