Mark A. Scandrette ReIMAGINE.

org

A spiritual ecology of San Francisco

Ecology: The study of the interaction of people with their environment; the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment.

How does the church t into the ecology of what God is doing in the Bay Area? How does San Francisco t into the larger ecology of what God is doing globally? How can I surrender the parts of myself to reign of Gods shalom? Where does my story intersect with Gods story in San Francisco?
Population: 808,976 (total pop. of Bay Area 7.5 MillionSF, Oakland, San Jose) Second most densely populated city in the U.S. Behind New York City. 7 X 7 miles at the end of Peninsula set in the Pacific Ocean. 50 Hills within the city limits 39% of population born outside the U.S. Tourism: 15 million visitors in 2005 with $7.5 Billion a year in tourism industry Smaller firms with less than 10 employees make up 85% of businesses. Minority/Majority City: 48% Non-Hispanic white 33% Asian American 15% Latin American 7% African American 15.4% of population is Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual or Transgendered. 2005 Median Household income $57,833 Median Family income $81,136 Child population:14.5% --the lowest of any large U.S. City 7.6% Poverty rate (among the lowest in the U.S.) 44% of adults have a college degree Highest homeless population in the U.S. 13,500. Bay Area has the highest median income per capita of any U.S. metro area. Disposable income is nearly identical to the rest of country due to housing costs. Avg.home price:
$788,704 Avg.Rent: $2,750.

Background & Statistics

Politically progressiveMcCain won less than14% of votes in 2008 Presidential election Historically Roman Catholic because of Irish & Italian immigrants in early 20th century Now home to Christian, Buddhists, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim & Sikh communities 3000 b.c.Inhabited by Yelamu & Ohlone people 1776 Spanish settled & founded fort at Golden Gate and Mission de Asis 1821 Independence from Spain 1835 California annexed to Mexico 1846 California became U.S. Territory after Mexican-American War 1849 California Gold Rush (In 1948 gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada) 1859 Comstock Load (Silver) discovered in Nevada 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire 1929 Not a single S.F. bank failed in the great stock market crash 1945 U.N. Charter signed in San Francisco 1950s Post war suburbanization & influx of immigrants 1950s Beat Generation Movement (North Beach) & San Francisco Renaissance 1960s Counterculture/ Hippie Revolution (Haight) Student Movement (Berkeley) 1967 Summer of Love concert at Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park 1970s Gay Rights (The Castro), Jim Jones & the peoples temple,Church of Satan 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake 1990s Dot-com Boom 2000s Social Networking, biotechnology

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Mark A. Scandrette ReIMAGINE.org

Founded on the Gold rush and railroad expansion. Established by maverick, desperate and greedy young adventurers, followed by alcohol and prostitution. Distinctive from an agrarian society based on family units and ethnic homogeneity. Pluralistic from the beginning. Gold seekers had to nd a way to be tolerant of people who spoke different languages, ate different foods and had different faiths & customs. The end of America, far from the provincial roots of the U.S. In the 13 colonies. Where East meets West. Denver to the East, Shanghai to the West. I was born in Omaha, but I am a native San Franciscan, it just took me 23 years to get here. A liminal space of reinvention. There isnt one singular thing that can be said about the Bay Area, it has so many faces and each person has a unique and subjective experience.

Five Common Myths about the San Francisco Bay Area

---------------------------------------------------------------Myth #1. San Francisco is an evil city, a proverbial Sodom & Gomorrah, or at least more Godless than other places. REALITY. God is here... at work bringing about the healing and restoration of Gods eternal kingdom. ---------------------------------------------------------------[God] determined the times set for [us] and the exact places where [we] should live. God did this so that [we] would seek [God] and perhaps reach out for [God] and nd [God], though [God is not far from each one of us. For in [God] we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring. Acts 17:26-28

We have a tendency to be unconscious of our our cultural blind spots in homogenous settings and to quickly declare what is foreign to us as bad. Cities are concentrated reections of the best and worst aspects of our humanity. Aspects of San Francisco culture are expressions of American culture as a whole, serving a psychic function in the larger culture, like Las Vegas or New Orleans. The sin of Sodom & Gomorrah was lack of hospitality. God-conscious people pray for mercy and blessing for the places where they live. The character of a place cannot be assessed solely based on its religious adherents. TWO WAYS TO RESONATE WITH GODS HEART FOR OUR CITY/REGION: God show where your beauty and glory are displayed in this place and among these people. Help me to think your thoughts and feel your feelings for the people and places that I see.

