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Journal articles on the topic 'African Spiritual Church'
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1
Dovlo, Elom. "African Culture and Emergent Church Forms in Ghana." Exchange 33, no. 1 (2004): 28–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1572543041172639.
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AbstractThe author gives a review of the African Independent Churches, African Initiated Churches or Spiritual Churches, as he prefers to call them, in West Africa. He also pays attention to the relationship of these churches to the so-called mainline churches. He shows the charismatic renewal that took place in the Spiritual Churches. Furthermore Dovlo turns his eyes to the relationship between the Western mainline churches and the African mainline churches and he makes clear that between all these diff erent types of churches an intra-cultural dialogue is going on. So Dovlo concludes omit that in spite of all tensions between them all churches need each other to communicate the hope of a God who is coming.
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Boesak, A. "Kan die NG Kerk vandag nog iets vir Suid Afrika beteken?" Verbum et Ecclesia 29, no. 1 (February 3, 2008): 32–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v29i1.3.
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This article is the edited version of the presentation held at the University of Pretoria’s “Theological Day” on January 31, 2008. It seeks to answer the question: “Can the Dutch Reformed Church still make a difference in South Africa today?” This article places this question within the wider world and African contexts, then focuses on the South African situation. It describes the South African context as one of spiritual uncertainties and confusion, political tension, economic inequalities and social unravelling, which each in the their own way and together put particular challenges before the church. This paper answers the question the affirmative, provided that the Dutch Reformed Church meets its own direct challenges, the most important of which is the challenge toward reunification within the Dutch Reformed family of churches.
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Fossouo, Pascal. "Missionary Challenges Faced by the First African Church Leaders in Cameroon and Ghana." Exchange 37, no. 3 (2008): 263–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157254308x311983.
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AbstractThe practice of the Christian faith in Ghana and Cameroon changes in details according to the leaders exercising power in church and in the religious traditional system of government known as Sacral Rule. African church leaders were expected to show more understanding in affirming African tradition or in undermining white missionaries' attitudes, thought and rules. They were called to fill the omissions of their predecessors and to solve the problem of spiritual emptiness of the modern state bequeathed to Africa by the colonial practices. More of all, African leaders have to manage the presence of people with dual responsibility in Church as well as in the traditional African system of government.
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van Dyck, Steven. "Sola Scriptura in Africa: Missions and the Reformation Literacy Tradition." Evangelical Quarterly 90, no. 1 (April 26, 2019): 61–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/27725472-09001004.
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This theoretical reflection addresses issues arising in the history of world Christianity, in particular regarding mission churches in Africa since the nineteenth century. The article first evaluates the development of oral, manuscript and print communication cultures in western culture, and their influence since the first century in the Church. Modernity could only develop in a print culture, creating the cultural environment for the Reformation. Sola Scriptura theology, as in Calvin and Luther, considered the written Word of God essential for the Church’s life. The role of literacy throughout Church history is reviewed, in particular in the modern mission movement in Africa and the growing African church, to show the importance of literacy in developing a strong church. In conclusion, spiritual growth of churches in the Reformation tradition requires recognition of the primacy of print culture over orality, and the importance of a culture of reading and study.
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Chandler, Diane J. "African American Spirituality: Through Another Lens." Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 10, no. 2 (November 2017): 159–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/193979091701000205.
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African American spirituality provides a rich lens into the heart and soul of the black church experience, often overlooked in the Christian spiritual formation literature. By addressing this lacuna, this essay focuses on three primary shaping qualities of history: the effects of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement under Dr. Martin Luther King's leadership, and the emergence of the Black Church. Four spiritual practices that influence African American spirituality highlight the historical and cultural context of being “forged in the fiery furnace,” including worship, preaching and Scripture, the community of faith and prayer, and community outreach. The essay concludes by recognizing four areas of the lived experiences of African Americans from which the global church can glean: (1) persevering in pain and suffering, (2) turning to God for strength, (3) experiencing a living and passionate faith, and (4) affirming God's intention for freedom and justice to be afforded to every individual.
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Siler, Shaunna, Kelly Arora, Katherine Doyon, and Stacy M. Fischer. "Spirituality and the Illness Experience: Perspectives of African American Older Adults." American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® 38, no. 6 (January 19, 2021): 618–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049909120988280.
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Background: Disparities in hospice and palliative care (PC) for African Americans have been linked to mistrust toward the healthcare system, racial inequalities, and cultural preferences. Spirituality has been identified as important to African Americans in general. Less is known about the influence of spirituality on African American illness experiences. Objective: The goal of this study was to understand older African Americans’ perspectives on how spirituality influences chronic illness experiences to inform the development of a culturally tailored PC intervention. Methods: In partnership with 5 churches in the Denver metropolitan area, we conducted focus groups with African American older adults (n = 50) with chronic health conditions and their family caregivers. Transcripts were analyzed using a deductive approach. The theoretical framework for this study draws on psychology of religion research. Results: Themes referenced participants’ spiritual orienting systems, spiritual coping strategies, and spiritual coping styles. Psycho-spiritual struggles, social struggles, and sources of social support were also identified. Findings suggest African Americans’ spirituality influences chronic illness experiences. Participants relied on their spirituality and church community to help them cope with illness. In addition, social struggles impacted the illness experience. Social struggles included mistrust toward the healthcare system and not being connected to adequate resources. Participants expressed a need to advocate for themselves and family members to receive better healthcare. Churches were referred to as a trusted space for health resources, as well as spiritual and social support.
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Bongmba, Elias M. "Spiritual Development, Its Thought, Public Praxis and the Crisis of Intersubjectivity Refocusing Religious and Theological Thought in Africa." Religion and Theology 8, no. 1-2 (2001): 138–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157430101x00071.
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AbstractIn this essay I briefly discuss three texts on religion, theology and the public role of the church in Africa, arguing that these texts provide an understanding of spiritual development, religious and theological thought, and the public praxis of the church in selected African countries. I further posit that these texts demonstrate that spiritual resources are available to address the socio-economic problems in Africa, which I call a crisis of intersubjectivity. In the second part of the essay, I argue that to address these problems, religious thought and theology should continue to focus on relationality and community. I suggest ideas that should be considered so that religious and theological thought will continue to contribute to impact positively on the lives of people who live on the margins of society.
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Mildnerová, Kateřina. "African Independent Churches in Zambia (Lusaka)." Ethnologia Actualis 14, no. 2 (December 1, 2014): 8–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/eas-2015-0001.
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ABSTRACT The African Independent churches (AICs) in Zambia, as elsewhere in Africa, from their very beginning formed a protest movement against the cultural imperialism undertaken by the missionary representatives of the historic mission churches and also played an important role in the anti-colonial political struggles. In Zambia, the early AICs were closely related to witchcraft eradication movements such as the Mchape, or socially and politically oriented prophet-healing churches such as The Lumpa church of Alice Lenshina. Since the 1970s and in particular in the 1990s the Christianity in Zambia has been significantly marked by the proliferation of the African Independent Churches - both of Pentecostal and prophet-healing type. These churches that started mushrooming particularly in urban settings became part of the strengthening charismatic movement, particularly within Protestantism. A typical feature of AICs is focus on spiritual healing and religious syncretism - the local traditional customs and beliefs in dangerous ghosts, ancestral spirits, or witches are placed within the biblical religious framework where the Holy Spirit (Muzimu Oyela) is considered to be the only source of healing whereas other ‘inferior spirits’ are labelled as demons. The traditional methods of healing are creatively combined with Christian healing by means of prayers, spiritual blessings, laying on of hands on patients and demon exorcism - it is believed that only a body rid of bad spirits can receive the Holy Spirit, and thus be healed. The paper draws on both secondary literature concerning African Independent Churches and primary data issued from fieldwork in Lusaka (2008-2009).
