VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Showing our Colours: Encouraging Self-Differentiation in an Urban Mennonite Congregation

Two stories converge in this thesis--the story of Warden Woods Mennonite Church, and the writer's story. Both are of Mennonites who in many ways have integrated into the surrounding culture but who are still strongly influenced by the theology and practices of their tradition. Both have been shaped by the emphasis on the church as a visible body--in the world, but not of the world. Both have placed a high value on peacemaking, on loving their neighbours, and on belonging to a close community. In some ways they have left their tradition. They question theological language which does not speak to the issues they face in their multi-racial, multi-faith urban ethos. They clothe themselves in varied and colourful dress, and look for fresh ways of expressing their theology that leave room for differences. But they emphasize a strong sense of community and belonging. They want the congregation to be diverse and creative, but it has become more homogeneous. The author's story is one of coming into pastoral ministry in mid-life. This congregation was her first pastorate, after spending two decades in a number of roles as a caregiver--in her professional life as a public health nurse, in her family, and as a volunteer in the church. The research grows out of her personal experiences as the pastor to a congregation in which a significant number of the members had spent several years of their young adult lives in voluntary service to their neighbours who lived in the area around the church or in other parts of the world. This study is based on the premise that in order for a community to be creative and life-giving both for those who belong and those who want to join, it needs to respect the unique stories of individuals and create a safe environment for them to express differences. The study draws on the insights of family systems theory, in particular the concept of self-differentiation. The research process was designed to explore self-differentiation with a selected group of diverse persons from the congregation, with the hope that the experience would affect their participation in the larger congregation. While not the primary focus of this thesis, the analysis includes observations on how a major crisis in the congregation during the research process both influenced and highlighted self-differentiation within relationships. The thesis concludes with the study's impact on the researcher's own ministry and suggests some implications for pastoral leaders in the North American Mennonite Church.
Holiness and Wholeness: Toward a Holistic Christian Spirituality in the Korean Syncretic Context

This thesis is to explore how an authentic Korean Christian spirituality can be developed and deepened in the syncretic religious context. Its aim is to strengthen a distinctive Korean Christian identity through a holistic spirituality, which reflects upon a concern for wholeness and a desire for integration. It stresses "both-and" way of life that is integrative and inclusive, in contrast to a dualistic "either-or" way of life that sees things as irreconcilable opposites. The goal of this thesis is to move toward a spirituality centered in Jesus Christ, which is at the same time deeply inculturated into Korean life. It is the journey forward toward true holiness and wholeness. Therefore, this thesis proposes that Korean Christians must find ways to integrate the polarized Christian spiritualities that exist among them, and in doing so, must acknowledge and value Korea's own ancient syncretic heritage, which has sustained Korean people for many centuries.
Practising God's Hospitality: The Contribution of Letty M. Russell toward an Understanding of the Mission of the Church

I maintain that Letty M. Russell provides a significant contribution toward our understanding of the mission of the Church. This dissertation is an exploration of the theology of Russell as a resource toward the development of a theology of the mission of the Church. It will draw out of Russell's theological writings her significant contribution to an understanding of the mission of the Church as: a spiral of theological engagement, fresh images of the Church, the paradigm of authority in community, and mission as practising. God's hospitality. The starting question for this study is: What is the contribution of Russell's work in understanding the mission of the Church? This study probes two subsequent questions: In what ways does Russell's contribution relate to the theological enterprise of mission? How would her contribution re-vision the Church? My choice of Letty M. Russell as a resource is not arbitrary given that she is a pioneer in feminist liberation theology. Through her writings, teaching, editing, and pastoral ministry Russell continues to have a prominent impact on the development of feminist theology in North America and globally for over thirty-five years.1 Russell, a feminist liberation theologian from a Reformed tradition, is currently the Professor of the Practice of Theology at the Yale University Divinity School, a position she has held for over twenty years. Prior to the position as Professor, she was a Christian educator who served as educator and pastor in East Harlem for twenty years, ordained by the United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. She continues to be actively engaged in ecumenical dialogue on a worldwide scale. She has written extensively on ecclesiology and has developed her thought in dialogue with various disciplines and groups of people. Not only has Russell produced a large body of literature on a myriad of topics, but she has exhibited incredible theological vision. Her theological commitment is demonstrated both by her production of a large body of literature on a myriad of topics and by her practice of the Word in the world.2 Together with these reasons for studying Russell's understanding of the mission of the Church, I have been encouraged by her commitment to reflective theological scholarship along with active participation in academia and communities of faith, and the significance of this for the mission of the Church. Russell is engaged in scholarly feminist theology as well as “churchly” feminist theology.3 1See Margaret Farley and Serene Jones, eds., Liberating Eschatology: Essays in Honor of Letty M. Russell (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1999). 2See Letty M. Russell, Human Liberation in a Feminist Perspective (Philadelphia: The Westminster, Press, 1974); The Liberating Word. 3See M. Copeland, “Journeying to the Household of God,” in Liberating Eschatology, eds., Margaret Parley and Serene Jones, 28.
Beyond Tolerance: Christians and Jews in Dialogue

