ABSTRACT Using the decolonial interpretation of the Bible, liberation theology, and the indigenous knowledge system, this paper examines how the church in Zimbabwe can address the ongoing decline of the economy. Qualitatively, the study brings together the triad of Sen’s capability theory, liberation theology, and Zunde raMambo, a gap absent from scholarship. There is urgency to combine postcolonial critiques with practical solutions to deal with African economic challenges. The results show the need for church-NGO partnership in areas of projects and financial literacy. The study concludes by underlining that space to target the underprivileged women through microfinance and deal with systemic exclusions from leadership roles. The study recommends that the church in Zimbabwe should exceed its roles as a political agent and spiritual comfort giver. Through indigenous ethics and support of communal land rights, the church can restore her prophetic role as well as her moral role, reaffirming social relevance.

ABSTRACT In this literature review, I integrate available data on the experiences of Canadian female ministers to assess the cultural impact on their roles within the church. The review reveals a widespread presence of sexism in Canadian churches across various denominations, including those with a long history of ordaining women. Canadian churches remain male-dominant workplaces, with conditions that are often less equitable than those in the broader Canadian workforce. Women encounter a significant discrepancy between their churches’ stated beliefs and actual practices, making their ministry experiences feel like an uphill battle. These findings highlight the necessity for Canadian churches to go beyond merely ordaining women. A deeper commitment to transforming church culture towards mutual love and respect is essential for truly reflecting Christ’s love in the community.

ABSTRACT The earliest expressions of Pentecostalism, emerging spontaneously around the world at the beginning of the 20th century, are contested due to the outsized influence of the Azusa Street Revival alongside missionary work which erased indigenous-born expressions of the Spirit. Pentecostal distinctives work to emphasise radical equality and challenge societal understandings of gender, race, and age; the Spirit advocates decolonial activity and subverts imperialism. As Pentecostal expressions develop into larger movements, however, entrenched cultural imperatives reassert themselves in the guise of pragmatic considerations, forcing a divide between theology and praxis. The need for rapid responses to the surrounding culture and the imperative for continuous growth often results in a consolidation of power in an individual, reversing the decolonising work of the Spirit to advance the interests of the powerful. Despite this, hope remains as Pentecostal theologians reclaim the decolonial impulses of the movement and advocate for a return to original principles.

ABSTRACT Written out of experience in theological education in international settings, work in racial justice advocacy within his church (the United Reformed Church, UK), and service as its first Black and Asian Minority Ethnic national Moderator, this article takes a wide view of ‘Reformed theological deposits’ to propose systemic changes. Using decolonial thought, particularly but not exclusively from Caribbean voices, the article seeks to foster various habits of resistance to certain ecclesial norms, including among others: refusing rigid forms, revisiting inherited theological tropes that propelled earlier colonialism as well as impacting contemporary capitalism, and unlearning the obedience that is often seen as central to Reformed traditions of Christian spirituality. The article critically engages various Reformed Confessions (Accra, Belhar and Kairos), and – interestingly for a tradition in which high value is placed upon the word – draws some of its inspiration from visual arts.

ABSTRACT In September and October 2023, the Catholic Church in Belgium faced another significant media crisis related to sexual abuse. This time, it was not so much about new facts, but victims of abuse told their stories candidly in a televised documentary. Telling their story destabilised and challenged many of the Catholic Church’s narratives once again. Although many reactions focused on past failures, it was also noted that the Catholic Church is currently striving to be more synodal, to walk with people, to allow people to tell their own stories, and is not yet successful in doing so. This article analyses the Catholic Church’s inability to incorporate diverse narratives into its story and, using the metaphor of Penelope’s weaving, aims to offer a new approach to the story of the Catholic Church becoming more synodal by adding new threads and removing harmful ones from the ecclesial fabric.

ABSTRACT Analysing the Roman Catholic tradition from a liberation-postcolonial perspective, the first part of this article shows how the church has been complicit in stripping the colonised peoples of their agency, identity, and dignity, while at the same time, providing the tools or the discourse for resistance. The second part argues that the Second Vatican Council played a significant role in paving the way towards a postcolonial world church. Some setbacks have been suffered under certain papacies with a return to Vatican centralisation. Still, Pope Francis, with his vision of a synodal church, has taken the cudgels to continue this unfinished business of Vatican II in various areas such as worship, interreligious dialogue, the critique of the global economic order, but to a lesser degree for laity/women’s leadership and gender inclusivity.

ABSTRACT In a contribution developed from an address with British Methodists – the church to which the author belongs – this article probes problematic dynamics of patronage in a tradition that at its best has affirmed equity and social justice. Through exploration of Willie James Jennings’ emphasis on the ubiquity of Whiteness, and revisiting the author’s own earlier critique of ‘a theology of good intentions,’ as well as through case studies in theological education, committee work, and processes of stationing and supervision, the article finds exceptionalism and ‘unreflective Whiteness’ still at play in the Methodist Church. With ‘liberative, prophetic hope’, the article calls for better norms.