Mark A. Scandrette ReIMAGINE.org

---------------------------------------------------------------Myth #2. San Franciscos progressive character is in conict with the Way of Jesus. REALITY: The gospel of Jesus invites us to be creative, inventive and revolutionary. Jesus was a revolutionary, crossed boundaries and called long held assumptions into question. The gospel of Jesus invites reinvention Repent. Rethink. ReImagine. ---------------------------------------------------------------The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. Mark 1:15 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the rstf ruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:22-23

Historically San Francisco has lead the nation in creation care, worker rights and has historically been a sanctuary for displaced and marginalized people. Conservatism is often rooted in fear, which is in conict with the freedom of the gospel. The Bay area tends to attract cultural creatives: inventive, imaginative and passionate people who long for a different and better future. This reects an instinctual longing for the wholeness that is promised in the gospel of the kingdom. ---------------------------------------------------------------Myth #3. The scarcity of large regional congregations in San Francisco Bay area implies that the church is not strong. REALITY: The church in the Bay Area takes many forms among diverse people groups. ---------------------------------------------------------------You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before Gods judgment seat. 11 It is written:As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me;every tongue will confess to God.So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:10-12

We should expect many different styles and kinds of churches for the diversity of people groups in our city and region. The architecture, immigration patterns and built environment of the city promote local, tribal and culturally specic expressions of faith. What the church lacks in built environment is more than made up for by the highly networked, relational and indigenous expressions. ---------------------------------------------------------------Myth #4. The Transient dynamic of the San Francisco Bay Area is a barrier to the ourishing of the gospel and the church. REALITY: Because of its liminality & transients, San Francisco is a liminal space that has a disproportionate inuence nationally globally. The church in San Francisco has the same kind of catalytic potential ----------------------------------------------------------------

Mark A. Scandrette ReIMAGINE.org

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; nd wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Jeremiah 29:4-7

We are invited to be improvisational and experimental in our approaches to Christian practice. Techniques and strategies that work elsewhere may not apply here. Credibility is harder earned in rst world urban centers where we dont benet from power and class differentials and people group homogeneity. Some of us need to make a longer term commitment to stay rooted in local neighborhoods to get to the subterranean indigenous city. We are invited to be both local and global in our perspectives and practices. ---------------------------------------------------------------Myth #5. San Francisco is rocky soil for the gospel, a place where Christianity is marginalized and the church is persecuted. REALITY: The church is at its best when it is stressed and marginal in a culture. Struggle and suffering produce well-formed disciples. ---------------------------------------------------------------Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must nish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Zinfandel, possibly Californias only indigenous wine grape varietal, requires rocky soil, heat and limited water to concentrate its avors into a bold and fruity wine. A limited amount of visible fruit helps us focus on quality and puries our motives. Do we seek Gods kingdom for results or from obedience and faith? We are challenged to match the intensity of passion and discipline that our neighbors have in contemplation, joy, community and social engagement. A Jesus Dojo, or community of practice is a space where we work out the vision and teachings of Jesus together in real life. In Japanese, the word Dojo literally means place of the way. Jesus came proclaiming I am the way, and offered a new way of life through his example, teachings and sacrice. More like a karate studio than college lecture hall. (1) an experiment, (2) inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus (3) in which a group of people commit time and energy to a set of practices (4) in conversation with real needs in their society and within themselves (5) & reect on how these experiences can shape the ongoing rhythms of life.