This thesis is written from the context of congregational ministry in the United Church of Canada as a contribution to Christian-Jewish dialogue particularly and, in some measure, interfaith dialogue in general. It is my contention that interfaith dialogue is of intrinsic worth, and enhances the faith life of its practitioners. That contention is addressed through the exploration of the experience of a particular group of seven Christians and seven Jews in North Toronto engaged in one model of dialogue. The thesis acknowledges the historic intimacy and enmity of Christianity and Judaism, and, in the first two chapters, examines the history of tension between the two religions in both the long-term and global context—the background to dialogue; and the more recent and localized context of Canada and North Toronto—the foreground to dialogue. The third chapter addresses some Christian biblical and theological perspectives on interfaith dialogue, establishing a rationale for an action in ministry, the examination and implications of which form the balance of the thesis. It is my belief that new insight into the experience of dialogue will prove useful throughout the Christian Church and that the model of dialogue developed and employed for the action in ministry which is at the heart of this thesis will be translatable to other contexts of interfaith dialogue.
The Characteristics of a Pastoral Care Approach: Addressing Pastoral Needs within the Middle Class Resulting from Job Loss due to Restructuring and Re-engineering of the Economy

This thesis is a study to define the characteristics of pastoral care approach that will provide the care needed for middle class couples who have been affected by the restructuring and re-engineering. Selected individuals were interviewed, with the intention that the interview process would provide sufficient information for developing a set of pastoral care criteria. The method provided a framework that brings into dialogue scriptural understandings, the position of The United Church, a particular understanding of the middle class, definitions and understandings of work, and various approaches to pastoral care. Some of these perspectives and understandings are as follows: The middle class was identified by Max Weber. Based on values, both social and economic, and on the various life chances that were available to the individual. Middle class people share common values that provide social stability. My definition of work describes it as a way of experiencing God's presence in the world by being part of the ongoing creation. Work connects us to God. It is an innate part of human nature. It is based on my theology of work which reflects our ability to be co-creators. Work enables a person to achieve his or her potential as a child of God. Work is a calling from God that requires a responsive action by the individual. Any attempt to prevent a person from exhibiting this response, in effect takes away the right of the individual to practice his or her innate nature. My sense of pastoral care is that it seeks to develop wholeness within a person. By taking the four functions of pastoral care as outlined by Clebsch and Jaekle: healing, sustaining, guiding, and reconciling, and rooting them in the wholeness encompassed by Christ, it can provide the medium for enabling the communication of the word of God to a person in need. My theology of ministry carries with it a base firmly grounded in scripture, tradition, experience, and reason. It is based on a need for a pastoral response to God's creation. It seeks wholeness for all of God's creativity. People came into this world as innate gifts from God for a purpose, which was to be co-creators with God as God continues to reveal Godself to the world. There will be times when we will need to be prophetic voices of God addressing any injustices. It was from these perspectives and understandings that the research was undertaken. The result has been the following characteristics: Attention needs to be given to the method companies use to inform employees of their unemployment. Advance notice can eliminate much of the anger and grief. There is a need for ethics in business in the way they relate and deal with employees; a need for a “tough love” approach when sharing feelings with partners and places of business; a need for a clear understanding of identity and self-discovery; a need for a balance between work and family, a need for an affirmation of character and its components. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
The Marcan Portrayal of the Jewish Unbeliever as a Function of the Marcan References to the Jewish Bible: The Hermeneutical Basis of a Theological Construct

