Welcome to Summer!

Here in Santa Fe we are having a marvelous, moist and cool one. The gardens at the Blue Door Retreat have never been this lush or colorful. Each afternoon, dramatic showers flow into cool, star-filled evenings. If your season is not so idyllic - take comfort - all things change.

Summertime Luke

Speaking of continual change - have you noticed the travelogue in the Gospel of Luke? For those following the Roman or Universal Sunday Gospel Cycle - the readings are from Luke until late November. Over these summer Sundays, Jesus and the 72 are making the journey to Jerusalem. The Messiah and his followers have no place to call home, except the road.

Two weeks ago we read how Jesus sent the 72 out telling them that upon entering a home - give a greeting of peace. If the greeting was not received, the 72 were instructed to not stay there but to just keep traveling on. Hmmm...a wise practice for us as we seek to mature in serving.

Recently, during Lectio at the Blue Door Retreat - one person was troubled by a passage we were praying. In the text, an individual said to Jesus, "I will follow you Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus responded, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

At first glance, Jesus' response seems overly harsh. However, in the frame of Quadratos this passage (and the entire Gospel of Luke) is understood as a teaching about our maturing in service - rather than a teaching to be generally applied to our lives. Quadratos asks us to reflect on each gospel through the lens of a particular spiritual question. For Luke/Acts it is: How do we mature in service?

In your prayer and personal reflection - ponder Jesus' response in the text above. What meaning does it hold for your community and its efforts to be of service? Examine your personal attitudes about service in light of the passage. Does the meaning challenge you? How? If appropriate - send us your reflection. With your permission, we will print a few of your reflections in the Fall newsletter.

Quadratos Pilot for Spiritual Leadership

As you read this newsletter, the Quadratos Pilot is beginning at Mercy Auburn Retreat Center, east of Sacramento, California. This project has been two years in the design and planning. There is an incredibly talented and committed team (Sandra Lommasson, Jean Holsten, and Marjorie Hoyer Smith) and I, plus twelve individuals. The community is comprised of six clergy and six lay from six denominations (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Disciples of Christ and Roman Catholic). The sixteen of us meet in July, September, November, January, March and May. During the months that we are not at Mercy Auburn - there will be conference calls and companion work. The pilot is truly an immersion. The sixteen of us will learn together. I expect that by next May we will have birthed models and practices that will be of large benefit to our faith communities in the near and far future.

I see Quadratos as a significant addition to our efforts at revitalizing parish and congregational life. The gospels as sacred story have been profoundly undermined by well-meaning scholars and those hurt by Christianity. A people who have lost their sense of awe with their sacred story are a people at risk. Today large parts of Christianity are at risk.

I celebrate the revival of Celtic Spirituality, Labyrinth Meditations, Centering Prayer and a host of other grace-filled practices that are a leaven to spirituality. However, each of these practices - devoid of an integrated understanding of how they flow from the gospels - may result in weakening Christianity. When these spiritual practices become more central than the sacred story - the gospels teeter on being irrelevant - and so too Christianity. Happily, Quadratos shows this to be a false dichotomy. Underneath each of these practices lie the design and sequence and rhythm of the four gospels. What is needed is for us to move away from our understanding of the gospels as four individual accounts of Jesus' words and deeds - and move toward the restored sequence of the gospels - as one continuous sacred text of spiritual practice - The Way of Jesus the Christ, continually unfolding within each of us and the cosmos. Here, Celtic Spirituality, Labyrinth Meditations and Centering Prayer - follow and flow from the gospels and lead us back to the sacred story in deeper and more heartfelt ways.

Two Ways
With the Pilot underway, we are ready to consider bringing this year-long formation to other parts of the country. We would like to begin a second training - Fall 2008 to Winter 2009 - in the Midwest, Northwest, South or East Coast. We are open to any area of the country, with preference for regions new to Quadratos. We did not advertise the Pilot nationally - because our goal is to develop a small community of leaders in a local area who may support each other after the initial formation period is complete. Are you interested? Are you available to do groundwork in your area, including finding a retreat center, networking with the local ministerial community, etc.? If so, please contact Alexander at drshaia@quadratos.com.