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Auvinen-Pöntinen, Mari-Anna. "Pneumatological Challenges to Postcolonial Lutheran Mission in the Tswana Context." Mission Studies 32, no. 3 (October 15, 2015): 353–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341414.
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This article analyses pneumatological thinking as it appears in postcolonial mission in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana (elcb), thereby engaging with challenges being posed by the new Pentecostal Churches and African Independent Churches in the region.1 These “spiritual churches” are attracting increasing numbers of worshippers with the result that the Lutheran Church is currently facing the dual challenge of both the new phenomenon and the historical colonial heritage of the missionary era. Pneumatological thinking in theelcbis examined from an epistemic point of view, and the difficulties and strengths in both the postcolonial Lutheran mission and the new religiosity are evaluated.
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Smith, James B. "Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Public Policy in the African American Pentecostal Church." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 30, no. 1 (May 5, 2021): 145–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17455251-bja10014.
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Abstract Although many U.S. faith-based organizations have become partners with the government, the African American Pentecostal Church (aapc), which holds spirituality as a means of serving humanity as its theological framework, has remained a silent partner in public policy engagement. With the framework of spiritual intelligence, this qualitative case study addresses the perceptions of African American Pentecostal leaders regarding how the church’s theology may have an impact on the public policy engagement of its parishioners. Twelve African American Pentecostal Bishops were interviewed, and data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Results revealed that participants use their spirituality to connect with public policy issues that relate to their personal experiences. Findings also indicated that the aapc is not an organized denomination, but rather a conglomeration of factions. Lack of an organized epicenter and lack of training and development of its leaders prevent this church from engaging in the public sphere. Although members embrace their responsibility to care for the needs of others, the church lacks a collective response to community issues. Findings may be used to prepare the next generation of aapc leaders to unify the church to offer spiritual solutions to public policy issues.
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Campbell, Rosalyn Denise, and Madison Rose Winchester. "Let the Church Say…" Social Work & Christianity 47, no. 2 (February 20, 2020): 105–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.34043/swc.v47i2.63.
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African Americans have historically turned to the Black Church in times of trouble and/or need, including when experiencing mental health problems as they often seen as having spiritual causes. The purpose of this study was to better understand what church members believe to be the Black church’s role in addressing mental health issues. Surveys were administered online to members of a Midwestern church and included questions about respondents’ mental health and service use histories and thoughts about church-based mental health services. A thematic analysis was performed on qualitative responses from 393 participants explaining why they supported a church-based counseling center. Findings suggest Black churches are positioned to address the unmet mental health needs of Black Americans, reduce mental health stigma in Black and/or Christian communities, and deliver culturally-appropriate, community-based mental health services to these groups.
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Sabar, Galia. "African Christianity in the Jewish State: Adaptation, Accommodation and Legitimization of Migrant Workers' Churches, 1990-2003." Journal of Religion in Africa 34, no. 4 (2004): 407–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1570066042564400.
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AbstractThis paper examines the role of African Initiated Churches (AICs) in the lives of African migrant laborers in Israel. Its aim is to attain a deeper understanding of religion and church affiliation among African migrant laborers in Israel from the perspective of the Africans themselves. It traces the creation and development of the AICs in Israel, including the various services and activities that the churches provided for their members in the social, economic and political arenas. It argues that the African churches in Israel occupied a particularly large and central place in their members' lives compared to migrant churches in other western diasporas, taking on roles of other traditional social, economic, political and civil actors in Africa. The paper examines the AICs' multiple adaptations to unique conditions in Israel and to the needs of their membership. Though many of the patterns identified are similar to those found in other diaspora communities, certain features of Israel and its society, mainly those connected to the Jewish identity of the State of Israel and the limited civic horizon open to non-Jews, made for substantial differences. These features forced Africans to create their own Afro-Christian space to fulfill their needs and became the key anchors in the spiritual, emotional and practical lives of the African migrants in Israel. Finally this article argues that the churches became the main space for the production of a sense of belonging within the Israeli civic context, in spite of the fact that the migrants' religious identities and institutions were not used as vehicles for recognition or channels for gaining legitimacy in Israel's public sphere.
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Krause, Neal. "Feelings of Gratitude Toward God Among Older Whites, Older African Americans, and Older Mexican Americans." Research on Aging 34, no. 2 (November 28, 2011): 156–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0164027511417884.
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The first goal of this study is to see if social relationships in the church influence feelings of gratitude toward God. The second goal is to assess the impact of race and ethnicity on this relationship. The data support the following hypotheses: (1) Older people who go to church more often tend to receive more spiritual support from fellow church members; (2) older adults who receive more spiritual support at church will derive a deeper understanding of themselves and others; (3) older people who develop greater insight into themselves and others will derive a greater sense of religious meaning in life; and (4) older adults who develop a deeper sense of religious meaning in life will feel more grateful to God. The results also indicate that the study model explains how feelings of gratitude toward God arise among older Blacks and Whites, but not older Mexican Americans.
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Mashabela, James Kenokeno, and Mokhele Madise. "MANAS BUTHELEZI: THE CHURCHLEADER, LIBERATION ACTIVIST AND SCHOLAR IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 42, no. 1 (September 22, 2016): 86–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/506.
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This article celebrates and honours Manas Buthelezi’s life by examining his active contribution in the spiritual, political, social and socio-economic spheres. An analysis of his contribution is offered by firstly examining his academic career, church work and his contribution to the recent history of Christianity. Secondly, I provide an overview of his involvement in political affairs and with the Lutheran community.Finally, I focus on Buthelezi’s service in the South African Council of Churches (SACC).
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Kritzinger, J. J. "Konkrete uitdagings vir die kerk vandag." Verbum et Ecclesia 24, no. 1 (October 15, 2003): 113–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v24i1.316.
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In a recent publication No Quick Fixes a number of knowledgeable people dealt with some contemporary challenges to the church in its mission in the South African context. In this article the reader is introduced to these, but the focus is on those aspects of the challenge which arise from the two main influences in the spiritual sphere: on the one hand the overwhelming secularising influence of the modern western worldview, and on the other hand the increasing emphasis on the return to the values of traditional Africa, as formulated in the movement for the African Renaissance.
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Bondarenko, Dmitri M., and Andrey V. Tutorskiy. "Conversion to Orthodox Christianity in Uganda: A Hundred Years of Spiritual Encounter with Modernity, 1919–2019." Religions 11, no. 5 (May 1, 2020): 223. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11050223.
