Church of the Saviour
About Seekers
SEEKERS CHURCH is an inter-generational, open and affirming family of faith. We create worship that includes prayers, preaching and art from many in the community; we support lifelong learning through our School of Christian Living and disciplined individual prayer, reflection and study.
We live out God’s call through small, committed groups that support the life and missions of the church; Christian servanthood in the ordinary structures of our lives(work, primary relationships and citizenship); spending as much on community and worldwide ministries as on church operations; and calling forth our leadership from within the community.
Who we are
We were born out of the Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC in 1976. The life of Seekers Church is based on the belief that God calls each person to minister to some place of need in God’s Creation.
This call to love and serve God’s Creation may take root in workplace, community or family. This call is likely to seem too big for us. But as we deepen our commitment to Christ and find support from each other, our faith deepens and we can dare to say “Yes” to God’s call to commitment.
We are –
• Teachers and learners,
• Entrepreneurs and managers,
• Children and technicians,
• Artists and grandparents,
• Policy analysts and counselors,
• Therapists and lawyers,
• Parents and advocates,
• Civil servants and preachers,
• Healers and justice seekers.
We are one small part of the Body of Christ, called to a life of loving and doing God’s will; ordinary, imperfect people facing the turbulence of these times together.
We are called to journey together with Christ, an adventure that includes...
An Inner Journey to a deeper faith in God, nourishing ourselves through daily spiritual practices ... spiritual accountability within the community ... classes for children, youth and adults ... a weekend of silent retreat at least once every year.
An Outer Journey to serve God’s Creation through personal commitment to ministry in daily life, as well as ministry together through mission groups where we work together in response to God’s call.
A Community Journey to build the Body of Christ celebrating our rich and diverse faith traditions ... sharing leadership and ministry widely ... including children in all we do together ... welcoming people of all ages, races and sexual or gender orientations.
Come Journey with Us
Seekers Church meets at 276 Carroll Street, NW (across the street from the Takoma METRO Station.)
Our celebration on Sunday morning includes time for informal sharing, greetings and news from the community, at the beginning of our worship. We also offer Christian education for children.
Schedule
9:30 – Worship begins with a community gathering
10:00 – Worship and Christian education for children
11:15 – Conversation and Refreshments
Click here for a complete guide to our worship (PDF format).
Links
Churches in the Tradition of the Church of the Saviour
Seekers Church is one of several churches that have emerged from the Church of the Saviour and which continue in that tradition. Links for each of them can be found here.
Ministries of the Church of the Saviour
A number of ministries have grown from churches and mission groups of the Church of the Saviour. Each is independently organized and welcomes your contact. Links for them can be found here.
Other Sites with Seekers Church Connections
Pecometh has hosted many Seekers kids over the years, both in the past (the Lloyds, Woods, Dahlins) and present. Meredith Lloyd, who worked at Pecometh growing up and now serves on the board of directors there, says "I think it would be great if [Pecometh] could be the summer camp of choice for Seekers kids!" They also have family/friends weekends open to all generations.
The Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion
nutures and guides students, churches and artists exploring the intersections of the arts and theology. It is part of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.
Lumunos (formerly Faith At Work)
empowers you to explore, discern and act on your many gifts and calls in the complexity of life for the good of God’s world.
Pastoral Counseling and Consultation Centers of Greater Washington
has been devoted to the healing of mind, body, and spirit for more than 30 years.
This is the complete lectionary for all seasons of the current liturgical year as well as the previous year and the following year in the three-year cycle. It is available online as a service of Vanderbilt University Library.
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community
is an ecumenical Christian study retreat community located on 1400 acres of wilderness near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Seekers Church owns shares in Rolling Ridge and uses the facility for retreats. Additional information about Rolling Ridge is also available here.
Seekers Church Members' Web Sites
Aliathena is a comprehensive site about women in Greek myth
Pat Conover - Pat's sermons and other writing
Pat's Blog - Pat Conover writes about current social and political issues and invites your comments.
Jesse Palidofsky - a selection of Jesse's music
Margreta Silverstone - a selection of Margreta's quilts
Deborah Sokolove - a gallery of Deborah's art
Jake Folger - Jake's Friend to the Homeless site.
Katie Fisher & John Morris - their musical project, Mulberry Coach
Progressive Christianity Networking
The Center for Progressive Christianity
The Clergy Letter Project (A religion and evolution site)
CrossLeft (Balancing the Christian Voice...)
