Trish Nemore, an advocate for low-income people and a Seeker since 1987, reflects on her life in Seekers Church.
Seekers has been a place for me to explore Christianity with people whose faith journeys have nuance and complexity far beyond what I arrived at Seekers with: my elementary grade Sunday School understandings of a God who, much like Santa Claus, knew when I was naughty and when I was nice and of Bible literalism that never made any sense to me. After nearly thirty years at Seekers, I am still not a religious person, by measures of many around me. Still, I love Seekers. I believe we have something very special and amazing going on that is one embodiment of God at work in the world.
Here’s part of what I said when I applied to join Seekers Servant Leadership Team (SLT) in 2012:
I continue to struggle with where I fit in the world of Christianity and religion –full of doubt, tongue-tied in God-talk; and so often, I am unable to claim the love of God for me in all my brokenness that is at the core of Christianity. Seekers includes many people deeply grounded in theology, through formal religious studies or years of deep immersion in religious practice or both, including both current members of the SLT. I hope that my unbelief, my doubting, my stumbling can offer a sense of welcoming to those who show up at Seekers for reasons they may not be able to articulate, without God vocabulary, but looking for something real, in their lives.
SLT’s job is a little different from that of clergy and pastoral teams in most churches. I like to say, with some humor and a lot of truth, that our job is to get other people to do all the work. We keep a finger on the pulse of the community and step in where needed but try mostly to encourage others to discover and offer their gifts and their voice.
During my years at Seekers, I’ve been deeply involved with children and with social justice issues. Before I left full time paid work in 2012, I spent more than thirty years as a lawyer advocating for poor people and for better health care policy. I belong to the Eyes to See, Ears to Hear Peace Prayer Mission Group which prays weekly for areas of the world needing prayer and which brings social justice issues to the community.
Trish Nemore
May 26, 2018