Would it surprise you that we need your donation? When we set the budget for the pilot, we were using 2005 costs. We set the budget close to the bone because the nature of a "pilot project" is mutual learning. Since then, expenses have risen exponentially. The result is that there are no monies for stipends for any of the team. Some are even paying their own travel expenses. Yet, each member decided to continue with the pilot even though it means days away from paid jobs with no compensation.

If you so graciously choose to make a donation, there is good news. Bread of Life, an educational non-profit, has agreed to serve as a fiscal agent for Quadratos. This means Quadratos may receive tax deductible donations through them. If you choose to gift this work, all monies will go to defray expenses for the pilot.

Donations should be made payable to Bread of Life. And please stipulate "Quadratos" on the check. Mail to:

Quadratos
c/o Bread of Life
650 El Camino Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95815

Questions? (916) 648-1803 or office@breadoflife.org

Thank you!

Your gift will help many individuals and communities rediscover the gospels.

Alan Jones and Alexander in Santa Barbara

Alan Jones (Dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco) and Alexander will co-lead a retreat in Santa Barbara next month (August 10-12). Below is a short description. For more information or to register: lacasademaria.org.

Recovering Religion as a Work of Imagination
In a time when warring fundamentalisms, of either secularism or fundamentalist religion, seem to reign, can we find a third way? Two writer/scholar spiritual leaders come together to present a thoughtful and stimulating retreat. Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, theologian and spiritual director; and Alexander Shaia, author, educator and psychotherapist, will lead the presentations and dialogue to help us recover religion as a work of imagination.

We are in the middle of a war of narratives between science and religion. Each has been crippled and distorted by literalistic interpretations. Alas, this is a phony war between two "fundamentalisms" whose protagonists are tone deaf to story and music. Come recover the story and music! Come join us for a retreat filled with conversation, prayer and worship.

Alan's writing on the spiritual life and the life of the imagination has helped many to embrace the spiritual journey in a new way (see his book, Reimagining Christianity: Reconnect your Spirit without Disconnecting your Mind).

Rejoicing!

Alexander has been invited to give two presentations at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Feb. 29 to March 2. This is regularly attended by some 50,000 people from across the U.S., Central and South America, as well as Australia and Southeast Asia. Registration for Congress begins in early Fall. But it is not too early to make hotel reservations NOW. For more info on Congress: recongress.org.

CD - Podcast - Study Guide - Book II

The New Dimensions Radio interview, Beyond the Gospels: Jesus Revisioned, is now available for purchase. Many who have heard Alexander speak over the years have said this was his best hour. The explanation of Quadratos is clear, concise and compelling. Listen to a five minute clip of the interview. Note: it may take a moment (or a second click) for the audio to begin.

The CD may be purchased through the Quadratos Bookstore or you may buy an MP3 download through New Dimensions Media.

A second interview, titled The Four-Fold Path of Transformation, is available for listening at no cost. Listen to the podcast produced by Theatre of the Mind. The interview focuses on the practical everyday application of Quadratos.

The two interviews taken together - New Dimensions and Theatre of the Mind - are an excellent overview or introduction to Quadratos.

Study Guide to Book I - Second Edition

The second edition is now available as a PDF through the Quadratos Bookstore. This second edition incorporates your comments and evaluations. Thanks, everyone! Late summer, you will be able to purchase the Study Guide to Book I as a printed booklet.

Book II ?

It is coming!

I have to get back to that other cursor blinking on the computer.

Good and blessed summers, everyone!

-- Alexander

p.s. There is time available at the Blue Door Retreat this Fall and Winter. Think of making a personal retreat. bluedoorretreat.com