Pastoral Work Research Articles

Oración de los salmos y afectividad

The article deals with Augustine‘s thought about Music and the Psalms. The topic of the musical language and the affective theology is addressed, as well as the song as a perception of attractive love, according to Augustine. Later, taking as point of departure Augustine‘s Gnoseology, the interior images and the metaphors of the musical instruments used by St. Augustine are identified, particularly within the en. Ps. Finally, a brief reflection on the relationship between music and the words of the songs is offered, as well as some Augustinian Guidelines on the «musica sacra» for the Contemporary Pastoral Work.

Driving a New Perspective: Automobiles in the Photographs of Reverend L. O. Taylor

Driving a New PerspectiveAutomobiles in the Photographs of Reverend L. O. Taylor Emily Ridder-Beardsley (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Reverend L. O. Taylor, self portrait, ca. 1935. All photos by L. O. Taylor, ca. 1935, courtesy of the of L. O. Taylor Collection, Center for Southern Folklore, Memphis, TN. [End Page 118] In one of his most compelling and enigmatic photographs, Reverend Lonzie Odie Taylor (1899–1977) sits on the running board of his car, fist under his chin. A Baptist minister and self-taught African American photographer, Taylor's photographs—including his self-portraits—reflect desires and aspirations for material success in a rapidly modernizing South, including for cars. In offering mobility, access, and social status, automobiles both symbolized and enabled the American Dream in the middle twentieth century. But physical and social mobility remained largely aspirational for many African Americans like Taylor living in Jim Crow Memphis during the 1930s and 1940s. Reverend L. O. Taylor was born in Osceola, Arkansas, on October 2, 1899. At the age of fifteen, he felt called to minister, and in 1923, he migrated to Memphis to begin pastoral work. After marrying Blanche Taylor in 1928, Taylor began one of two terms as preacher of Olivet Baptist Church—his first stint lasting three years, and his second, after a brief hiatus, spanning nearly two decades. Taylor's energetic and accessible preaching style drew many new congregants at Olivet, helping it to become the largest African American Baptist congregation in Memphis. It is unclear exactly when Taylor began his work as a photographer, but it is certain that by the early 1930s he started to take snapshots of family, friends, and members of his congregation. In 1937, the Taylors moved into a home on Hunter Avenue in North Memphis, where he set up his own commercial studio, complete with lighting and backdrops, as well as an upstairs darkroom where he developed images, rinsing them in the bathtub. The photographic legacy he produced during his lifetime includes some 7,000 images of the emerging black middle class in Memphis, which have been housed since his death at the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis.1 Armed with his Eastman View Camera No. 2, Taylor captured successful black-owned businesses and their proprietors, finely attired men and women, and an ability to travel, among other emblems of success. In doing so, his photographs reveal the power that photographers can wield to shape a vision of economic advancement. An early proponent of such self-representation was Frederick Douglass, who noted, "[The picture making faculty] is a mighty power, and the side to which it goes has achieved a wondrous conquest." Douglass saw that photography, commercially introduced when he was a young adult and an increasingly influential medium during his lifetime, could be used to portray the complex humanity of enslaved people. Creating images in service of education and emancipation spoke to an emerging black cultural identity as African Americans gained freedom in environments that challenged that freedom at every turn. Taylor's work, some six decades later, resonates with Douglass's values and objectives, presenting narratives of pride, dignity, empowerment, and the accumulation of social capital amidst Jim Crow injustices.2 [End Page 119] Click for larger view View full resolution Reverend L. O. Taylor and Blanche Taylor. Taylor's photographs reflect a fascination with commodity culture, depicting images of labor, including cooks and traveling salesmen, and consumer items such as clothing and cars. The latter was of particular interest because it represented both commodity and technology—a pronounced symbol of the economic and material progress central to the promise of modernity. Taylor used automobiles as props but also as part of a deeper narrative, which suggests that participation in modernity necessitated engaging in commerce and material culture. In one photograph, a vehicle has been customized to include a chrome overlay on the grill that reads "Memphis," elevating the vehicle's personal and economic value and enhancing the image's visual message. A closer look at the same image reveals much about the ways that objects denote modernity. The man's pose recalls a hunter's stance, implying ownership and marking...

