Journal articles on the topic 'First Congregational Church'

This article is a case study of one minister's effort at congregational renewal in a small-town, mainline Protestant church that had persistently lost members as the congregation aged. Although the article describes the minister, his efforts, and his church, the main goal is to show how we may view organizations as subcomponents of the communities in which they exist. The article explicitly conceptualizes this church renewal effort as an example of an organizational type first proposed by Janowitz in describing the community press in urban settings. To move beyond the business model of organizations in analyzing nonprofit organizations, we need to find conceptual models that represent clear alternatives. We also need case examples that clearly illustrate those conceptual alternatives. This case is offered in that spirit.

Domestic Violence (KDRT) can happen anywhere and to anyone, including the congregation. The research objectives to be achieved from this study are to describe the role of the church in congregational domestic violence victims and to describe the study of pastoral counseling for victims of domestic violence. The method used in this study is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. In writing this research the author wants to explain the role of the church in the congregation to help victims of domestic violence, with several forms that the church does, namely: first: paying attention to victims and visiting victims in giving care in the sense of hearing complaints and strengthening and providing input that can help a victim (pastoral counseling). Second: providing assistance in the form of medical treatment and psychological (mental) treatment. So the role of the church is also to help victims of domestic violence that can happen to the congregation, and the church can build a Christian family based on belief in Jesus Christ.

The existence of the Jawi Wetan Christian Church (GKJW) began with a number of people who claimed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior and the first holy baptism on December 12, 1843 in Surabaya, East Java. Since that time their number increased and a fellowship of believers was formed, namely a fellowship of brothers in faith which then united themselves into one ecclesiastical fellowship on December 11, 1931. The formulation of the problem in this research were: 1) How was the development of the GKJW Madura Ethnic Congregation inSumberpakem village in 1945-2022 ?; 2) How was the religious life of the GKJW Madura Ethnic Congregation in Sumberpakem Village in 1945-2022? The results of the study show that the formation of the Madurese Christian Congregation originated from overseas or migration of Madurese living on Madura Island to East Java. The factor that drives them to migrate is the economic factor. At that time the condition of the land in the areas of Madura Island was barren so that their fields could not be planted so that they had difficulty meeting their daily needs. The organization of worship is a congregational assembly led by the local Pastor, another Pastor during service exchanges, or congregational assemblies taking turns according to the schedule. Worship at Greja Kristen Jawi Wetan Sumberpakem uses Madurese or Indonesian according to the schedule made by the relevant commission, namely the Theological Commission. Keywords: Church Congregation, Madurese Ethnicity, GKJW

The background of the process of implementing church discipline in GKII Petleng Alor Baru Region is that GKII Petleng Alor Baru Region has its own church discipline rules, namely there are congregations who sin, are not reprimanded first, but are directly subject to church discipline. This process of implementing church discipline is not in accordance with the teachings of the Bible in Matthew 18:15-17. This study aims to explain the evaluation of the process of implementing church discipline in GKII Petleng, Alor Baru Region based on Matthew 18:15-17. The method used in this study is qualitative with a type of evaluation research to evaluate the problems that occur and compare the problems with existing theories. To obtain the data the author conducted interviews with the Congregational Pastor, the Congregational Governing Body, the disciplined congregation and the Deputy Regional Chairperson. Based on the results of research that the author has conducted at GKII Petleng, Alor Baru Region, the author finds that GKII Petleng Alor Baru Region has not carried out the process of applying church discipline based on Matthew 18:15-17. Latar belakang proses pelaksanaan disiplin gereja di GKII Petleng Daerah Alor Baru adalah GKII Petleng Daerah Alor Baru memiliki aturan disiplin gereja yang tersendiri yaitu ada jemaat yang berbuat dosa, tidak ditegur terlebih dahulu, namun langsung dikenakan disiplin gereja. Proses pelaksanaan disiplin gereja ini, belum sesuai dengan ajaran Alkitab dalam Matius 18:15-17. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memaparkan evaluasi terhadap proses pelaksanaan disiplin gereja di GKII Petleng Daerah Alor Baru berdasarkan Matius 18:15-17. Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kualitatif dengan jenis penelitian evaluasi untuk mengevaluasi masalah yang terjadi dan membandingkan masalah tersebut dengan teori yang telah ada. Untuk mendapatkan data penulis melakukan wawancara kepada Gembala Sidang, Badan Pengurus Jemaat, jemaat yang didisiplin dan Wakil Ketua Daerah. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang telah penulis lakukan di GKII Petleng Daerah Alor Baru, maka penulis menemukan bahwa GKII Petleng Daerah Alor Baru belum melakukan proses penerapan disiplin gereja berdasarkan Matius 18:15-17