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In 1919, three Ugandan Anglicans converted to Orthodox Christianity, as they became sure that this was Christianity’s original and only true form. In 1946, Ugandan Orthodox Christians aligned with the Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Since the 1990s, new trends in conversion to Orthodox Christianity in Uganda can be observed: one is some growth in the number of new converts to the canonical Orthodox Church, while another is the appearance of new Orthodox Churches, including parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church. The questions we raise in this article are: Why did some Ugandans switch from other religions to Orthodox Christianity in the first half of the 20th century and in more recent years? Were there common reasons for these two developments? We argue that both processes should be understood as attempts by some Ugandans to find their own way in the modern world. Trying to escape spiritually from the impact of colonialism, post-coloniality, and globalization, they viewed Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Islam as part of the legacy they rejected. These people did not turn to African traditional beliefs either. They already firmly saw their own tradition as Christian, but were (and are) seeking its “true”, “original” form. We emphasize that by rejecting post-colonial globalist modernity and embracing Orthodox Christianity as the basis of their own “alternative” modernity, these Ugandans themselves turn out to be modern products, and this speaks volumes about the nature of conversion in contemporary Africa. The article is based on field evidence collected in 2017–2019 as well as on print sources.
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Titre, Ande. "African Christology: Hope for the Anglican Communion." Journal of Anglican Studies 7, no. 2 (November 2009): 183–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1740355309990192.
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AbstractThe Anglican Communion has been tested by difficult theological tensions that have painfully affected mission in different contexts. The troubled question is: ‘Who is Jesus Christ for Anglicans?’ This paper suggests that, as the spiritual centre has already shifted to the church in the Majority World, the reflections and insights of Africans concerning Jesus Christ should be taken into account in any Christological reflections. African Christology is more holistic as it integrates the person and the work of Christ, which apply to the whole of African life.Jesus, the Lord of cultures and the Healer, is alive today. He has overcome death so that God’s transforming power may heal our deeply wounded souls and our broken communities. The Anglican Communion should recognize the healing power of the Lord Jesus, and continually re-affirm the salvation in Christ, forgiveness of sins, transformation of life and incorporation into the holy fellowship of the church. The world needs the credible witness of Christians who live in the world, but are not of the world.
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Koopman, Nico. "Public Theology in (South) Africa: A Trinitarian Approach." International Journal of Public Theology 1, no. 2 (2007): 188–209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156973207x207335.
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AbstractThis article discusses the potential of a Trinitarian approach to theology for constructing a public theology in the context of the immense social, political, economic, environmental, cultural, sexual and health challenges of (South) Africa. Theology engages with the three publics of academy, society and church in order to enhance a flourishing life for all humans and the rest of creation. Sallie McFague's Trinitarian planetary theology is investigated. It is argued that her portrayal of God—as the one who: creates us in God's image; liberates us from all enslavements; provides for our spiritual and material needs; saves us from personal and institutional sin and renews humans, churches, nature and society—offers guidelines for constructing a Trinitarian public theology on African soil.
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Masoga, M. A., and A. Nicolaides. "Christianity and Indigenisation in Africa." European Journal of Theology and Philosophy 1, no. 4 (August 8, 2021): 18–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.24018/theology.2021.1.4.33.
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In a quest for greater coherence between parochial identities, culture and Christianity, there exists an African consciousness which seeks to indigenise and decolonise Christianity. Africans are profoundly religious people who view their faith as part of their way of life, as strengthening their cultures and providing a moral compass for daily living. In efforts to transform society, the Christian religion has played a significant role in the path to African development. Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that the Christian faith has and continuous to play a significant role on the African continent in its development. While there are many indigenous African beliefs, these have been to a large extent supported by Christianity in a quest to systematize novel knowledge and promote peace and tolerance across the continent. Many Africans have sought facets of Christianity that are similar to their religious and personal practices and continue to do so. Thus, while there exist numerous similarities and also differences between Christianity and ATR, it is imperative to preserve old-style regional distinctiveness and Christianity as the unifying rudiments in nation building endeavours and in efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Africans can and should come to comprehend the Triune Godhead as being consistent with their own spiritual consciousness and existential veracities. Indigenization of Christianity requires enculturation and essentially an understanding that it is indeed ecumenical and also embraces diversity and fundamentally requires viewing Holy Scriptures and the truths they propound as being applicable to any context and cultural milieu across the ages. Christians after all espouse a faith in the Ekklesia or body of Christ for all its people who are the Laos of God.
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Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. "Therapeutic Strategies in African Religions: Health, Herbal Medicines and Indigenous Christian Spirituality." Studies in World Christianity 20, no. 1 (April 2014): 70–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2014.0072.
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The use of herbs has been the main means of curing diseases in traditional Africa and this continued through the colonial period to present times. Widely held traditional views that interpreted certain diseases as caused by supernatural agents meant that, although some ailments could be naturally caused, in most cases, shrine priests and diviners were needed to dispense herbal preparations for clients. Christian missionaries mostly – though by no means all – denounced herbal medicines as evil, looking on them as pagan because of the close relationship between herbs and agents of local divinities. At the emergence of the African independent church movement at the beginning of the twentieth century, herbal medicines acquired a sacramental value, and today they are obtained from churches and local prophets as therapeutic substances infused with spiritual power for healing. The sacramental interpretation of herbs has been extended to those obtained from prayer places and grottoes under the supervision of historic mission denominations, a phenomenon that has virtually transformed the image of herbs and herbal medicines in African therapeutic systems.
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Wharton, Tracy, Daphne C. Watkins, Jamie Mitchell, and Helen Kales. "Older, Church-Going African Americans’ Attitudes and Expectations About Formal Depression Care." Research on Aging 40, no. 1 (October 26, 2016): 3–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0164027516675666.
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This phenomenological study involved focus groups with church-affiliated, African American women and men ( N = 50; ages 50 and older) in southeast Michigan to determine their attitudes and expectations around formal mental health care. Data analysis employed a constant comparative approach and yielded themes related to formal mental health care, along with delineating concerns about defining depression, health, and well-being. Health and well-being were defined as inclusive of physical and spiritual aspects of self. Churches have a central role in how formal mental health care is viewed by their attendees, with prayer being an important aspect of this care. Provider expectations included privacy and confidentiality; respect for autonomy and need for information, having providers who discuss treatment options; and issues related to environmental cleanliness, comfort, and accessibility. Implications include providing effective, culturally tailored formal depression care that acknowledges and integrates faith for this group.
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Ireland, Jerry M. "African Traditional Religion and Pentecostal Churches in Lusaka, Zambia: An Assessment." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 21, no. 2 (2012): 260–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17455251-02102006.
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This study seeks to discover how African Traditional Religion (ATR) is viewed by Pentecostal church leaders in Lusaka, Zambia. The convenience sample focused on fourteen Pentecostal churches of various denominational affiliations within the city of Lusaka, Zambia. A thirty-one-item survey tool, the Assessment of Traditional Religious Practices (ATRP), was developed and administered to 128 leaders regarding the prevalence of traditional religious practices among their congregants. The ATRP also assessed how these leaders typically respond to concerns related to ATR within their ministerial context. Findings indicated that traditional beliefs and practices continue to persist, though at nominal levels, within these churches. More importantly, a majority of these leaders feel adequately equipped to handle issues related to ATR because they understand their ministerial calling in terms of spiritual empowerment. The study concludes that the challenges presented by ATR regarding Christian discipleship continue to persist in local Pentecostal churches. However, leaders have employed a practical theological understanding of Pentecostalism, allowing them to overcome many of these same challenges.