The concept of the deposit of faith (“fidei depositum”) after the Second Vatican Council

The Catholic Church today is looking for new ways and methods of pastoral work. Her task is to approach modern man in very complex and ambiguous situations of his or her life. One of the most pressing problems in this mission is to present the deposit of faith in a pastorally effective way. The present article concentrates on the concept of the deposit of faith in the documents of the Catholic Church after Second Vatican Council.

Imágenes del "deber ser" del religioso, según la oratoria sagrada rioplatense

El Concilio de Trento, entre uno de sus propósitos, legisló para reformar la disciplina eclesiástica. Si el nuevo desafío era la evangelización, los agentes debían responder a un patrón común, que con algunas variantes en cada época se mantuvo vigente hasta entrado el siglo XIX.De las metodologías para el propósito, que fueron variando y ajustándose con el tiempo, el sermón significó un eficaz instrumento usado en la América colonial e independiente para procurar cambios en las conductas desde una perspectiva de control social. El mismo no solamente se dirigió a la feligresía, sino también a los agentes pastorales, y se empleó asiduamente en conventos, universidades, colegios y seminarios para la formación del clero regular y secular, y para mostrar lo que se esperaba de ellos. Muchas veces, a través de discursos especialmente preparados para ocasiones puntuales, tales como las tomas de hábitos y profesiones religiosas, o a través del llamado panegírico, que tenía por objetivo en ciertas solemnidades resaltar las virtudes de santos caros a una determinada orden religiosa, se procuraba poner la vida y virtudes santorales como ejemplo a seguir por los neófitos novicios o profesos.El trabajo procurará, a partir de varios sermones de profesión, o de santos, tales como Francisco de Asís, Antonio de Padua o Benito de Palermo, adentrarse en lo que se esperaba de un religioso rioplatense a finales del siglo XVIII y primera mitad del siglo XIX -fechas de estas piezas oratorias-.

Mendicant Orders in Medieval Prussia and Livonia: Pastoral Activities in Towns

The paper presents the general conditions in which the pastoral work of mendicant orders was conducted in the domains of the Teutonic Order and particular bishoprics in Prussia and Livonia, at the same time indicating similarities and differences in the situations in which friars had to work in these areas. The research focuses exclusively on pastoral work conducted among the urban population. The network of mendicant friaries in Prussia and Livonia was a reflection of the demographic potential and the degree of urbanisation of both parts of the domains of the Teutonic Order. The scale of effectiveness of the friars is authenticated by numerous references to prayer agreements concluded with members of religious orders and guilds of craftsmen, burials in friary churches (tombstones), and bequests of townspeople. The degree of success of mendicant orders and the support of the townspeople is confirmed in the partially preserved great hall-type churches erected by mendicants in the main towns (Gdansk, Torun, Tallinn, Riga). Key words: mendicant orders, domains of the Teutonic Order, Prussia, Livonia, pastoral activities in towns.

Self-Attributed Importance of Spiritual Practices in Catholic Pastoral Workers and their Association with Life Satisfaction

Although much is known about the frequency of the spiritual activities of pastoral workers, less is known related to how important specific spiritual and existential practices are to pastoral workers personally or existentially. This part of the German Pastoral Ministry Study analyzed (1) which forms of spiritual activities were regarded as important, (2) how the perceived importance of religious practices related to frequency of engagement in spiritual practices, and (3) how these practices contributed to the life satisfaction of ordained priests and of non-ordained pastoral workers. Participants included 1826 Catholic pastoral workers, composed of 65% priests and 35% (non-ordained) pastoral assistants and parish expert workers. Prosocial-Humanistic practices scored highest in importance, followed by Gratitude/Awe, Existentialistic practices, and Religious practices; specific forms of Spiritual Mind-Body practices were not relevant. Differences in the frequency and ascribed importance of spiritual practices between ordained and non-ordained pastoral workers were identified, as well as a surprising lack of connection between religious practices and their proclaimed importance, particularly of Prosocial-Humanistic and Gratitude/Awe practices. These findings may stimulate further research into the underlying causes of these differences between priests and other pastoral workers and between the frequency and importance of spiritual practices in all groups, which in the researchers’ opinion indicate challenging inconsistencies with regard to the ideals of religious vocations.

