Reconstructing Meaning After Organisational Loss — a Longitudinal Case Study of a Congregational Closure

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenological experience of organisational loss among several members from a Protestant liturgical church in the North American West, which extended over a period of ten years following the closure of their congregation. A semi-structured longitudinal interview process was utilised, while applying a descriptive phenomenological analysis of members’ experiences. Considerations of psychodynamic theory were applied to provide a more in-depth contextual understanding of the members’ experiences of organisational loss and adaptive grief. A qualitative review of the data revealed the critical function of shared mourning to support adaptive grief recovery, as well as the importance of a spiritually oriented narrative to assist with reconstructing a sense of meaning. This paper reveals relevant insight into the individual and collective experiences of grief over a period of several years, which are associated with the phenomenon of organisational loss in the context of a religious congregational closure. Psychodynamic functions of identification and idealisation regarding members’ relationships with the organisation are explored within the context of collective grief, in addition to the use of adaptive narration throughout the process of reconstructing meaning. Further considerations of applying a systems psychodynamics approach within situations involving organisational loss are also discussed.