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Duncan, Graham A. "Presbyterian spirituality in southern Africa." Scottish Journal of Theology 56, no. 4 (October 23, 2003): 387–403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0036930603211200.
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Presbyterian spirituality in southern Africa has often been treated as non-existent, yet it is a vibrant reality which is at one and the same time catholic, evangelical and contextual. Founded in Christ alone, it holds the authority of scripture as normative and as the source of the unity of God's people, as can be seen in the way it derives from the marks of the church – the Word preached, the sacraments celebrated and discipline rightly exercised. It is relational and involves communing with God, others, oneself and the environment. While conscious of the early church tradition out of which it arises, it is continuous with that tradition and is open to the spiritual insights of other traditions. It demonstrates both catholic and evangelical emphases and is adaptable within the context of African spirituality. As a result, it has a broad church ethos marked by fluidity, tolerance and appreciation of those sources that enrich it.
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Steyn, H. Christina. "South African New Age Prophets: Past and Present." Religion and Theology 9, no. 3-4 (2002): 282–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157430102x00151.
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AbstractThis article explores the visions, beliefs and prophecies of three remarkable South Africans. Johanna Brandt, Jan Smuts, and Joseph Busby espoused ideas that are central to New Age thought today. All three may be seen as Prophets': Brandt as the messenger of God who receives visions and is compelled to proclaim it to the nation; Smuts as the visionary with remarkable insight into the nature of reality; and Busby as the mouthpiece of an Ascended Master of the Spiritual Hierarchy who conveys important messages to the South African people. Brandt and Smuts were ahead of their time and their work was not at all well received by the local community. Brandt was eventually censored by her church and although Smuts was honoured in many circles for his statesmanship, his scientific theories with their metaphysical implications were spurned in this country. Busby, on the other hand, was not a particularly well-known person outside New Age circles, but he had a following among whom his work was welcomed and honoured. From this short review, it is clear that the central concepts of New Age philosophy have been taught in South Africa for many years and today it has penetrated the minds and beliefs of many South Africans.
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Polunov, Alexander Yu. "The Ethiopian Embassy in 1895, the Church and State Relations and Ideological Searching of the Conservatives at the Close of the 19th Century." Almanac “Essays on Conservatism” 102 (March 1, 2020): 411–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.24030/24092517-2020-0-1-411-419.
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The article examines the religious and symbolic aspects of the Ethiopian Embassy (mission) to Russia (1895) in the context of church and state relations and ideological searching of Russian conservatives in the end of the 19th century. The visit of the Embassy to Russia aroused special interest of the Ober-Procurator of the Most Holy Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev who saw the people of the African State as supporters of the patriarchal values, so important for him, such as – patriarchal simplicity, devotion to traditions, genuine religiousness. For Pobedonostsev the embodiment of those values in Russia were the establishments related to his activities as head of the clerical office (primarily church schools for common people), that’s why he attached special importance to the visits of the African guests to those schools in the course of their mission. The visits were meant to reveal the spiritual kinship of the Christians from that distant country with Russian church life and consolidate their attraction to Russia.
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McCray, Donyelle Charlotte. "Mothering Souls: A Vocation of Intercession." Anglican Theological Review 98, no. 2 (March 2016): 285–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000332861609800204.
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Intercession can constitute the heart of one's prayer life and even become a defining mark of one's vocation. Such is the case for the “church mother,” a distinct role held by esteemed elderly lay-women in African American congregations. This article consists of an introduction to the church mother's vocation. The piece begins with an examination of the roots of the role in American slavery and follows with an exploration of the ways race, gender, and advancing age shape the church mother's unique form of spiritual authority. I examine two key qualifications for the role: divine call and longevity in the parish. Then, I delve into the church mother's robust understanding of prayer and explain how theodicy and hope fuel her intercessions. The article closes with a brief profile of a beloved Episcopal church mother from the twentieth century, Mattie Hopkins.
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Le, Daisy, Cheryl L. Holt, Darlene R. Saunders, Min Qi Wang, Annie Coriolan, Alma D. Savoy, Jimmie L. Slade, Bettye Muwwakkil, and Nancy L. Atkinson. "Feasibility and acceptability of SMS text messaging in a prostate cancer educational intervention for African American men." Health Informatics Journal 22, no. 4 (July 26, 2016): 932–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1460458215598636.
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African Americans’ greater access to mobile phones makes short messaging service technology a promising complement to health promotion interventions. Short messaging service text messages were added to the Men’s Prostate Awareness Church Training project, a men’s health intervention for African American men. We report on the feasibility and acceptability of the use of short messaging service text messages in the intervention. Short messaging service text messages served as (1) workshop reminders; (2) post-workshop message reinforcement; (3) spiritual/motivational messages; and (4) participant retention. At workshop 4, over 65 percent of participants wished to continue receiving the messages. While there was an increase in recall over time, more than one-third of the participants did not recall receiving the 53 text messages. However, recall was considerably greater among men who attended the Men’s Prostate Awareness Church Training workshops. Overall, the inclusion of text messages in health promotion interventions targeting mature African American men was found to be feasible and acceptable.
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Randall, Ian. "‘Couldn’t it happen in Switzerland?’." European Journal of Theology 30, no. 1 (March 1, 2021): 119–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.5117/ejt2021.1.007.rand.
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Summary The East African Revival was a major spiritual movement which started in the 1930s. Joe Church, a medical doctor who had been at Cambridge University, was a central figure and gathered a very large amount of material about the Revival. The connection of the Revival with Switzerland, which has not previously been studied, is the subject of this article, which draws from the Joe Church archive. The connection came about through Berthe Ryf (1900-1989), a missionary nurse in what was then Ruanda-Urundi who on returning to her native Switzerland in 1939 spoke in Swiss churches over a period of five years about the powerful experiences in East Africa. As a result, there were invitations for teams of Europeans and Africans to come to Switzerland. From 1947 onwards many meetings were held, addressed by those who had participated in the Revival. This article explores developments from the 1930s to the 1960s. Zusammenfassung Die ostafrikanische Erweckung war eine größere geistliche Bewegung, die in den Jahren nach 1930 begann. Der Arzt Joe Church, der von der Universität Cambridge kam, war eine führende Figur; er trug eine beträchtliche Menge an Material über die Erweckung zusammen. Die Verbindung dieser Erweckung mit der Schweiz war zuvor noch nicht untersucht worden und stellt das Thema dieses Artikels dar, der mit Material aus dem Joe Church Archiv arbeitet. Diese Beziehung kam zustande durch Berthe Ryf (1900-1989), eine Krankenschwester und Missionarin in dem damals sogenannten Ruanda-Urundi; sie sprach nach ihrer Rückkehr fünf Jahre lang über die kraftvollen Erfahrungen, die sie in Ostafrika gemacht hatte. Infolge dessen gingen Einladungen an Teams von Europäern und Afrikanern, in die Schweiz zu kommen. Von 1947 an gab es viele Veranstaltungen, von jenen gehalten, welche an der Erweckung teilgenommen hatten. Der vorliegende Artikel erforscht die Entwicklungen in den Jahren um 1930 bis um 1960 herum. Résumé Le Réveil en Afrique orientale (East African Revival) est un mouvement spirituel majeur qui débuta dans les années trente. Joe Church, un médecin formé à l’Université de Cambridge, en fut un personnage clé. On lui doit d’avoir collecté un très grand nombre de documents sur ce Réveil. Le sujet de cet article est le rapport entre le Réveil et la Suisse, un thème étudié ici pour la première fois sur la base des archives de Joe Church. Ce lien a été établi grâce à Berthe Ryf (1900-1989), une infirmière missionnaire dans ce pays appelé alors Ruanda-Urundi, qui, après son retour en Suisse, en 1939, fit pendant cinq ans le tour des Églises pour témoigner des expériences bouleversantes que vivait l’Afrique orientale. Le résultat fut que des équipes d’Européens et d’Africains furent invitées à venir en Suisse. À partir de 1947, de nombreuses réunions furent organisées dans lesquelles prenaient la parole ceux qui avaient participé au Réveil. Cet article explore les développements observés des années trente aux années soixante.