Spiritual Dryness in Non-Ordained Catholic Pastoral Workers

Background: We wondered whether “spiritual dryness” as a specific phase of “spiritual crisis” or insecurity is mostly a matter only of Catholic priests or can also be found in other pastoral professionals. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, we measured the prevalence of spiritual dryness in non-ordained Catholic pastoral workers, and identified relevant predictors. Results: In a sample of 3.277 pastoral workers, 50% would occasionally experience phases of spiritual dryness, while 13% experience it often or even regularly. There were no significant differences between women and men, professions, or age groups. The best predictors of spiritual dryness were low transcendence perception and a low sense of coherence (both are resources), as well as depressive symptoms and stress perception (both are demands or stressors), which would explain 41% of the variance. Self-efficacy expectation and social support were not among the significant predictors. Conclusion: Both the proportions and the main predictors are similar compared to Catholic priests. It is thus not the underlying profession or vocation and the related life situation or differences in social support, but predominantly specific perceptions, feelings, and attitudes that are related to the phenomenon of spiritual dryness—and these can be found in all pastoral professionals who seriously live their spirituality.

Długie trwanie staropruskich struktur plemiennych na przykładzie organizacji parafialnej na Sambi

This paper seeks to present some tribal institutions that survived the conquest of Prussia by the Teutonic Knights as part of the parish structure in Sambia (Samland). This was the most populous tribal area in pagan Prussia. After its conquest in 1255, the Knights decided to build the local parish network on the basis of native territorial communities (so-called territoria). Thus, ultimately, the parish network in Sambia – with the exception of a sparse towns – was connected with so-called Kammerämter set up since the end of the 13th c. which, in turn, were based on the above territoria from the pagan period. In the early 15th c. there were 18 such local government units there managed by the Order or the local bishop. Parish churches were mostly built there in the seats of local clerks called Kämmereren. As a result, the parish network in the Bishopric of Sambia was relatively sparse. Pastoral work was also made difficult by that fact that most German parish priests did not know Old Prussian and that there were often problems with completing parish staff. Right before the Teutonic conquest of Sambia there were 15 territoria there. They were characterised by a high degree of external autonomy, but preserved loyalty towards the interests of the higher-order territorial community, i.e. the Sambian tribe. The political-territorial unit even smaller than the Prussian territorium was the moter (moter, muter, motor). It was probably a stronghold unit. There could be two or more such units in each territorium. The moter can also be called a community of local groups, since it embraced 5-10 villages. Georg Gerullis pointed out that even as early as church acts from the mid-17th century (1652 or 1665) there are records of 4 moters (e.g. Suppliten Moter) in the Sambian parish of Pobethen (today’s Romanovo), each of which had a Kirchenvater, i.e. a representative of the parish community from whom it derived its name. In the opinion of Hans and Gertrud Mortensens, what we deal with here are areas of a size similar to the medieval moters in Sambia. What is more, the area of the Pobethen parish probably roughly corresponded to that of the former Kammeramt of Pobethen, and the earlier Pobeten or Bethen territorium mentioned under the year 1260 in the Teutonic chronicle of Peter of Dusburg. Reinhard Wenskus claimed that the name Suppliten Moter may be connected with the name of Valtin Supplit, who, according to Lucas David’s chronicle, was the chief official during the ceremony of two pagan sacrifices that took place in the 1520s at Rantau (today’s Zaostrovye) in the parish of Pobethen. In the opinion of this scholar, the 17th-century office of the moter Kirchenvater could be a continuation of the office of a pagan cult functionary, evidently associated with this old Prussian territorial unit. In this paper this thesis has been corroborated. A hypothesis was also proposed that what could serve as a diffusion channel here was the institution of one- or a few-person representation of a village at mass, popular in medieval Prussian dioceses. Using the Pobethen parish as an example, it was also shown that in the pagan times moters enjoyed a much wider ceremonial autonomy in the higher-order territoria than in the later official parish-Kammeramt structures.

Journey to Dialogue: Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and the Writing of Nostra Aetate

Scholars have recently examined the work of several groups engaged in the intellectual projects that provided the foundation of Nostra Aetate and, in some cases participated in the writing process. The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion are one of these groups. They are an international women's religious congregation, originally founded with a perspective of conversion that, over the course of a century, developed a commitment to encounter, dialogue and friendship. This article looks at their work in the years preceding the Second Vatican Council, as well as the period of the Council. It then looks at four critical elements that, over the course of several decades allowed the Sisters to make the journey from conversion to dialogue: philosemitism, ressourcement, the Shoah, and the Affaire Finaly. Using administrative documents, it then traces the actual development of thinking from 1946 to 1964. This exploration shows the Sisters' work as being part of a larger context in which women and men, lay people and clergy, scholars and pastoral workers underwent a transformation in the ways in which they understood the relationship of Jews and Christians and made possible a similar transformation in the Church's self-understanding.

