Pathway Program

Sacred Garden Community is a church. While we are very interested in deconstructing the ways religion has been used to dominate humans, we are also interested in reclaiming the parts of religion and spirituality that create community, provide access to methods known to result in a direct experience of the Divine, and in general help humans thrive. 

Ideal applicants should have already done significant work around their “spiritual formation” - that is they should have a clear understanding of their own relationship to religion, meaning around the “Divine,” as well as be able to articulate their own cosmology and/or metaphysical understanding of our world and how it relates to engaging the sacraments of our church.

Eligible applicants should have significant education and/or first hand experience related to offering psychological, spiritual, and/or physical care, or the equivalent experience in direct apprenticeship in a traditional lineage. This training or practice should be approximately equivalent to...

• at least two years studying a relevant modality, plus at least 300 hours of supervised practice

• at least two years of direct experience with indigenous traditions as an apprentice or assistant facilitator  

• at least three years of practicing intentional ceremonial work with sacraments outside of one traditional lineage with a ‘fractalage’ of multiple mentors and training in harm reduction and/or peer support models such as Zendo or Fireside Project

Applicants should have at least one year of experience working with the sacraments of our church or similar compounds in an intentional way, including preparation and integration work. The ideal applicant will have participated in a significant number (6+) of intentional practices with sacrament with at least two of them being group experience. 

For those coming from a strong clinical, indigenous or religious/theological training backgrounds (like medical doctors, licensed therapists, clergy, or indigenous healers), it is of utmost importance to understand the nature of SGC’s core tenet of “least dogma” and the accompanying community values of Care, Respect, and Trust.

 The ideal applicant will have experience serving those from wildly different cultural backgrounds, and/or in inter-religious / interfaith environments, and demonstrate not just tolerance for such differences, but a sincere celebration of those differences as a gift. The ideal applicant will also be ‘trauma informed’ and at least have some understanding of neurodiversity and how these concepts relate to the practice of the sacraments of our church.

The ideal applicant will be currently engaged in at least modality for their own personal reflection/development in an regular, ongoing way. Such modalities could be therapy, counseling, coaching, somatic healing, embodiment practices, contemplative practices, integration circles, or other modes of healing. At minimum we require that applicants have done one year of personal healing work (involving monthly sessions at minimum) within the last 3 years. 

You must have a willingness to engage SGC’s technological systems, and to learn to use new web-based platforms. You must follow SGC’s protocols around suitability processes, safety and consent.