Seekers Church

About

Seekers Church is a diverse, progressive, and affirming family of faith working for peace and justice.

Story

We believe God calls each person to a place of need in the world. This call to love and co-create may take root in workplace, community, family, or nature. It may appear as art, dance, advocacy, housing, childcare, music, peacemaking, storytelling. Once we hear it, the call may seem overwhelming. But as we find support from each other in our spiritual journeys, we can dare to say “Yes!” to impossible undertakings, to fully imagining and living our unique and precious lives.

Our youngest member is six, our oldest 92. Women and men share equally in servant leadership, creating worship and celebrations, maintaining our building, and all other tasks. We welcome and celebrate people of all races, sexual and gender orientations, beliefs, and cultures.

We are a Christian church whose members’ spirituality and theologies range broadly. At the heart of the Seekers community are small, committed groups that support the life and goals of the church and each participant. In these groups, members share more intimately their joys and struggles, practice common spiritual disciplines, and find spiritual accountability.

We offer an open pulpit and shared leadership, rather than have one minister lead us. Different members of Seekers and others – including friends of other faiths – bring reflections on how God is present in the struggle for justice, climate change, embodiment, grief, animal rights, chaos, darkness, or joy. We may be invited to perform a ritual or dance. We are always surprised and often delighted. We laugh a lot and at times are moved to tears.

Mission

Our call is to be a "Seekers community" which comes together in weekly worship rooted in the Biblical faith, with shared leadership; and disperses with a common commitment to understand and implement Christian servanthood in the structures in which we live our lives.

By "Seekers community" we mean an intentional body which sees Christ as our true life source. Koinonia with one another and genuine self-giving to the world are the ways we can be in Christ today. Seekers are not persons who have arrived, but persons who are intentionally on the way.

By shared leadership we mean empowering the gifts of women and men to help our worship flow out of and feed into the life of the community. We are committed to evoking and giving space to new gifts of preaching, liturgical leadership, creative worship forms, giving, mission and other acts of faith.

For us, Christian servanthood is based on empowering others within the normal structures of our daily lives (work; family and primary relationships; and citizenship) as well as through special structures for service and witness. We desire and welcome participation in Seekers of women and men of every race and sexual orientation. In Seekers Church we will equip and support each other in all of these areas and seek a balance among them.

The Seekers community sees itself called into Christ's ministry of deliverance from bondage to freedom in every personal and corporate expression. We recognize the value of each individual and seek to heal any wounds of discrimination inflicted by our society and church.

Seekers is committed to participation by persons of all ages. We see children, youth and adults of all ages as valuable and valued parts of our community, and desire their inclusion in our care, our ministry, and our life together.

Products

School of Christian Living
Two classes weekly on such diverse topics as meditation, the Bible, end-of-life issues, healing, poetry reading and writing, book discussions, and “difficult conversations.” We learn and grow individually and communally. Come share a simple vegetarian meal before classes begin.

Carroll Café
Our monthly folk and roots coffeehouse attracts local and world-class performers and sold-out audiences. Carrollcafe.org

Interfaith Sacred Conversation on
Race and Diversity
This initiative deepens our commitment to racial justice.

Nature and the Earth
We offer two silent retreats plus others in natural settings each year. We recycle, use low-voltage light bulbs, and buy wind-powered energy.

InterPlay
An active, creative way to integrate the wisdom of the body, mind, heart, and spirit through movement and stories. Interplay.org

Thanksgiving Food Baskets
A collaboration with other worship communities to distribute baskets to families in need.

Care Packs
Small backpacks with essential items like new socks and toiletries to distribute to people we meet who have no homes.

Domestic and International Giving
We support 30 domestic and eight international missions and ministries, with special ties to South Africa and Guatemala.