Seekers recognizes that any member of the community may be called upon by God to give us the Word, and thus we have an open pulpit with a different preacher each week. Sermons preached at Seekers, as well as sermons preached by Seekers at other churches or events, are posted here, beginning with the most recent.
Click here for an archive of our sermons.
Feel free to use what is helpful from these sermons. We only ask that when substantial portions are abstracted or used in a written work, please credit Seekers Church and the author, and cite the URL.
The Holy Spirit: An Interspiritual Perspective by Jacqie Wallen
Pentecost
May 24, 2026
I love Pentecost because it is a celebration of the Holy Spirit, and I find myself relating much more deeply to the idea of the Holy Spirit than to the traditional Christian images of God. In Christianity, God is often portrayed as a distant, judging, male authority figure. The Holy Spirit, by contrast, feels to me like a more intimate and nurturing presence — the divine within us that inspires, guides, and transforms us. Also, to me the Holy Spirit is the female aspect of the Trinity.
In April I had the fortune of participating in Jeanne Marcus’ wonderful School for Christian Growth class on Interspirituality. For those unfamiliar with the term, “Interspiritual” is a word that was coined by Wayne Teasdale, a Christian contemplative and writer, to describe the shared mystical and spiritual core found within all religious traditions, past and present. His classic book, The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions, explores this vision of universal spirituality. His interfaith perspective is illustrated by the fact that he asked the Dalai Lama to write the forward to his book,
Because I so enjoyed Jeanne’s class, I decided to approach the subject of the Holy Spirit today from an Interspiritual perspective. This matters especially on Pentecost, when the church remembers not an image of God the patriarch, but an experience of God within and a force that unites people in spite of their differences. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit on Pentacost, people who spoke entirely different languages suddenly found themselves able to understand one another. The Holy Spirit does not arrive as a distant authority to be obeyed, but as an indwelling presence that moves through us and connects us to others.
The Questions Before Us by Erica Lloyd
The Seventh Sunday of Easter May 17, 2026 364 days ago, Jeanne Marcus stood in this pulpit and invited us on a journey. This invitation was, quote ”into a process and event that might encourage a period of Beginner’s Mind about our community. It’s an invitation into a conversation about ‘The Call—and the Future—of Seekers Church.’” This process, what we now refer to as the Call to Evolve, began even before that sermon, when Jeanne had approached SLT, unaware that they had already been mulling over similar ideas for some time. They hatched the idea of a community-wide event, and with the Stewards’ blessing, Jeanne, John Morris, Ellie Benedict, and Mary Mehala started planning. In the process, they posed some questions to us as a community: What have we created as a church that we want to hand down to the next generation of Seekers? What is your sense of how God is calling Seekers TODAY to engage the people and communities around us? How do you envision us using our essential values and strengths to do this? What concerns trouble you? What hopes surprise you? We reflected on these questions throughout the summer. And then in September we met…
Action in Montgomery by Elizabeth Bernal-Amick
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 10, 2026
Elizabeth Bernal-Amick is a community organizer with Action in Montgomery (AIM). Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, she has called the DC area home for the past six years. For the past two and a half years, she has been organizing alongside tenants, school communities, and congregations across Montgomery County to build collective power around the issues that matter most to everyday families. She speaks English and Spanish, and she is never far from her goldendoodle Oliver. Elizabeth spoke about her childhood in Colombia, how she came to the US, and her current work with AIM. The text of her sermon is not yet available.
Jenny’s Tree by Joan Dodge
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2026
Joan summarized some stories about trees from children’s books that she has loved. Then she talked about a tree that was originally planted in a large pot on the balcony, where her little daughter, Jenny, watered it faithfully. When Jenny died at the age of three, Joan and her husband Doug moved the sapling to Dayspring, where it flourishes as a memorial. The photograph at right shows what Jenny’s tree looks like now. The text of Joan’s Word is not yet available.
The Good Shepherd by Elizabeth Gelfeld
The Fourth Sunday of Easter April 26, 2026 The gospel reading we just heard, the first ten verses of John 10, is Jesus’ introduction to one of his “I am” statements. He is teaching his disciples, using the metaphor of a sheepfold and its gate, which is the legitimate way to enter the sheepfold, and he says that he is the gate. They don’t understand, so he continues. I’m going to read verses 9 through 14, from the New International Version. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I…