Mark Scandrette

REIMAGINE SUMMER 2009

Hope you are having a lovely spring day!

Currently we are finishing up the last of six Learning Labs in our yearly cycle: Creating Community… in the Way of Jesus.  Thirty-five people have been meeting in two separate groups to work on applying what Jesus taught about forgiveness, reconciliation, boundaries, humility, servant hood and radical love. We are also leading each other in four communal practices of Christ-conscious community: hospitality meals, Eucharist, Midrash discussion and group prayer. In June we will launch two new ReIMAGINE Tribes in San Francisco—year-long group experiments in Christ-conscious community-making.

During the spring we’ve been hosting groups for Jesus Dojo intensives—one day and weeklong city-based learning and serving experiences. We’ve also been active telling our stories and inciting action with various groups around the bay area. Mark is putting the final touches on a book proposal for a project called “The Jesus Dojo: A Call to Action, Community & Change.”

“Fueled by the life and teachings of Jesus, the vision of Reimagine is to revolutionize how we live our lives. We inspire and equip people in the emerging culture to take new actions to pursue the kingdom of God–cultivating new leaders who will revolutionize their communities.”

Here are some ways you can be apart of the revolution with us:

1. Register for one of our Learning Labs, forums & serving events (see events below)

2. Invite us to speak or teach with your group. We often take our message and tools on the road with public talks, lectures and retreats.

3. Contact us about an individual or group leadership & life development consult.

4. Donate to support The Center and to provide scholarships for low-income participants in our Learning Labs.

ReIMAGINE PUBLIC OFFERINGS: SUMMER 2009 *Click on the link for more information and to register.

“Seeking the kingdom within.” A conversation & practice of stillness meditation. Facilitated by Mark Scandrette & Reverend Shinko Rick Slone

One night forum: June 16^th 7:30-9:30 P.M. $10-$15 sliding scale

Six-week Learning Lab June 16-July 21 $50-$100 sliding scale

Drop-in Dates: $10-$15 sliding scale June 23, 30, July 7,14 or 21

SIMPLIFY: A life planning & money management workshop. June 24^th 6:30-9:30 P.M.

BARRIO LIBRE! Mission Neighborhood Pride & Safety Project. Sunday July 11^th 1-5 P.M.

The Creative Risk: Exercises to unleash the voice within July 15^th 7-9:30 P.M. $5-$15 Sliding Scale

“voices of hope.” Community Feast and open mic. Sunday July 19^th 1-5 P.M.

ENTER SPACE: A silent prayer retreat  July 24-26

Making Art Public: ReIMAGINE Prayer Flag Project  Aug. 5^th 7-9:30 P.M. $10-$15

On Easter Sunday we made our way to the top of Bernal Hill to celebrate the resurrection and then descended to our house for a leisurely and prolonged brunch with familiar friends. Spring is a season of new beginnings. The following week we started two Learning Labs called Creating Community that will serve as incubators for our year-long ReIMAGINE tribes experiment. Groups are meeting in flats in the Richmond and Mission Districts. Each week participants take turns leading core practices of Christ-conscious community– a hospitality meal, Eucharist celebration, scripture discussion and group prayer. We are also doing weekly experiments on themes Jesus taught his disciples: service & humility, forgiveness and reconciliation, love, honor and discernment. It is rewarding to see a new generation of people learning to cultivate and practice Christ-conscious community together.

The week after Easter some friends who work with university students invited me to “play Jesus” for an event outside of the student center at San Francisco state. While other volunteers offered passers-by free pancakes and coffee, I introduced myself as “Yeshua the Nazarati” (Jesus of Nazareth). This performance and hospitality sparked lively conversations with students and faculty– among them a German exchange student, several musicians, chemically enhanced neo-hippies, an orthodox Palestinian activist and a surprising number of hip-hop kids. SF State is one of the most diverse college campuses in America. Some themes from my conversations: Jesus is O.K., but organized religion is passé; Life is about seeking your own happiness; if we each seek our bliss we can all get along and see peace.

