Sermons

June 5, 2016 Third Sunday after Pentecost Paul Costello is the founder and director of New Story Leadership. He shared some of his own story as well as that of NSL and the remarkable students from Israel and Palestine that ib brings together each summer in Washington, DC, for  an intenseive probram of workshops, conferences, seminars, professional work exposure, cultural immersion and team training. Their perspective is Change the World? Change the Story! The full text of Paul’s remarks is not available, but more infromation about NSL can be found on its website: http://www.newstoryleadership.org/ .  /

May 29, 2016

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Several times each year, Seekers Church takes time out from its regular preaching schedule for a service of chant, prayer and reflection modeled on the worship of the Taizé Community in France. This Sunday was one such time. Repeating the chants together until they die away into the silence provides rest for our world-weary spirits as well as an opportunity for individual reflection on our faith journeys. As we joined in spirit with the monks at Taizé, we were nourished by their faithfulness as well as by their music.

May 22, 2016

Trinity Sunday

Sandra Miller

Good morning.  As I always do, as did Kate Cudlipp, and in her honor for the years she was part of the Sacred Conversation, let me start with this prayer from Psalm 19:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Holy One, my rock and my redeemer”

Today is Trinity Sunday, and so it is rather humorous that there is a trio of intrepid travelers bringing you the Word as we have heard it.  Maybelle, Trish and I comprise the current makeup of the Interfaith Sacred Conversation on Race & Diversity Planning Committee.  (We would happy to welcome other committed members. Talk to one or all of us.)

On May 18^th, 2008 I stood here for the public initiation of the Sacred Conversation, and introduced you to Maybelle Taylor Bennett, now Rev. Bennett, and Rev. Paulette Imani, who so graciously shared part of their personal stories around issues of racism.  That was 8 years ago. It was the start of an incredibly rich journey that began with my answering an opportunity Pat offered to Seekers in response to one that the United Church of Christ issued to its churches, in turn a response to Obama’s March 18^th, 2008 campaign speech on race that he delivered in Philadelphia, to be community, to talk with each other. 

May 15, 2016

Day of  Pentecost

       Good morning.  Happy Pentecost Sunday.  I am always a bit intimidated to share the word here at Seekers because I compare myself unfavorably to the many highly skilled speakers who speak here regularly.  Today, I am asking Jesus for grace in this effort because there is much I want to share with you and so little time.  I wish to speak about the spiritual awakening of the apostles, my own spiritual awakening, how the apostles called others to God and community, and how we might do the same, in twenty minutes or less.

May 8, 2016

Seventh Sunday of Easter 

First a confession…I’ve been struggling with how to put the many pieces of this sermon together in some logical form…Over the last few weeks, there have been moments of clarity and then fog sets in.   So I ask myself, how does what I want to say about the John passage, and two books that have been important to me recently fit into a coherent whole.  I think my latest sense is that it is all about loving relationships and prayer…our relationship to God the Creator through Jesus; our relationship to each other within the Seekers community, and into the wider community; and our relationship to our own feelings, interests, and anxieties.  So bottom line, its all about relationships and knowing from these that we are loved and taking the time to pray for All.  So I’m starting with the ending BUT wanted to share with you how I got there and some questions on my way. (I always seem to have many more questions than answers when I jump into these issues).