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Here are brief descriptions of Seekers mission groups. For more information on the activities, disciplines or inner life of any of these groups, just ask.
The Artist's Group calls persons to express an inner vision in an outward form. In the engagement with the medium one becomes aware of the gift of creation, and hopes to be a channel for this gift. The artist is held by the group in the faith place where both the creative blocks and creative gifts are experienced.
In the Artist Mission Group we work individually on our art but corporately we become community.
Claiming being an artist means being under the authority of that. Once deciding to join, then comes the sorting through of how this is to be manifested in one's life. Setting priorities is important. Most members are working full time and must fit this being an artist in with other wants. Some who come may have set their goals and hopes so high they dare not venture forth. Some humility is needed to accept one's own work. When one experiences the creative process in oneself one realizes that intentionality is needed but also faith to hang in when there seems to be no inner resource to rely upon.
The call to be an artist is radical in that it asks us to find a voice for our uniqueness and be responsible for that as co-creators with God. As created beings we can only express our uniqueness with God's help.
Call issued 1978; revised 1983
[More about the Artist Mission Group]
Celebration Circle is called to energize and structure the worship life of the Seekers Church. We write Seekers’ worship liturgies, plan and coordinate worship and other celebrations, and coordinate preaching.
In Celebration Circle, our work is some combination of what is traditionally done by ministers, worship committees and altar guilds. We try to live out that part of the call of Seekers Church to come “...together in weekly worship rooted in the Biblical faith, with shared leadership...” so that we can “...disperse with a common commitment to understand and implement Christian servanthood in the structures in which we live our lives.”
During our weekly mission group meetings, we select themes for worship based on the lectionary and concerns in the life of the community, compose the liturgies and special rituals, schedule the preachers and work with them to select the hymns and music, and plan the altar table. Wednesday evenings are busy, lively times, as the work helps us confront our assumptions about God and face our prejudices about worship.
On Sundays, we arrange the worship space and coordinate the different parts of the morning. One of us usually leads the gathering circle, and another usually serves as the liturgist.
In addition to our corporate mission, we provide a place of support and spiritual accountability for the members of the group. We can usually find the time to celebrate birthdays and share each other’s joys and sorrows.
We want to give all Seekers the opportunities they desire to contribute to our worship life. We welcome offerings of leadership and suggestions about how Seekers’ worship can be improved so that, in worship, we are “...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.”
Celebration Circle is committed to maintaining a flexible but familiar framework for worship that offers a variety of opportunities for shared leadership. If you are interested in offering something to Seekers during worship, or if you might like to join us, please let one of us know!
Call issued about 1980; last revised 1992
[More about the Celebration Circle Mission Group]
We are called to be on a spiritual journey with the children of Seekers church. This takes us on both an inward and outward journey and engages us together in building community.
We are called to help create the structures and supports that will nurture the spiritual development of our children, such as Sunday School programs, retreats, rituals and other events. We are called to provide opportunities for our children to serve in the wider world so that together we might learn to live as the Lord requires of us: to act justly, love kindness and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)
We believe that intentional interaction with children brings adults to a closer awareness of God, as Jesus taught that “whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17) We will encourage the creation of new opportunities for intergenerational experiences and continue to support existing ones such as worship, family overnights, community dinners and children’s sermons.
We are called to advocate for inclusiveness and empowerment of children within Seekers and to foster family-friendly structures and experiences.
We are called to listen for and nurture ways to connect with children outside Seekers, in our neighborhoods, in our city, in our world.
Our disciplines include regular meditation and prayer for the children of our community and for our group, regular attendance at meetings, weekly spiritual reports and in-depth sharing.
Revised August 2001; reaffirmed September 24, 2003
[More about the Journeying with Children Mission Group]
The Learners and Teachers Mission Group is called to invite and enable people to take part in learning and sharing opportunities that help inform and support a life of faith. Learners and Teachers lives out this call through its sponsorship of the Seekers Church School of Christian Living and through sharing its approach to Christian education with other congregations.
As Christians in the tradition of the Church of the Saviour, we believe a life of faith includes an inner journey of spiritual development; an outer journey of compassionate response to God’s call to mission in the world; and a commitment to a community that can offer loving support and accountability.
Through the School of Christian Living at Seekers Church, Learners and Teachers introduces newcomers into the life and faith of this community; supports the structures of Seekers Church that move individuals into deeper levels of intentional commitment; and enriches and deepens the understanding and spiritual development of participants at all stages of their faith journeys
Call issued about 1979; Revised February 17, 2004
[More about the Learners and Teachers Mission Group]
In John 4:10, Jesus said to the Woman at the Well, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked and he would have given you living water.” We want to claim both our thirst and God’s promise of living water to those who ask.
As a second-generation Church of the Saviour community, Seekers Church has drawn many people who are consciously engaged in ministry where they live and work. And from our tradition, we know that this outward journey of service must be grounded in prayer and intentional reflection to sustain the Call that God has given to each person.
Therefore,
Living Water intends to support the inner life of all Seekers by:
Call issued: Jan 26, 2002; revised March 10, 2003
[More about the Living Water Mission Group]
Members of the Mission Support Group (MSG) are called to individual mission, or are in the process of discerning mission. The group provides a place of support and accountability for these individual calls. The calls of MSG members have included: concrete work for peacemaking and justice; mediation; psychotherapy; photography; and engagement with issues of poverty and equity. While MSG does not have a corporate mission, it is seeking ways to increase awareness among all Seekers both of the calls of members of the church and of the central place that call has for Seekers.
MSG meets every other week to support each member in his or her call. The group is flexible and willing to accommodate the needs and concerns of its members. Meetings begin with a period of prayer and worship and include sharing by all members about their call and other issues affecting the members’ spiritual lives. The group generally devotes a block of time to other activities in each meeting, such as focusing in depth on the particular call of one member and ways to deepen that call, or analyzing issues of particular concern to Seekers or the larger church. MSG encourages members to engage in disciplines and prepare spiritual reports that are given to the spiritual director.
Call issued around 1976; Revised September 2003
[More about the Mission Support Group]
The Seeds of Hope Mission Group of Seekers Church is called to support followers of the risen Christ in the United States and around the world as they answer God’s call to Christian servanthood. Christian servanthood involves empowering others within the normal structures of their daily lives (work, family and primary relationships, and citizenship) as well as through special structures for service and witness. We believe this empowerment is best accomplished in a transformed and transforming congregation. The mission group will build upon what we have learned in Seekers and upon what we learn from attending to God’s work in other locations to discern and share the seeds of hope for empowering ministry, for deepening personal faith journeys, and for encouraging vital Christian groups and congregations. The Seeds of Hope Mission Group is a place for spiritual accountability and growth for the members of the group.
Affirmed by the Stewards July 7, 2002
[More about the Seeds of Hope Group]
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