Meet Rev. Mark Schindler

Rev. Mark Schindler J.D. is co-minister along with his wife Karen at Unity of Auburn in Auburn California. Born and raised in the Midwest, Mark is gradually learning to cope with California winters. He is a graduate of the Ministerial Education Program at Unity Institute and was ordained by the Association of Unity Churches in 2004. He has a BA in Political Science from Benedictine University and received his Juris Doctor degree (magna cum laude) from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Mark practiced trial law for 20 years concentrating in civil litigation, personal injury and appeals. During this time, he also served as general consul and a term as board president for Friendship Facilities, a non-profit organization that provides residential, job training and day programs for disabled adults in central Illinois.

Mark's spiritual path took him from the Catholic seminary to Zen Buddhism and, finally, to Unity which brought him a much needed new perspective on our Western Judeo Christian heritage. Unity also brought a new career path which allowed him to combine his seminary training, communication skills and the new insights provided by Unity.

One of his favorite quotes is from Eric Butterworth who said; "A religion, to be a contemporary influence, must be redefined for every generation in the light of that day's thought." This becomes even more important as the pace of global change is increasing exponentially. To that end, Mark has been a student of Integral Theory in multiple applications including organizational development, spirituality and integral life practice.

Mark's vision is for Unity to be a world wide voice of leadership in redefining what it means to be spiritual or religious as we evolve to the point where humanity and divinity start to overlap in a way that everyone is able to see and experience. He believes that one of the great strengths of our teachings is that they embrace the dynamic potential of this challenge by allowing us to remain compassionate, flexible and open without losing sight of our core principles or abandoning reason and critical thinking.