This month I also spoke at two Bay Area Perspectives courses on Christian community development. When I first started teaching this course seven years ago there was a lot of resistance to the suggestion that there is a vital link between the gospel of Jesus and the call to seek justice locally and globally. The tide is definitely turning– both younger and older participants seemed passionate and eager to tangibly care about the wounds and brokenness in our world. For many people the call to justice feels like a second conversion– a reimagining of what they thought the message of Jesus to be. I try to normalize this awakening by suggesting that we go through many conversions on our way to fully embracing the gospel of Jesus– one of which is the conversion to identify personally with God’s heart for those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, lonely or imprisoned.
Melody Gates, an apprentice in our winter learning lab on creativity, was a key organizer for a large demonstration held recently in San Francisco called, The Rescue. We are pleading with U.S. political officials to petition the U.N. to bring an end to the 23-year year-long rebellion of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, led by Joseph Kony who has overseen the torture and brutal killing of thousands of people through a savage army he has built from victimized child soldiers. (For more information check out www.invisiblechildren.com) This national effort is being initiative by people acting in the name and Spirit of Jesus. Noah and I along with a group of ReIMAGINE tribe’s people, supported this demonstration involving two thousand participants.

Last week I stopped off for lunch with my old friend and mentor, Dieter Zander. I first met Dieter 12 years ago when he was speaking at a Willow Creek Conference at Bethel Seminary in Minneapolis– and I was instantly smitten by his articulate gentleness and urbane creativity– qualities I had rarely encountered in the Christian leaders I had met. Dieter spoke of generational and societal shifts and the importance of chasing down the connection between the ancient ways of Jesus and the dynamics of a rapidly changing culture. Lisa and I walked out of his session stunned and convinced we had heard from God. In a small courtyard we quietly committed the next 15 years of our lives to wrestling with what had just been jawakened in us. Through a series of curious twists and serendipitous events, Dieter, Val and their children ended up moving to San Francisco two years after we did, and together with a few others we founded ReIMAGINE in the year 2000.

Last year Dieter had a sudden stroke that left him significantly disabled with a speech impediment and some physical paralysis. Known and loved for his ability to teach and inspire, with an exceptional gift for making people aware of God’s presence through music, this stroke, as you may well imagine, has been simply devastating.

“What does the second half of life look like when so much of what you have known and been identified with has taken from you? And how do I comfort a friend who has suffered and lost so much?”

I pondered these questions as I drove up to Dieter’s home. When he got into my car to go to lunch he turned to me and said, “Mark. Talk slow. We go slow. Talking with me will be relaxing– we take our time O.K?” I took this as a gentle chastisement for my hurry and wordiness– and as an invitation to be present and still.

I reflected to Dieter that I am now the age that he was when we met– and that I spend a lot of my time with people much like I once was–young, ambitious and idealistic. Over the years my respect and appreciation for Dieter has grown as I move through the various passages of adulthood.

We sit across from one another at a local brewpub, talking slowly, sometimes eating in awkward silence and with eyes full of tears. Even with his limited capacity for speech Dieter finds ways to convey his love, concerns and affirmation. I’ve come here today to pay my respects to a mentor, to receive his wisdom about the struggles and seasons of life, and maybe to offer some encouragement and comfort. “Mark, I’m in the winter, ” he says, “The spring. The summer. They were new and exciting. The fall was still colorful– even when you feel the chill of winter coming. But the winter, here it is dark and cold. You are in the fall, headed towards winter, where I am. We don’t know when or if spring and summer will come again.” I tentatively ask Dieter how he is learning to make sense of the unfolding story of his life. “It would take a long time for me to explain,” he says, “Its hard to talk about. Maybe you and I will go on a retreat someday and I will tell you. For now I will say– I know that God loves me more than I ever knew before– and that my family and my friends are so important– and I love the small things– the food and drink, sunshine, sleep, and walking with my dog. To love and be loved is what really matters to me now. It took me along time to learn this.”

On our way back from lunch Dieter asks me to stop by Costco so he can pick up some photo prints– a new way he has discovered to capture the beauty he finds in God’s world and the faces of people. Back in the car he flips through the small stack of pictures with great delight. And they are simple and lovely scenes. At great cost, Dieter and Val are teaching me, and many others, how to embrace hope in the seasons and sufferings of life.