Mark Scandrette

Spirit of the creator
We surrender
To the reign of love
In each currency of being:
Body, mind, feelings, time,
In purpose, possessions and belonging
Make us alive to the power
That is making all things new.

EXPERIMENTS IN TRUTH:
A laboratory for personal transformation.

REGISTER HERE

Tuesdays February 24-April 7

65 Dorland San Francisco 94110

Cost: $60-$100 sliding scale (scholarships available upon request)

Sponsored by ReIMAGINE!

The master invites us to rethink or reimagine our whole lives in light of the Maker’s dream of greater wholeness for our world.  This workshop explores the physicality of spiritual formation. If I change what I do in my mind and body or emotions, how will it effect my capacity to flow with the creators energy & love? (what I eat? how I spend my time?  The media I consume? How I use my money? Who I spend my time with?) This practical workshops seeks to deal with the disparity we often feel between how we want to live and how we actually live. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and facing his greatest shadows and temptations. Participants in this workshop will engage in practices aimed at confronting our own shadows and obstacles to the spiritual life through “experiments in truth.”

Our goal for this workshop is that you will have:

•    a transformative experience applying disciplines of abstinence and engagement to your personal growth issues through a 40 day experiment.

•    a greater understanding of the holistic nature and physicality of spiritual formation. (Spiritual development as holistic life development)

•    a comprehensive personal growth plan and rule of life that helps you maintain momentum & consistency

•    an identified mentor who will meet with you at least six times a year to help you work through your growth plan

•    a practical understanding and experience of group discernment that helps you listen to your life, hear the voice of the Spirit and receive the wisdom and insight of friends to help you have greater clarity about your decisions.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

February 24    Introduction to spiritual formation and “experiments in truth” including how Jesus modeled and taught acetic practices and watchfulness.

EXERCISE: Develop and commit to a 40-day “experiment in truth” that addresses 3 key life growth areas with abstinence and engagement.

(February 26)    Begin 40 day experiment

March 3:    Discernment and listening as individual and communal practices.

EXERCISE: Send feedback inventory to 5 trusted friends/ elders.

March 10:  Developing your personal growth plan—setting goals for growth in various life dimensions.

EXERCISE: Work through outline for your personal growth plan.

(March 17)        (No meeting—St. Patrick’s Day)

March 24: How to identify and utilize the power of having a spiritual mentor.

EXERCISE: Make initial contact with a potential spiritual mentor or peer mentor.

March 31: Developing your personal rule of life—yearly rhythms, commitments and practices to sustain your spiritual formation.

EXERCISE: Develop a personal rule of life in conjunction with your growth plan.

April 7: Processing the benefits and insights gained through your 40-day “experiments in truth.” (potluck dinner/celebration)

…is the culmination of a six-week integrative workshop on creativity and spirituality. Workshop participants, from a variety of backgrounds and life stages, were invited to explore personal narrative and transcendent influence through various daily and weekly artistic practices and aesthetic exercises. The resulting show is a collection of artifacts from this process-oriented group experience.  The following lines, written by course facilitators Adam Klein and Mark Scandrette, served as a guiding mantra:
“Created to be creative
We enact our destiny
Embracing the Energy of the Spirit
To risk making beauty
With our whole lives”

Assumptions that guided our exploration:

1.    We believe that all human beings were made to be creative—to fulfill a destiny of naming our experiences and speaking new things into existence.
2.    We believe that there is a vital link between creativity and integrative spirituality.
3.    We believe that imagination shapes who we are becoming.
4.    We choose to blur the lines between art-making and artful living.
5.    We are inspired by the archetypal themes of development found in the ancient accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth: identifying context, experiencing union, confronting shadows, enacting destiny, navigating resistance & embracing community.
6.    We believe that art-making and personal transformation require an equal commitment to intentionality and consistency of practice.

EXHIBIT DESCRIPTIONS:

SHADOW & DESTINY PORTRAITS:  In this series of staged photographs, participants were asked to personify, first, a version of their shadow self; and second, a pose that embodies their image of a more actualized self — one that is more deeply connected to the Spirit and free to love.
–Photography and styling by Melody Gates.

CURIOSITY BOXES:  Since the age of the Renaissance, cabinets of curiosities have been a popular means of displaying exotic items of discovery. For this exhibit participants were asked to create a curiosity box that includes items that remind them things they need to nourish and sustain them on their journey.

STORY & SECRET BOOKS… displayed in various ways throughout the room are individual collections of writing, drawing and photography exercises. Opening these books may feel a bit like a transgression akin to reading someone’s personal diary—but they are offered as a glimpse into the process of reconciling the story of our lives with a larger ancient-future story of creation, alienation, redemption and collaboration.

AESTHETIC: Steampunk is a sub cultural romantic/futuristic aesthetic.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Robin Allen, Laura Kirk, Dani Scoville, Ryan Walton, Jennie Cooper, Meg Garner, Rachael Wussow, Kristen Sinclair, Karen Sinclair, Julie Harris, Amy Foote, Melody Gates, Jeff Hinn, Leah Snyder, Jeremy Cross, Darian Ahler, Sarah Montoya, Grace Schram, Lauren Stocker, Hailey Scandrette, Noah Scandrette, Jonah Moshammer, Mark Scandrette, Adam Klein, Emily Cross, & Melissa Hinn

CURATORS:  Melody Gates & Darian Ahler

MUSIC BY: Mick Leonardy, Rick Slone & Brian Holtzman

SPONSORED BY: ReIMAGINE!: A Center for Life Integration.  We are a collective of artists and activists that fuel initiatives to integrate Christ-inspired spiritual formation, creativity, community-building and social action. We believe personal integration comes through revolutionary thought, experiential learning and transformational relationships. (See www.reimagine.org)

Along with the board of Emerging Ministries I am hosting a roundtable next wednesday. All church and faith based non-profit leaders are invited to participate.
Wednesday February 18th 9a.m.- 12 p.m.

Dolores Park Church 455 Dolores Street San Francisco 94110 (btw.17th & 18th St.)

Directions from BART: (Go 1 block south to 17th, turn right & go 3 blocks to Dolores, turn left)

THEME: The intersection of gospel & culture in the Bay Area. Reflections and small group dialogue.

R.S.V.P. By replying to this email. (markscandrette AT gmail.com)

On Saturday we went to see the final show of Fears of Your Life at the Marsh Theater, a one hour performance piece that our daughter Hailey was in. She did a fabulous job, and the show featured her singing an original song. We are so proud of Hailey!

A description of the show: Marsh Youth Theater’s new Teen Troupe is partnering with Epiphany Productions to produce Fears of Your Life. Based on the book of the same name by Michael Bernard Loggins, an artist with developmental disabilities at Creativity Explored, Fears of Your Life uses dance, music, poetry, video and huge paper mache puppets to explore our relationship with the sometimes serious and often humorous things that scare us—from our tear ducts to our funny bone. Monsters, speeding bus drivers and hugs from someone you don’t like are only some of the fears that stalk the stage in this exciting production.