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Duffuor, Amy, and Alana Harris. "Politics as a Vocation: Prayer, Civic Engagement and the Gendered Re-enchantment of the City." Religion and Gender 3, no. 1 (February 19, 2013): 22–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18785417-00301003.
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Drawing upon extensive oral history interviews and long scale participant observation in two London churches, an ethnically diverse Catholic parish in Canning Town and a predominantly West-African Pentecostal congregation in Peckham, this article compares and contrasts differing Christian expressions and understandings of ‘civic engagement’ and gendered articulations of lay social ‘ministry’ through prayer, religious praxis and local politics. Through community organizing and involvement in the third sector, but also through spiritual activities like the ‘Catholic Prayer Ministry’ and ‘deliverance’, Catholics and Pentecostals are shown to be re-mapping London – a city ripe for reverse mission – through contesting ‘secularist’ and implicitly gendered distinctions between the public and private/domestic, and the spiritual and political. Greater scholarly appreciation of these subjective understandings of civic engagement and social activism is important for fully recognizing the agency of lay people, and particularly women often marginalized in church-based and institutional hierarchies, in articulating and actuating their call to Christian citizenship and the (re)sacralization of the city.
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Ojo, Sanya. "African Pentecostalism as entrepreneurial space." Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy 9, no. 3 (August 10, 2015): 233–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jec-02-2015-0022.
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Purpose – This study aims to intend to examine how African Pentecostals use the structure of their religion to re-enact their entrepreneurial ideals and uniqueness and develop enterprising attitude and altitude. Also to appraise how they manipulate their ethnic cultural assets and faith-based networks to stimulate and maintain their entrepreneurial activities. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a specific religious organisation was exploited whereby a few number of adherents from a particular ethnic church in the UK were interviewed. The theoretical framework of Mead’s symbolic interaction was explored to accomplish the study’s objectives. Findings – Findings demonstrate the ability of an ethnic minority group to adjust to a secondary range of social conditions in the country of residence through adoption of a theology that tracks the contours of their culture. Research limitations/implications – This paper emphasises the significance of material expressions of spiritual agency that acts as instrument of establishing the active, progressing self of ethnic minority group in the country of residence, thus, illuminating the interconnections between religion and enterprise. Such understandings present great prospects to fabricate new sites of meaning among a particular minority group through understanding various contradictions embedded in their religious practices. Practical implications – The study stresses the significance of material expressions of spiritual agency that acts as avenue for disadvantaged group to engage in entrepreneurial activities. The Pentecostal enclave thus helps immigrants to keep body and soul together in an environment that is embedded with ethnic penalties. Social implications – The African Pentecostal movement serves, not only as instrument of converting others, but its Prosperity gospel emphasis the significance of material expression of spiritual agency. This acts as a means of establishing the active, progressing self, with capacity to produce law-abiding citizenry among ethnic groups. Originality/value – The study illuminates the interconnections between religion and enterprise that offer great opportunities to fabricate new sites of meaning among a particular minority group through understanding various contradictions embedded in their religious practices.
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Weisenfeld, Judith. "“The Secret at the Root”: Performing African American Religious Modernity in Hall Johnson's Run, Little Chillun." Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation 21, no. 1 (2011): 39–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/rac.2011.21.1.39.
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AbstractFrancis Hall Johnson's (1888–1970) work to preserve and promote Negro spirituals places him among the twentieth century's most influential interpreters of African American religious music. Johnson was most closely associated with Marc Connelly's 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Green Pastures, for which he served as musical arranger and choral conductor. His participation in this production, which became a lightning rod for discussions about the nature of black religious thought, made him sharply aware of the complex terrain of popular culture representations of African American religious life for the consumption of white audiences. This article examines Johnson's 1933 “music-drama,” Run, Little Chillun, through which he hoped to counter the commonly deployed tropes of African Americans as a simple, naturally religious people. Moderately successful on Broadway, the production did particularly well when revived in California in 1938 and 1939 as part of the Federal Theatre and Federal Music projects.Most critics found Johnson's presentation of black Baptist music and worship to be thrillingly authentic but were confused by the theology of the drama's other religious community, the Pilgrims of the New Day. Examining Johnson's Pilgrims of the New Day in light of his interest in Christian Science and New Thought reveals a broader objective than providing a dramatic foil for the Baptists and a platform for endorsing Christianity. With his commitment to and expertise with vernacular forms of African American religious culture unassailable, Johnson presented a critique of the conservative tendencies and restrictive parochialism of some black church members and leaders and insisted on the ability of the individual religious self to range freely across a variety of spiritual possibilities. In doing so, he presented “the secret at the root” of black culture as not only revealing the spiritual genius of people of African descent but also as offering eternal and universal truths not bound by race.
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Sherman, Ledric. "We′ve come this far by faith: Faith and spirituality as a facilitator to self-care management of type 2 diabetes among African-American men." Journal of Social Health and Diabetes 03, no. 01 (June 2015): 026–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/2321-0656.140884.
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Abstract Purpose: To explore and understand how the church, faith, and spirituality plays a role in type 2 diabetes management among African-American men (AA men). Materials and Methods: Participants (n = 19) were AA men ages 35-69 years, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Participants were recruited via community outreach efforts, including barbershops and churches located in predominantly African-American communities in southeast US. Upon the consent, individual interviews were conducted, audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed using a phenomenological approach, and focused on identifying common themes among the descriptions of AA men′s experiences specific to type 2 diabetes. Results: Overall the participants from the present study stated that their faith in God as well as attending church does help them in their daily diabetes management. Interestingly, 2 of the 19 participants chose not to answer the faith and spirituality questions and 1 of the 19 stated that his faith was nonexistent. Conclusions: Diabetes self-management may be facilitated by incorporating the spiritual beliefs and virtues of AA men living with the illness. Little is still known, in general, about the process of how spirituality affects self-management of chronic illness. Further research should also focus on faith-based diabetes education among diabetics of all ethnic backgrounds.
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Moremen, Robin D. "What is the Meaning of Life? Women's Spirituality at the End of the Life Span." OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying 50, no. 4 (June 2005): 309–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/x36m-f7xq-penb-rfbf.
