The 21st Sunday after Pentecost
October 18, 2026
50 years ago today, on the third Sunday of October in 1976, Seekers Church was born. There were 19 core members who had been shaped by their earlier commitment as members of Church of the Saviour. They were attracted to Seekers rather than to one of the other five communities being birthed that same day, which was also the 30th birthday of Church of the Saviour.
The lectionary text for today seems singularly appropriate: Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and render unto God what belongs to God. Looking at a Roman coin with the Emperor’s visage on it, Jesus seemed to be saying “Pay your taxes for what the state provides, and give your energy for life and love to God’s realm here and now.”
Doesn’t that sound like a call to be a Body of Christ? To learn how to love one another as Jesus loved his disciples– calling them away from a life of getting and spending? Teaching them to drop their prejudices and welcome everyone – including children? Inviting them into deeper communion with one another AND with the least and the lonely at the margins of their world? Always stretching beyond their comfort zone to embody God’s love for all of it?
It does sound like the call of Seekers. Yes, pay your taxes but don’t worship the Ruler. And so, as we gather here this morning, I want highlight some of the events that mark our journey as we have tried to be faithful to that call – to pay our dues to the empire of money and power AND to be a living, breathing Body of Christ in this time and place.
CoS Heritage
From Church of the Saviour, the original core members brought with them:
- Visionary weekly worship at 2025 Mass. Ave.
- The School of Christian Living as a lay-seminary;
- Yearly membership commitment to costly discipleship;
- Silent retreats at Dayspring;
- Mission groups for the inward/outward journey in community;
- Elizabeth O’Connor’s books on spiritual formation here;
- Dual membership in Seekers and Church of the Saviour because we were not incorporated separately.
Today, Joan Dodge is the only founding member who is still here. All the rest have died or moved away. And If you were at Seekers on our birthing day in 1976, will you please stand. (then sit).
At CoS, only Members made the radical commitment of time, energy and money. Other attenders were simply non-members. That never sat well with Seekers, so we called everyone members or core members. Years later, we approved membership for anyone who wanted to be intentional about their inner spiritual journey – and renamed the committed core group as Stewards.
Peter and I arrived in July of 1976 and could barely understand what was happening. We had never heard of a church that voluntarily split into smaller units, and were curious that Gordon Cosby continued to preach an ecumenical service at 2025 Mass Ave each Sunday. We were told that one could only join one of the new churches after completing all the membership requirements but there would be no new members of Church of the Saviour. It was very confusing.
First Decade 1976-86
Focus: Developing Seekers worship, school and mission groups with gender equality.
- As co-pastors, Fred Taylor, preached, Sonya was liturgist. He was an ordained Baptist minister whose full-time job was directing FLOC (For Love of Children). Sonya was a volunteer at FLOC and had been active in the Catholic renewal movement in the early 60s. From the beginning, she invited others to help design liturgy, prayers and bulletins.
- Including children was a major emphasis and that meant noisy coffee hour upstairs before Gordon’s ecumenical service at 11. We were often chastised for our noisy fellowship.
- Celebration Circle, Learners & Teachers, Mission Support and the Artists mission groups formed early, and clowning began from a class in the school.
- Early on, Liz and Hollis Vail gave money to establish the Growing Edge Fund, to foster creativity with financial support and a “patron.”
- In 1981-82, core membership dropped to 11 as some found Seekers “too extroverted” and there was concern about our welcome at 2025.
Second Decade (1986-96)
Focus: Open pulpit and team leadership put greater emphasis on the school as preparation for preaching and servant leadership.
- Fred leaves for new marriage; Sonya asks for team leadership (Peter Bankson, Bob Bayer, Kay Schultz); Bob & Kay move away in 3 years.
- Sonya & Peter are regular liturgists as different preachers speak.
- Overnights at Wellspring, hikes, dances, canoeing etc. bonds families. Congregation was then 40 adults & 30 children. Mission groups include Sexuality & Spirituality as we become more aware of LGBTQ issues.
- Kate Cudlipp joins Peter & Sonya on staff team.
- In 1993, Gordon suggests “disband CoS & sell 2025.” That means Seekers must find a new home. Much effort was spent trying to become stewards of 2025, but we are over-ruled by majority vote of all dual members. At 80, with CoS at 50, Gordon urges smaller churches to incorporate separately – which we did.
Third Decade (1996-2006)
Focus: Sonya’s departure in 2000 births the Servant as Leader Team (SaLT). Renovation costs more than a million dollars & people question, “ Can we sustain our generous giving?” Stewards pledge not to reduce outreach giving.
- Sonya claims art and advocacy as Seekers charism in call to “move on together.” Sonya & Manning move to NC in 2000.
- Core group (Stewards) hits highest number at 26. Jeanne Marcus & Brenda Seat join Peter & Kate on the SLT.
- 40 people give or loan just over a million dollars for renovation (some dig into retirement & education funds). Loans to be repaid within 10 years.
- Different teams were trusted with decisions about the new building because we needed everybody’s support for this effort.
- On June 20, 2004, many march from 2025 Mass Ave to our new home at 276 Carroll St in Takoma DC.
Fourth Decade (2006-2016)
Focus: Challenge of home ownership and local outreach: art camp, local festival participation and growing ministry of place.
- Art camp, by the Artist’s Mission Group, was our first outreach. Soon Carroll Café drew local “roots music” enthusiasts to our building;
- Reaching out to the wider world, Guatemala Pilgrimages (2002-2017) included more than 20 Seekers;
- And Roy Barber brought Bokamoso (So African music group) to Seekers for career-development workshops each year;
- The new Koinonia mission group encouraged deeper community within Seekers;
- And Time & Space mission group formed to care for building; Katie Fisher became the building-use manager for outsiders who wanted to use our space;
- Kate Cudlipp’s accidental death required final settlement of building loans in 2012, so we now own the building and make it available for community use.
Fifth Decade (2016-2026)
Focus: Covid (2020-22) kills coffee hour, festive meals, circle time downstairs and dinner before school classes. Attention shifted to online worship, zoom meetings, and even silent retreats. Recovery is partial and slow.
- Protecting Kenny from deportation led to membership in CAN (Congregational Action Network) and awareness of immigrant issues.
- Weekly vigil (outside) began with George Floyd’s death in May, 2020
- REJMT (Racial and Ethnic Justice Ministry Team) collects advocacy energy in Seekers
- Similarly, Vita Poetica brought to Seekers by Julie Wan collects creative writers – as an echo of Sonya’s view that ART and ADVOCACY are the charisms of Seekers.
Conclusion
As we continue to “render unto Caeser” what we owe as citizens of this nation, including objections and demonstrations, Seekers generally strive to love one another in deep and costly ways — trusting that we belong to God’s ongoing creation story and that Jesus is our guide to being truly human in all circumstances.
On this Recommitment Sunday, may we focus on rendering unto God all that we are and hope to be.
Amen.