Uporabnost filma pri verskem izobraževanju

Odnos med filmom in religijo že od začetkov filma zaznamuje napeta, prepletajoča se in včasih tudi ustvarjalna dinamika, ki ne glede na sekularizacijo vedno znova odpira vprašanje o povezanosti med filmom, teologijo in religioznimi vsebinami. Napetost v tem odnosu je vplivala tudi na manjšo uporabo filma v okviru verskih dejavnosti in verskega izobraževanja. Film lahko služi kot uporabno in kakovostno didaktično sredstvo pri verskem izobraževanju za otroke, mlade in različne skupine odraslih in starejših odraslih. Ustrezna uporaba filma je odvisna od kakovostne priprave, ustvarjalnosti in usposobljenosti pastoralnega delavca.

Oenone and Colin Clout

Spenser's Shepheardes Calender was still a new work, not even yet publicly acknowledged by its author, when George Peele made the rather surprising decision to co-opt its central character and reanimate Colin Clout onstage in The Araygnement of Paris. This article contends that Peele's bold importation of a well-known Elizabethan literary persona into a familiar Trojan land- and story-scape may offer fresh insight into the early reception of Spenser's pastoral work. The recent tendency has been to emphasize the Virgilian, also the Theocritean or continental Renaissance, precedents for Spenser's pastoralism, but Peele's dramatic revivification of Colin suggests that Elizabethan audiences may also have sensed pastoral patterns and precedents for Spenser's work in other sources including Ovid's Heroides. Peele's dramatic reinterpretation of Spenser's Colin, it is argued, underscores and explores the affective commonalities between this shepherd and Ovid's Oenone, thereby linking the Spenserian swain's plaintive mode with the pastoral elegaics of Heroides 5.

What Happens when History Does Not Walk as We Wish?

AbstractThe modern ecumenical movement calls the churches to pray together and to stay together. Through the World Council of Churches, this call has been supported by theological reflection, most notably on baptism, eucharist and ministry and, more recently, ecclesiology. It has also been nurtured by the missionary movement and its practical calls to common witness and service.This article sets out the context of the work of a parish church in Edinburgh, UK. It provides context to ecumenical and interfaith relations in the parish and to pastoral work within what is called the pink triangle. It concludes with a reflection on John Zizioulas's local church and considers the implications of an ecclesiology and missiology that reflect the life of the parish: “While cherishing the unity of the Spirit in the one Church, it is also important to honour the ways in which each local congregation is led by the spirit to respond to its own contextual realities.”

Reduced Sense of Coherence Due to Neuroticism: Are Transcendent Beliefs Protective Among Catholic Pastoral Workers?

In this study, we examined a third variable effect on the relationship of personality traits, especially neuroticism and the salutogenetic concept sense of coherence. Specifically, we were interested in the moderating role of religious trust (RT) and transcendence perception operationalized as daily spiritual experiences (DSE) on the aforementioned relationship among religious individuals. We applied a cross-sectional study among a sample of 8594 pastoral workers using standardized questionnaires. Multiple regression and moderator analysis displayed the relationships between big five personality variables and sense of coherence. Neuroticism was identified as a negative predictor to sense of coherence, indicating impairment on this psychological resource. RT and DSE appear to function as moderators that buffer the negative effects of neuroticism on sense of coherence among religious persons. This is an interesting finding because people with expressions of neurotic personality tendencies often struggle to find helpful methods of coping and may find a helpful resource in the concepts studied here.

SPROSTAĆ WEZWANIU DO EWANGELIZACJI

Wstępne refleksje nad stanem polskiego duszpasterstwa, współczesną religijnością Polaków oraz możliwością wyjścia z zaznaczającego się coraz bardziej impasu pozwoliły na zakreślenie trzech tematów, którymi warto się zająć: (1) stanem polskiej religijności, (2) konsekwencjami pastoralnymi wynikającymi z wypracowanej przez Ojców Soboru »eklezjologii communio«, (3) oraz »przetłumaczoną« na język pewnego ruchu, pewnego działania, eklezjologią Soboru w jej centralnych elementach: osoby, wspólnoty ludu Bożego, wspólnoty apostolskiej. Każdy z nich może stanowić przedmiot osobnego studium lub kilku książek. W tym opracowaniu zakreślimy jedynie linie refleksji.