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Spiritual exploration often occurs after the loss of a significant other or with the impending death of oneself. Twenty-six older women were intensively interviewed; none had experienced a recent loss or terminal illness. Many wanted to understand their place in the order of things and were not looking to organized religion for answers. Dominant themes that emerged from the interviews included: a need to feel connected; spiritual questioning; existential angst; thoughts about death and dying; and, to a lesser degree, reliance on organized religion. Some older women—African Americans, Latinas, and women of lower socioeconomic status—turned to the Bible, prayer, and Church for answers to their questions, but most did not. These data suggest that spiritual questioning—independent of organized religion, significant loss, or impending death—is a natural part of the aging process as one approaches the end of the life span.
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Swindell, Kenneth. "Faith, Work, Farming and Business: The Role of the Spiritual in West African Livelihoods." Journal of Asian and African Studies 54, no. 6 (April 25, 2019): 819–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021909619840754.
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Local religions, Islam and Christianity influence and shape West African livelihoods where for many spirituality is an integral part of work, time and making a living. For farmers the spiritual imbues their understanding of the natural world, as well as affecting the control and allocation of resources and their timely use. For the Sufist Mouride brotherhood of Senegal their work ethic nurtures agriculture and supports a diaspora of petty traders and businesses. Meanwhile, the Christian Pentecostal Church encourages myriad small businesses, and its promotion of a work ethic that has occasioned the contention of a Weberian-style transformation. The creation of sustainable networks of socio-economic change through religious adherence is not in doubt, but whether this will promote a general developmental shift is more contentious. Pentecostals emphasize education and literacy, a priority for most governments, but without job opportunities there is widespread discontent among the young, even the educated. Furthermore, the young are disenchanted by patrimonial-clientelist societies, and it is through religion that violent dissent is articulated. Assertions that religion per se is inimical to social and economic change in West Africa are difficult to substantiate. What is a problem for farmers and small businesses is the uncertainty not just of their immediate environments, but of the volatility and dysfunctional nature of the state, and a lack of enabling conditions. Thus, religion and spirituality provide help in difficult times for people, but also opportunities for improvement in their livelihoods and lifestyles.
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Booker, Staja. "SPIRITUALITY IN CHRONIC PAIN SELF-MANAGEMENT: LOWER USE BUT EQUAL IMPORTANCE IN OLDER AFRICAN AMERICANS." Innovation in Aging 3, Supplement_1 (November 2019): S394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igz038.1452.
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Abstract Spirituality is a key social determinant of health for African Americans (AAs) and strongly impacts management of chronic pain. Older AAs (average age 68± 12.37) from urban and rural communities completed questionnaires (N= 110) and audio-recorded, semi-structured individual interviews (N= 18) describing osteoarthritis pain self-management. Prayer was used by 42% of AAs, with substantially fewer attending church (23.6%), watching religious television or reading the Bible/Christian literature (20.9%), listening to gospel music (18.2%), and laying of hands (8.2%). Interestingly, prayer and church attendance were the only pain strategies rated by more participants as very helpful. Regardless of religiosity, most AAs believed that spirituality was “an important aspect, whether we realize it always or not”. Specifically, prayer was considered “number one… ‘cause I know it’s gonna be all right once I do pray…prayer help heal the pain”. Spiritual strategies remain integral for chronic pain self-management despite lower than expected use among AAs.
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Kosek, Joseph Kip. "“Just a Bunch of Agitators”: Kneel-Ins and the Desegregation of Southern Churches." Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation 23, no. 2 (2013): 232–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/rac.2013.23.2.232.
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AbstractCivil rights protests at white churches, dubbed “kneel-ins,” laid bare the racial logic that structured Christianity in the American South. Scholars have investigated segregationist religion, but such studies tend to focus on biblical interpretation rather than religious practice. A series of kneel-ins at Atlanta's First Baptist Church, the largest Southern Baptist church in the Southeast, shows how religious activities and religious spaces became sites of intense racial conflict. Beginning in 1960, then more forcefully in 1963, African American students attempted to integrate First Baptist's sanctuary. When they were alternately barred from entering, shown to a basement auditorium, or carried out bodily, their efforts sparked a wide-ranging debate over racial politics and spiritual authenticity, a debate carried on both inside and outside the church. Segregationists tended to avoid a theological defense of Jim Crow, attacking instead the sincerity and comportment of their unwanted visitors. Yet while many church leaders were opposed to open seating, a vibrant student contingent favored it. Meanwhile, mass media—local, national, and international—shaped interpretations of the crisis and possibilities for resolving it. Roy McClain, the congregation's popular minister, attempted to navigate a middle course but faced criticism from all sides. The conflict came to a head when Ashton Jones, a white minister, was arrested, tried, and imprisoned for protesting outside the church. In the wake of the controversy, the members of First Baptist voted to end segregation in the sanctuary. This action brought formal desegregation—but little meaningful integration—to the congregation.
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Cantrell, Phillip A. "“We Were a Chosen People”: The East African Revival and Its Return To Post-Genocide Rwanda." Church History 83, no. 2 (May 27, 2014): 422–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0009640714000080.
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This article, drawing upon primary field research, analyzes the origins and history of the East African Revival of the 1930s and its ongoing relevance and role in post-genocide Rwanda. Starting as a Holiness-inspired, Anglican movement, the Revival persisted among the Tutsi Diaspora during their exile to refugee camps in Uganda following the 1959 Hutu-led Revolution and has returned with them following the coming to power of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in 1994. The Revival, as it presently experiences a reawakening in the post-genocide church, provides the Tutsi returnees with a spiritual mechanism to explain their plight as refugees and a means by which to heal from decades of suffering. Additionally, a narrative has emerged in which they believe themselves to be a “Chosen People” who found redemption and healing in the refugee camps by embracing the revival spirit. Many Anglican returnees further believe they have been “chosen” to bring healing and reconciliation, through the revivalist tradition, to post-genocide Rwanda. While the return of the Revival tradition in the post-genocide Anglican Church offers potential benefits for Rwanda's reconciliation and recovery, the church must also abandon its apolitical inclinations and challenge the ruling regime in the name of truth, democratization, and justice.
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Masondo, Sibusiso. "The Crisis Model for Managing Change in African Christianity: The Story of St John’s Apostolic Church." Exchange 42, no. 2 (2013): 157–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1572543x-12341262.
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Abstract St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission, founded by Christinah Nku (also known as Mme Christinah) and all its splinter groups can be theorized as presenting a crisis model for managing change. These churches provide their members with a well worked out path of inclusion through baptism and related rituals, as well as, alleviation of crisis through an assortment of healing, cleansing and deliverance rituals. There is also a strong element of maintaining a person’s healing through an assortment of rituals of celebration and ideological reinforcement. They do this through a process of resource mobilization from both Christianity and African Religion to set up a religion that adequately responds to both the existential and spiritual needs of their members.
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Sommerschuh, Julian. "Questioning Growth: Christianity, Development, and the Perils of Wealth in Southern Ethiopia." Journal of Religion in Africa 50, no. 1-2 (August 10, 2021): 32–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340178.