A cursory examination of any scholarly edition of Mark's gospel suffices to demonstrate the extent of the evangelist's indebtedness to the Jewish scriptures. We encounter the majority of easily recognisable references to OT text within the Passion Narrative. Nonetheless, some twelve pericopae within the so-called "Prolegomenon" also report demonstrable borrowings from the OT. Three quarters of these pericopae contain Jesus' dialogues with official representatives of contemporary Judaism. Eight of these, in turn, betray a studied attempt at the exposure of errors or malpractices on the part of the religious authorities. In this connection, the OT references serve to undergird a refutation of the alleged positions of the Jews. Institutional Judaism and its representatives receive "bad press" within the narrative world of the evangelist. The degree of vitriolization in this portrayal bears a direct relation to the degree of redactional interference within a given vignette. Yet the evidence of the text demands two further conclusions. Firstly, a majority of Jesus' verbal exchanges with religious figures can on no account indicate Palestinian soil as their provenance. Secondly, a significant proportion of Mark's intended addressees at the very minimum must have comprised Greek-speaking Christians of non-Jewish background. With that, the Marcan "Jew" finds a ready explanation as a literary construct. The purpose of the device is to rationalize the perennial problem of unbelief/misunderstanding for the Marcan community. Here the evangelist enlists the OT as a theological underpinning of his explanation. The diachronic nature of our investigation has determined our employment of the historical-critical method. However, a discussion of four methodological considerations precedes our exegeses of individual texts. Thus in ch. 1 we examine: (a) classification of types of scripture reference, (b) manuscript tradition of passages used by the evangelist, (c) literary applications of the OT in the NT, and (d) separation of Marcan redaction and pre-Marcan tradition. In ch. 2 we investigate Mk 1:2-3 and 4:11-12/8:14-21 as a pair of test cases. The former serves to characterize the use of scripture within strand(s) of pre-Marcan tradition. The latter serves to delineate the evangelist's "script" for the "Jew" as the typical unbeliever (4:11-12) and proffer this theological construct as a rationale for the "disciples" misunderstanding/unbelief. With that, remain Jesus' nine dialogues with religious authorities. Five of these occupy our attention in ch. 3. Here we observe a playing-out of the assigned script of the exclusion formula among Jesus' opponents.
Difference and Distance in Post-Pauline Christianity: An Epistolary Analysis of the Pastorals

Three letters near the end of the Pauline corpus, while sharing many of the epistolary conventions characteristic of Paul, are generally regarded as inauthentic: two letters to Paul's colleague, Timothy, and a letter to Titus. Certain features of language (vocabulary) and concern (re-organizing the church's leadership) have led students of these so-called "Pastoral epistles" to assume that the same (pseudonymous) author writing out of the same (post-Pauline) setting is responsible for all three texts. The Pastorals, however, show important differences even among themselves--of language, tone, and type--differences that relate to the type of letter each is trying to be, and how well it functions under that type. This thesis, therefore, begins by suspending the assumption of common authorship in order to analyse each Pastoral according to letter-writing conventions of the time. The results suggest that the texts are to be read as three different types of letter, with different audiences in view, and in pursuit of different purposes. Among them they also represent authors and readers in faith communities that have journeyed away from Paul in different directions, whose "epistolary conversations" are taking place at different distances along that way. Comparison with other early Christian letters suggests that, rather than presuming the same ecclesiastical setting, the three Pastorals arise from, and reflect, three different decades in the life of post-Pauline Christianity.
When the Valley of the Shadow is Littered with Bones: Ministry in the Midst of Multiple Bereavements

The author researched the effects of multiple bereavements on the faith journeys of eight members of her congregation, each of whom had experienced five deaths or more in the previous five years. The methodology included individual interviews and a group validation process. Data was collected regarding the effects of grief on individual and corporate worship life. The study aimed to reveal the ways in which grief affected each person and draw conclusions regarding the impact of multiple bereavements on congregational life and ministry. The theory base of the study includes the dynamics of single bereavement grief, an examination of the complications of grief experienced by the gay and lesbian community, and a section on more common complications of the grieving process. Analysis of the data highlights differences between the grieving processes for single and multiple bereavements. The author presents a new paradigm for grieving and advice regarding ministry in the midst of multiple bereavements.
Rediscovering a Critical Theology of Religion, Religious Pluralism and Theology of the Cross

