Abstract
ABSTRACTThe study of congregations and related forms of religious organization requires a collaborative approach that reflects the changing structure of these communities and of academic discourse. Attention to Christian practical wisdom invites a collaborative approach that may incorporate insights from two related discourses (i.e. organizational ecclesiology and congregational studies) to constructively respond to the needs of communities of faith. Through an extended case study of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, this essay considers the organizational and ecclesial conditions that foster organizational transformation. Craig Dykstra’s understanding of ‘ecclesial imagination’ and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s approach to social analysis present a theological framework that directs attention to such conditions. This framework evinces two dimensions of organizational transformation which are characterized metaphorically as the interrelated practices of organizational hospice care and midwifery. The pursuit of these practices requires Christian practical wisdom in order to discern God’s call and to organize a community accordingly.
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