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI-US)
Institute for Progressive Christianity
The Network of Spiritual Progressives (A project of the Tikkun Community)
Progressive Chrisitans Uniting
Resources for Systemic Advocacy
About Urban Legends (A source for debunking erroneous legends and hoaxes)
The Center for Medicare Advocacy
Churches for Middle East Peace
Coalition on Human Needs (An anti-poverty website)
Democracy Rising US (Iraq War facts)
Ecumenical Advocacy Days (major annual conference in Washington DC area)
Equality Maryland (glbt coalition in Maryland)
Etalkinghead's Political Blog (Access to directory of religious blogs concerning politics)
Faithful America (An inter-religious website maintained by the National Council of Churches)
Guatemala Human Rights Commission
Institute for Welcoming Resourcses (religion and transgender issues)
International Foundation for Gender Education
Middle East Council of Churches
Mother Jones (The Mother Jones Iraq War timeline)
The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce (GBLTpolitical coalition)
National Low-Income Housing Coalition (advocacy organization)
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Susan's Place Trangender Resources (transgender resources)
United Church of Christ (link to lgbt resources)
United Church of Christ (link to public education)
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Washington Office on Latin America
Win Without War (Iraq war resources)
Lists of Christian Communities
Online Communities Directory: a searchable online directory of intentional communities from North America and around the world provided by the FIC
Jesus Army: Community Links: List of Christian Communities around the world.
gaychurch.org : a gay and lesbian-welcoming church directory
Communities Crosslinking to Seekers Church
Wellspring United Methodist Church The similaries between churches founded in the tradition of Church of the Saviour abound. Wellspring is located in Williamsburg, VA, but COS had a great influence in their creation. It is a community of faith driven by the Spirit, led by the laity, and committed to Christian discipleship. Wellspring will empower each person on a Christian journey that fosters deep commitment and faithfulness. In order to further His transformation of individual lives, we will strive to reveal Christ to each other and the community.
Evangelical Community Elim The Elim-Community in the Netherlands functions as a platform and point of contact for 35 evangelical communities. 'Evangelical' indicates that these fellowships stem from or belong to the evangelical wing of the universal church. This does not mean identification with a certain denomination. There are Protestant, Roman Catholic and Charismatic communities included.
Other Missions and Ministries
Adopt an Older Child, sponsored by Adoptions Together, supports the adoption of older children in foster care by African American parents.
Links on this page are subject to Seekers' Links Policy.
Get Involved
The life of Seekers has three major dimensions: inner journey, community building, and ministry (also called outer journey). Individuals are expected, over time, to grow in all three areas; Seekers Church aims at growing in all three areas.
Inner Journey
Individual Seekers are highly diverse in their paths and techniques for growing their inner lives. Seekers assumes traveling the inner journey will lead to ministry. This is why Seekers spends a lot of time talking about gifts and callings.
Most members give some order to their inner journey by committing to specific practices for growing their spiritual lives and by making weekly reports to a spiritual guide. The inner journey commonly includes prayer, meditation, reflection on the lectionary Scripture readings, and journal writing. Many Seekers are also practicing different kinds of body spirituality, artistic expression, or a variety of spiritual techniques.
Community
We gather for worship on Sunday mornings which begins with Circle Time. Circle Time is a time for learning about what is going on in the community, sharing stories of our lives, and learning about other opportunities for connecting and community building.
A core design of Seekers is our commitment to mission groups, small groups committed to a specific call. We ask newer Seekers to first participate in School of Christian Living classes; but you can ask about our mission group life any time.
The School of Christian Living offers adult Christian education classes on Tuesday nights. Classes are typically six weeks long and are intended to both provide content and personal growth opportunities as well as to begin some of the habits and practices of Seekers life.
Ministry
Seekers Church does not exist to serve itself alone. For Seekers, to be a Christian includes deeply caring about the world and taking up our part of making the world a better place, a place filled with love, justice, and peace. We are a do-it-yourself church and we need people who are willing to find and claim their part of ministry to the community and the world.
One of the secrets of this faith community is that we trust the Holy Spirit to guide us into the kinds of ministry most needed and to inspire members to become the ministers we need.
Excerpt from "A Road Map into Seekers", click here to read more (PDF format).
Our History
Seekers Church, along with a number of other Christian communities, was born out of the Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. We began worshiping as a faith community within the Church of the Saviour in 1976, when the original Church of the Saviour congregation divided into smaller sister communities. In 1995, Seekers Church separately incorporated in the District of Columbia, as part of the major restructuring of the Church of the Saviour in which each of the original sister communities became independent.
The life of Seekers Church is based on an amazing belief: each one of us is called by God to a particular work in the world that helps bring about God's vision for all of creation. Young or old; regardless of experience, skills or education; despite our past successes or failures -- God issues each of us an individual call to be about a particular work in the world and in the church. The spiritual journey in Seekers Church grows out of a commitment to answer "Yes" to this call from God, to live out this call with integrity; and to accountability to one another for this commitment.
It is in following our call that we experience the mystery of God's presence in our community and an ever-deepening friendship with God in our inner lives. We grow in our faith, find rich fellowship within Christian community, and experience new life and healing, all by following our call.
Excerpt from "A Guide to Seekers Church, Seventh Edition." The Guide is available by clicking here.
Ken Burton