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Abstract Research on the economic effects of African Christianity has mainly focused on Pentecostalism. The dominant opinion of this literature is that Pentecostalism stimulates economic activity and supports economic development. This article looks beyond Pentecostalism by discussing the case of an Evangelical church in southern Ethiopia. Covering a period of two decades, I trace a shift in the relation between Evangelicalism and local aspirations for economic development. Initially seen as a means to achieve religious ends, the pursuit of development has recently been problematized as a source of social and spiritual ills. The church now discourages excessive participation in the commercial economy, and dedicated Evangelicals relinquish economic opportunities that they fear could lead them into sin. This shows that while Christianity can stimulate processes of economic development it can also constrain these, motivating people to renounce the quest for wealth in favour of other values.
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Connors, Shahnjayla K., Isabel Martinez Leal, Vijay Nitturi, Chisom N. Iwundu, Valentina Maza, Stacey Reyes, Chiara Acquati, and Lorraine R. Reitzel. "Empowered Choices: African-American Women's Breast Reconstruction Decisions." American Journal of Health Behavior 45, no. 2 (March 1, 2021): 352–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.5993/ajhb.45.2.14.
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Objectives: Breast reconstruction (BR) potentially can improve quality of life in postmastectomy breast cancer survivors (BCS); however, African-American women are less likely to undergo BR than Caucasian women. This qualitative study was undertaken to explore individual, sociocultural, and contextual factors influencing African-American women's BR decision-making processes and preferences. Methods: Postmastectomy African-American BCS with and without BR participated in semi-structured interviews. We adopted a grounded theory approach using the constant comparison method to understand the contexts and processes informing participants' BR decision-making. Results: Twenty-three women participated, of whom 17 elected BR and 6 did not. Whereas women's primary reasons for deciding for or against BR differed, our core category, "empowered choices ," describes both groups' decision-making as a process focused on empowering themselves physically and/or psychologically, through self-advocacy, informed and shared decision-making, and giving back/receiving communal and spiritual support from church and African-American survivor groups. Socioeconomic factors influenced women's access to BR. Women preferred autologous BR and expressed the need for greater culturally-matched resources and support to inform treatment and shared BR decision-making. Conclusions: Understanding and supporting African-American women's BR preferences and empowerment is essential to ensuring equal access, and culturally-relevant, high-quality, and informed patient-centered care.
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Flanagan, Brian P. "Communion Ecclesiologies as Contextual Theologies." Horizons 40, no. 1 (June 2013): 53–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/hor.2013.38.
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This article argues that the predominance of communion language in ecclesiology in the past fifty years frequently functions as another instance of the universalization of a theological position rooted in a particular, dominant context—the fragmented, post-traditional world of the late twentieth-century West. First, it briefly discusses the concept of a contextual theology. It then traces three of the major contexts in which communion ecclesiology developed: the ecumenical movement and its desire for a new language of Christian unity, the Roman Catholic community's desire for language pointing to the spiritual/theological reality of the Christian church, and the broader cultural context of fragmentation and real or perceived disintegration of community found in late-modern Western societies. Finally, the article looks at some examples of ecclesiological reflection occurring outside of the dominant consensus of communion ecclesiology: the work of José Comblin in Latin America, and that of Elochukwu Uzukwu and other theologians of the church in African contexts.
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Stephens, Mattyna L. "The Wages of Worship, Religious Education, and Human Capital Development in the Black Church: Voices From Rural African American Primary Caregiving Grandmothers." Adult Learning 31, no. 2 (August 2, 2019): 69–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1045159519866433.
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Grandmothers are often referred to as the spiritual learners and leaders within families and often pass their religious teachings on to their children and grandchildren. This qualitative study investigated learning and human capital development among rural African American grandmothers ( n = 10) caring for their grandchildren. The findings revealed the participants’ perception of the Black Church, an agency for learning. The findings further revealed the benefits of religious education in learning communities and how the skills the participants acquired through such engagements contributed to their human capital development, thereby indicating the wages of worship. Finally, findings indicated how the participants utilized religious teachings to support the development of the children in their care.
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Boddie, Stephanie, and Eric Kyere. "Racial/Ethnic Socialization and Faith." Social Work & Christianity 48, no. 3 (August 2, 2021): 259–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.34043/swc.v48i3.245.
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Although racial-ethnic socialization (RES) within the African American communities includes faith/spirituality, Christian social workers have not explored this relationship in ways that explicitly integrate the two. As a result, we have limited understanding of how Christian social workers can foster a holistic sense of self that integrates Christian and racial/ethnic identities to foster empowerment and liberation possibilities among black/African American youth. Drawing on literature related to RES and faith/spirituality, we argue that Christians social workers can integrate the process of faith development, with an explicit focus on Black liberation theology, with RES to promote psychological and spiritual liberation to foster self-worth and dignity of black youth to promote their positive development. This paper provides a review of the literature on racial/ethnic socialization. A discussion of how the Black church and liberation theology along with black history positively shapes racial identity and preparation to resist racism. We conclude with some practice and research recommendations
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Poindexter, Cynthia Cannon, Nathan L. Linsk, and R. Stephen Warner. ""He Listens... and Never Gossips:" Spiritual Coping without Church Support among Older, Predominantly African-American Caregivers of Persons with HIV." Review of Religious Research 40, no. 3 (March 1999): 230. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3512369.
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Barasa, Francis O. "The Church and the Healthcare Sector in Kenya: A Functional Analysis of Its Development through Evangelization." Volume 5 - 2020, Issue 9 - September 5, no. 9 (October 5, 2020): 1058–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt20sep603.
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The health sector in Kenya has grown rapidly. The corner stone of this growth was laid by the early Christian Missionaries who combined Evangelization with education and health. Thishistorical developmentled to the development and expansion of the healthcare system in Kenya by contributing to the building of a firm foundation upon which Kenya’s health care stands today. TheChurch’s education-health functional strategy cemented this milestone leading to the growth of a vibrant health care sector in Kenya. This has culminated in a well-coordinated ChurchGovernment partnership in the implementation of health programs. Today Kenya is the leading country in the East African region in the delivery of well-established and functional health care system. The Church’s pioneer efforts saw the healthcare in Kenya expand rapidly to all parts of the country thus playing a significant role in the healthcare market.The objective of this paper was therefore to explore the Church’scontribution to the development of healthcare sector in Kenya, to examine the functional role of an integrated and holistic approach to health care as a tool for the nurturing of Christian values and faith that support spiritual growth among people, to assess the sociological implicationsunderpinning the entire process of growth of health care through a Church-Government participatory partnership approach and how this approach has created a better society.Purposive sampling procedure was used to select four mainstream Churches that pioneered Evangelization in Kenya. Using qualitative approach, secondary data was obtained through face to face interviews with key informants from the four mainstream Churches.Data was transcribed and analysed qualitatively in for of themes. The findings show that the Church played a significant role in the development of health care in Kenya, they also show that the use of an integrated and holistic approach to health care was responsible for the evangelization and treatment of many Christians in Kenya and from a sociological perspective the findings show that the Church plays a significant role in unifying society. The study recommends that the Church should be supported through government policies to continue investing in the health care sector, other Churches in Kenya should adopt an integrated holistic approach to health care and the Church should strengthen its unifying role for the sake of a stable nation. The study will benefit the Church, policy makers and other stakeholders.
