Spiritual Seekers is a group for people of all faiths, or of little faith, who wish to make deeper connections between their sexual identities and the spiritual dimension in their lives.

We meet on the 2nd Tuesday and 4th Wednesday of each month from 7:00-8:30 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church, 320 E. College St.  Meetings on the 2nd Tuesday will be held in the parlor and those on the 4th Wednesday will be held in the chapel.

For more information, contact Gary Tyrrell at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (319-290-9219).

Recent Agenda Items

September 2010: We will view and discuss the PBS documentary American Experience - The Mormons.

May 2010:  Viewing and discusison of a video on Buddism.

September 2009: We explore how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has dealt with the issue of homosexuality, view a few sections of the recent PBS documentary The Mormons, examine official policy statements from elders in Mormon church, and review the response from gay individuals from within the church.

Some History

Over many years, the discussions of Spiritual Seekers have ranged all over the map. Initially there was great interest in studying the seven passages from the Bible which are conventionally used to condemn homosexual practice. Once the group had read them in various historical and cultural contexts, it moved on to examination of a wide variety of spiritual disciplines and ways or praying. For a month, a leader of the local Zen Buddhist group provided instruction in forms of meditation and their background philosophies. A local rabbi led the members through the spiritual disciplines of major Jewish holy days. Forms of prayer as widely diverse as laughing, napping, and exploring the wonders of nature were examined.

Spiritual Seekers has spent many months on questions of how to develop a healthy queer spirituality which is totally integrated into our physical and sexual lives. The group examined the origins of the common belief that the soul or spirit exists on a higher plane, and is necessarily at odds with the body, which is considered to be a source of shame. It examined the portions of the Bible which could be considered highly erotic, and which express great delight in the body's capacity to be a source of arousal and pleasure.

Recently Spirtual Seekers helped sponsor and bring James Alison to Iowa City for a weekend of free talks and a day-long restreat. Check the "James Alison Retreat and Talks " news item for some background on this past event.

There's still much to be explored by the Spiritual Seekers group in the months and years ahead. Please join us!