“Pluralism” is a widely diverse and stimulating approach to religious multiplicity and diversity that identifies all self-declared religion as being at least potentially salvific i.e. virtually all ‘religion’ is interpreted as positive. While clearly part of Christian diversity, the religious expression loosely known as the “Christian Religious Right,” a phenomena that relies upon its relationship with the dominant power politics of some specific cultural milieu—a kind of ‘caesaro-pietism’—is seldom considered in pluralist formulations. Seemingly incompatible, both approaches articulate a view that salvation is a human work. Both possess an orientation that I describe in this thesis as a ‘theotropical doctrine of synteresis.’ Similarly, bout approaches fail to acknowledge the religious nature of ideological, political and economic structures that do not call themselves “religion,” but which possess religious attributes that are toxic to individuals, social structures and creation, even to the point of human sacrifice. While pluralism possesses an enormously compelling moral imperative in terms of an “ethical soteriocentricity” (Knitter), the influence of the Christian religious right has continued to grow in the North American context. Essentially, pluralism in its many forms possesses no epistemological basis that concerns the Christian religious right. There is an urgent need for a theology of religion that is clearly Christian in identity, which resists absorption into political and ideological agenda, and which is as broadly coherent as possible within the church. At the same time, such a theology must be inherently self-critical in order to avoid religious superiority, triumphalism, and complicity with oppressive practices, while also encouraging open and appreciative attitudes toward people of non-Christian religions. Such a need can be better met by a clearly Christian theologia crucis than by the commendable approach of pluralism. It is my thesis that the terms of reference for such a theology have already been explicated by Martin Luther in terms of his theologia crucis, and may be summarized in eight terms of reference that maintain: (i) God's initiative in all matters of salvation; (ii) God's self-revelation in suffering; (iii) a denial of human claims to personal power and authority; (iv) opposition to power over others; (v) a rejection of ‘religion’ as a priori positive; (vi) a history in continuity with the faith of Israel; (vii) “universal intent”; (viii) the knowledge that ‘religion’ is not restricted to that which declares itself. This thesis describes the biblical, historical, and contemporary manifestations of what is now known as theologia crucis, and how it may serve as the basis of a critical theology of religion in our context of religious plurality.
Women Finding Their Voices in the Small Town Ministry Context: An Exploration of Values that Undergird Social Justice

The concern of this thesis is with the formation of values for women who find themselves living in a small town in Central Ontario. For many years, I have questioned where our values come from. For example, does the church have any influence over the formation of our values? For people who are non-church members, what influences them? Do our values have anything to do with what we understand as spiritual experiences and social justice actions for our community? The idea for this thesis came to me over years as I observed the caring and compassion of many people in my community. Their selfless acts of generosity were noteworthy especially since many of the people I knew were not connected to my church community. At the same time, I myself was involved with the church and so knew many people there well. Sometimes, the same sense of compassion and generosity was not as evident amongst church people as I had experienced amongst non-church people. I became curious about this. My curiosity has led me to this research and my research question. Research Statement. It is my intention to explore the values which undergird commitment to social justice acts amongst church and non-church people. I wish to discover what kind of connection exists between an individual's spirituality, values and actions.
Including Children in the Life of the Congregation: A contemporary Mennonite Exploration

The Mennonite faith tradition, which originated with sixteenth century Anabaptism, practices believers baptism which assumes a voluntary and adolescent or adult decision to join the church as a member. Children are excluded from church membership by virtue of their age. This study explores how, in fight of the Anabaptist faith heritage, a Mennonite congregation in the twenty-first century might be more inclusive of its children. From a liberative stance informed by a feminist perspective, the author reflected on the writings of one Anabaptist theologian, Pilgram Marpeck, the confessional statements of the Mennonite Church, and key biblical texts regarding the nature and nurture of children in order to articulate a theology of children for contemporary Mennonite ecclesiology. The author's action in ministry project involved exploring this theology further with real children and adults from one Mennonite congregation in Waterloo, Ontario. Eight children were interviewed about their relationships with God and the church. in addition, the author facilitated a five session series of meetings with a group of ten adults in the hope of encouraging the congregation to examine and transform its ecclesial practices with children. The methodology used to gather data and facilitate the learning process was the shared praxis approach to religious education developed and articulated by Catholic religious educator, Thomas Groome. The author concluded that, in order for Mennonite congregations to be more inclusive theologically of their children, church membership must be based in community rather than believers baptism, and initiation of the child into the church community happens through a child consecration ceremony. Both a careful process of theological reflection and a new fresh metaphor for church are needed to help congregations practice more age-inclusivity. The author introduces one such metaphor of church as children in God's playground, in which children are moved from the margins of congregational life to the centre.