The Implications of Beauty, Art, and the Healing Movements/Dance for Pastoral Care and Ministry

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to discover the importance of movements/dance and to apply the healing and caring functions to the pastoral care and ministry. With the question how pastoral caregivers have sympathy with the suffering people, I have an insight from a dancer. The identity of an artist makes pastors and pastoral caregivers be possible to understand and approach to their agony. Thus, I make a theological approach to beauty, art, and artist. In order to approach to the healing and caring functions, I especially pay attention to movements/dance among other art forms with the reason that they are closely related to human emotions, han and shinmyong in the Korean context. This study reveals that art leads humans to make the creative expression, deeply relating human sufferings, and also Christian art also work as a vehicle for delivering God’s messages in the daily life. Even though movements/dance have significant functions for healing and caring, they are not actively developed and utilized in Korean Christian community. Within the topic of movements/dance, I examine several subjects: the theological aspect of beauty and art, and the practical implications of movements/dance in the ministerial setting. I develop my arguments, first, with the theological understanding of God and beauty, art and the roles in human life. Then, I try to describe the healing and caring implications of movements/dance historically and psychologically in related to the Korean emotions, han and shinmyong. At last, I focus on the implications of movements/dance in pastoral care and ministry. Since dance is non-verbal art, it is somehow deeply related to spiritual concern. Thus, Christian community needs to actively develop the utilization of art in the pastoral care and ministry. This study helps the pastors and pastoral caregivers to recognize the significance in using movements/dance in the pastoral counseling as well as ministry setting. Moreover, they can acquire insights how to apply movements/dance in building the loving and caring community.