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McDonnell, Jenny, and Ellen Idler. "Promoting advance care planning in African American faith communities: literature review and assessment of church-based programs." Palliative Care and Social Practice 14 (January 2020): 263235242097578. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2632352420975780.
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Advance care planning is under-used among Black Americans, often because of experiences of racism in the health care system, resulting in a lower quality of care at the end of life. African American faith communities are trusted institutions where such sensitive conversations may take place safely. Our search of the literature identified five articles describing faith-based advance care planning education initiatives for Black Americans that have been implemented in local communities. We conducted a content analysis to identify key themes related to the success of a program’s implementation and sustainability. Our analysis showed that successful implementation of advance care planning programs in Black American congregations reflected themes of building capacity, using existing ministries, involving faith leadership, exhibiting cultural competency, preserving a spiritual/Biblical context, addressing health disparities, building trust, selectively using technology, and fostering sustainability. We then evaluated five sets of well-known advance care planning education program materials that are frequently used by pastors, family caregivers, nurse’s aides, nurses, physicians, social workers, and chaplains from a variety of religious traditions. We suggest ways these materials may be tailored specifically for Black American faith communities, based on the key themes identified in the literature on local faith-based advance care planning initiatives for Black churches. Overall, the goal is to achieve better alignment of advance care planning education materials with the African American faith community and to increase implementation and success of advance care planning education initiatives for all groups.
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Shetler, Jan Bender. "Historical Memory and Expanding Social Networks of Mennonite Mission School Women, Mara Region, Tanzania, 1938 to the Present." Studies in World Christianity 18, no. 1 (April 2012): 63–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2012.0006.
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Because of their structural position as boundary crossers in virilocal marriages, women in the Mara Region of Tanzania have used historical memory to construct social networks across ethnic boundaries for their own and their community's security. During the colonial era these networks were severely restricted, leading to increasingly difficult lives for women. One group of women who found creative ways to reconstruct these far-reaching networks was church women who went to mission boarding schools. Girls left their homes and made connections to a new family in the church that supported them as they moved into new interethnic communities. They began telling their own life histories in the form of the spiritual testimony, shaped by the practice of confession in the East African Revival beginning in 1942. These narratives of resistance to traditional practices like female circumcision inspired others and created a sense of individual agency. Although these stories seem to represent a rejection, even demonisation, of the past, they carry on work entrusted to these women by their grandmothers, of using storytelling, even within a new narrative genre and in a radically new context, to make connections and build community across ethnic boundaries.
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Machingura, Francis. "The Significance of Glossolalia in the Apostolic Faith Mission, Zimbabwe." Studies in World Christianity 17, no. 1 (April 2011): 12–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2011.0003.
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This study seeks to look at the meaning and significance of Glossolalia 1 in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe. 2 This paper has also been influenced by debates surrounding speaking in tongues in most of the Pentecostal churches in general and the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe in particular. It was the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) that brought Pentecostalism to Zimbabwe. 3 The paper situates the phenomenon of glossolalia in the Zimbabwean socio-economic, spiritual, and cultural understanding. The Pentecostal teachings on the meaning and significance of speaking in tongues have caused a stir in psychological, linguistics, sociological, anthropological, ethnographical, philological, cultural, and philosophical debates. Yet those in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe argue that their concept of glossolalia is biblically rooted. Surprisingly non-glossolalist Christians also use the Bible to dismiss the pneumatic claims by Pentecostals. The emphasis on speaking in tongues in the AFM has rendered Zimbabwean ‘mainline’ churches like Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists as meaningless. This is the same with African Indigenous Churches which have also been painted with ‘fault-lines’, giving an upper hand to AFM in adding up to its ballooning number of followers. This is as a result of their restorationist perspective influenced by the history of the Pentecostal Churches that views all non-Pentecostal churches as having fallen from God's intentions through compromise and sin. The AFM just like other Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe exhibit an aggressive assault and intolerance toward certain aspects of the African culture, which they label as tradition, 4 for example, traditional customs, like paying homage to ancestral spirits (Kurova Guva or bringing back the spirit of the dead ceremony), and marriage customs (polygamy, kusungira or sanctification of the first born ritual). The movement has managed to rid itself of the dominance of the male adults and the floodgates were opened to young men and women, who are the victims of traditional patriarchy. Besides glossolalia being one of the pillars of AFM doctrines, the following also bear some importance: personal testimonies, tithing, church weddings, signs/miracles, evangelism and prosperity theology.
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Hale, Frederick A. "Ibo Spirituality and Marriage Customs On the Eve of Nigerian Independence: the Testimony of Onuora Nzekwu's Wand of Noble Wood." Religion and Theology 7, no. 1 (2000): 24–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157430100x00108.
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AbstractFor many years scholars of African religion have appreciated the potential insights that imaginative literature can provide into religious beliefs and practices in rapidly transforming societies, not least with regard to the confrontation of indigenous religions and missionary Christianity. Generally ignored, however, has been the fiction of Onuora Nzekwu, a talented Ibo novelist who during the 1960s was hailed as one founder of Nigerian letters but who stood in the shadow of Chinua Achebe and a handful of other contemporary literary giants. The present article is a study of enduring commitment to Ibo spiritual and marital traditions and the critique of Roman Catholic missionary endeavours in Nzekwu's first novel, Wand of Noble Wood (1961). It is argued that in this pioneering treatment of these recurrent themes in African literature of that decade, Nzekwu vividly highlighted the quandary in which quasi-Westernised Nigerians found themselves as they sought to come to grips with the confluence of colonial and indigenous values and folkways on the eve of national independence in 1960. Nzekwu did not speak for all Ibo intellectuals of his generation; his portrayal of the weakness of Ibo commitment to the Roman Catholic Church is squarely contradicted by other literary observers, such as T Obinkaram Echewa.
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Hale, Frederick A. "Ibo Spirituality and Marriage Customs On the Eve of Nigerian Independence: the Testimony of Onuora Nzekwu's Wand of Noble Wood." Religion and Theology 7, no. 4 (2000): 24–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157430100x00261.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractFor many years scholars of African religion have appreciated the potential insights that imaginative literature can provide into religious beliefs and practices in rapidly transforming societies, not least with regard to the confrontation of indigenous religions and missionary Christianity. Generally ignored, however, has been the fiction of Onuora Nzekzuu, a talented Ibo novelist who during the 1960s was hailed as one founder ofNigerian letters but who stood in the shadow of Chinua Achebe and a handful of other contemporary literary giants. The present article is a study of enduring commitment to Ibo spiritual and marital traditions and the critique of Roman Catholic missionary endeavours in Nzekwu's first novel, Wand of Noble Wood (1961). It is argued that in this pioneering treatment of these recurrent themes in African literature of that decade, Nzekwu vividly highlighted the quandary in which quasi- Westernised Nigerians found themselves as they sought to come to grips with the confluence of colonial and indigenous values and folkways on the eve of national independence in 1960. Nzekwu did not speak for all Ibo intellectuals of his generation; his portrayal of the weakness of Ibo commitment to the Roman Catholic Church is squarely contradicted by other literary observers, such as T Obinkaram Echewa.