An Emerging Mystic Theology of Sustainability Amidst Rapid Changes for an Indigenous Church of Asia

This article is based on a research among Karen and Lahu spiritual leaders which was conducted on March–June 2014 and December 2015, as well as on personal interviews with priests and lay pastoral workers in the diocese of Chiangmai, Thailand.

Dialog und Heteroglossie im Faunus von Sibylla Schwarz

In her pastoral work Faunus, Sibylla Schwarz reproduces the male discourse exactly, but with a female voice, which is, therefore, different and new. The author knows how to stylize different kinds of texts and tailor them to different speech acts. In the search for self-assurance and the suitable literary style, she stages a difficult dialogue of perspectives and voices. This paper investigates the extent to which her own and another’s voice interpenetrate, and the way in which meaning positions of speaker, addressee, and of what is discussed are expressed.

Igualdad y trabajo pastoral: la experiencia de las mujeres en los ministerios religiosos ordenados y consagrados en México

Este trabajo es parte de una investigación cuyo objetivo es explorar la construcción de la igualdad como un derecho y las formas de participación de las mujeres dentro del campo religioso, a partir de la experiencia de religiosas católicas consagradas y pastoras de denominación bautista, luterana, metodista, presbiteriana y ecuménica. La investigación busca, a través de sus trayectorias pastorales, visibilizar su condición y situación dentro de las estructuras religiosas a las que pertenecen. El trabajo religioso y pastoral es considerado un aspecto fundamental del análisis, puesto que se trata de un eje articulador de experiencias relacionales, económicas y sociales en las que la desigualdad de género y las relaciones de poder implícitas y explícitas que lo organizan son más evidentes.

Bishop Paul Verryn’s pastoral response towards unaccompanied refugee minors

Bishop Paul Verryn is a South African Methodist Church liberation theologian known for his concern for human rights and human dignity. In this article, I acknowledge his response to children and youth migrants in practical theology, general mission studies and pastoral care. I conceptualise Bishop Verryn’s response towards Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) and explore how he weaves pastoral care into the mission of the church. The study from which this article draws followed an exploratory design. Data were collected through structured in-depth interviews, informal conversations with Bishop Verryn and observations. Written from a contextual theology perspective, the findings indicate that Bishop Verryn’s pastoral care approach towards URMs is worthy to be developed and recognised as a form of pastoral care and mission work for the broader church’s pastoral ministry towards URMs in Africa and abroad.

Atma Reksa (Sebuah Refleksi tentang "Semangat Melayani" dalam "Atma Reksa")

Serving spirit has become the core spirit of SekolahTinggi Pastoral AtmaReksa (Stipar). The entire pulse of Stipar development from the beginning up to now never turns or even moves away from its duty to educate young servants for the church as well as for the nation. The challenges the servants often encounter in the field will never be able to minimize or weaken the serving spirit of Stipar institution to continue producing tough and talented catechists. The serving spirit flows out from ‘atmareksa’ is the pastoral spirit originated from Jesus Christ, the good Sheperd. Thisserving spirit is adopted to imitate Jesus Christ inrendering his service which had revolutionary changed the serving orientationin his time: Jesus practiced the down to earth spirit of serving which is really reached out the poor. By taking the option for the poor as his strategic choice in pastoral work, he effectively knocked down the upward-oriented serving practice as shown by Jewish leaders in his time. This serving spirit has become Stipar prime principal for the formation of the catechists, the lay apostles.

Explaining the effects of communities of pastoral care for students

ABSTRACTThis article explains how communities of pastoral care work. It presents an empirically forged theory in action. We examined theoretical and empirical work across the targeted area of personalization for students. We also completed what Hallinger (2012) refers to as “exhaustive review” of the field of school improvement writ large. We treated the literature as qualitative data, inductively developing macro-level constructs, mid-level elements, and micro-level practices. We find that pastoral care for students has important effects on student learning. We conclude that the impact is mediated through two critical variables, institutional affiliation and student engagement.