OUR Founder
Reverend
MARIO SCHOENMAKER

It is not often that we meet someone who inspires and uplifts us, someone who is able to deeply look within our soul and simply know us. It has been the honour of many to have met Rev Mario Schoenmaker in person. We present you with a dedication that was included in the Order of Service for his funeral, which describes his many ways of being. We also acknowledge that there was much more. This is a glimpse and we hope that you will perceive just a little of what he was to his friends, his loved ones, his community, his family - physical and spiritual, and all whom he met along the way.

Rev Mario Schoenmaker

What were the gifts Mario gave to us, to the people who briefly came across his path and to the world? He turned the mundane in the world into mystique. The ordinary became extraordinary. He made us aware of the value of ourselves and how we can contribute to the world in the simplest of ways. He dared to put himself as an example and yet he was never afraid of being human. He was the teacher and he was the pupil. He knew the value of being human and being divine; he never separated the two. He would give and would expect the same and more without apology. He entered the very hearts of people and he never violated that privilege. He took you to the mountain, told you to start climbing and waited for you.He pushed, he kicked, he goaded, he challenged, he took you to the edge; yet when it all seemed impossible, he overwhelmed you with his tenderness and love, picked you up and sent you on your way. He succeeded and he failed. He never gave up. He showed us a glimpse of what a Christed person could do, even at his death. He was all things to all people, yet he never wavered in his desire for all people to rise above themselves. He wanted us to be strong yet he shared in our weakest moments. He would challenge the devil in you and in that heart of darkness he would give you the candle for YOU to light. He would cry in joy, call himself a fool, acknowledge the simplest beauty of a human being, cry some more and be more foolish. He smoked, he loved his G & Ts, he swore, told the filthiest of jokes and infuriated people to the point of being beside themselves. He definitely was the most politically incorrect man in the known universe yet he loved beauty, the fine things of life, and he encouraged people to love goodness and not be discouraged by the terrors and inhuman events of the world. He had the sense of history. The most unlikely event was to him a thing of wonder. He loved to be orderly, methodical, everything in its place, yet he would change things without notice. When we became comfortable he created insecurity. When you became satisfied he would make you feel dissatisfied. He wanted people to think. He taught the value of being in control, being aware of the largest and the smallest of God’s workings, yet he acted on an impulse, an urge to create a church which would uplift and revere the true meaning of the bread and wine. Spontaneity was the thing he loved most – spirit guiding people, not people trying to dictate to spirit. His mind and heart would encompass the cosmos, yet his eyes was always on the sparrow. He was larger than life for many people yet he always looked out for the little ones. He would encourage people to work together as a community but he would remind us that you must “come to the garden alone”. He loved The Centre he created with unrivalled passion yet he was willing to put it at risk in order to bring about the manifesting of the spirit behind The Centre. Tell me one thing. How many people can sing “Tenderly he watches over you” with such feeling and intent and yet call themselves the Sledgehammer of the Lord? He lived an extraordinary life full of love, triumphs, disappointments, failures, hopes, dreams, unwavering commitment, passion, drama and above all – example.

HE ALWAYS LOVED THE CHRIST. 

He has gone home now. 

We will not see this man again in the sense of what he was. We will see him again in another way, another form. Totally different. Needless to say that in his life gone by, he was a most extraordinary, peculiar, lovely man.