Abstract: This paper specifically suggests how the evangelistic movement carried out by the church is related to the growth of congregational spirituality. The focus of this paper outlines how the evangelistic movement carried out by the church from the first, mid to the modern century. This article was written using qualitative methods with a literature study approach. The results of the presentation of this study suggest that the church is actively carrying out evangelistic movements aimed at the growth of congregational spirituality. This is captured when tracing churches in the first century, middle, modern, post-modern to the digital age. The evangelistic movement has always been a church identity aimed at the growth of congregational spirituality. In the evangelistic movement carried out by the church, there has always been a figure of missionary mobilization Luther and Calvin along with other figures. The evangelistic movement carried out by the church in response to the Great Commission so that the world undergoes a change in relation to knowing Jesus Christ through the growth of congregational spirituality.Keyword: Evangelistic Movement, Church, Spirituality, BelieversAbstrak: Tulisan ini secara spesifik mengemukakan bagaimana gerakan penginjilan yang dilakukan oleh gereja dalam kaitan pada pertumbuhan spiritualitas jemaat. Fokus dari tulisan ini menguraikan bagaimana pergerakan penginjilan yang dilakukan oleh gereja dari abad pertama, pertengahan, modern, dan sampai pada post modern. Artikel ini ditulis dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kepustakaan. Hasil dari pemaparan kajian ini mengemukakan bahwa gereja secara aktif melakukan gerakan penginjilan yang bertujuan pada pertumbuhan spiritualitas jemaat. Ini terpotret bila menelusuri gereja pada abad pertama, pertengahan, modern, post modern sampai era digital. Gerakan penginjilan selalu menjadi identitas gereja yang bertujuan pada pertumbuhan spiritualitas jemaat. Di dalam gerakan penginjilan yang dilakukan oleh gereja, selalu ada tokoh penggeraknya misialnya Luther dan Calvin bersama tokoh lainnya. Gerakan penginjilan yang dilakukan oleh gereja sebagai respon pada Amanat Agung agar dunia mengalami perubahan dalam kaitan mengenal Yesus Kristus melalui pertumbuhan spiritualitas jemaat.Kata Kunci: Gerakan Penginjilan, Gereja, Spiritualitas, Orang Percaya

The Glorious Revolution encouraged Presbyterians to hope for comprehension within the Church of England. The failure of those hopes led them to co-operate more closely with their Congregational brethren. In London the earliest practical outcome of this increased co-operation was the Common Fund, which held its first meeting in June 1690. Controlled by managers drawn from both denominations, the Fund was established to offer financial help to poor ministers, congregations, and students who lived in the provinces. A scheme for uniting the two ministries, the Happy Union, set out in the ‘Heads of Agreement’, was adopted a year later on 6 April 1691, but within months this union had dissolved amidst bitter dissension. In less than four years all the schemes for co-operation between Presbyterians and Congregationals had collapsed in London. Nevertheless, co-operation between Presbyterians and Independents, and even the ideals of the Happy Union, continued in the provinces long after the failure in London. In part this was because the desire for a union between the two denominations was widely held throughout the country; indeed the earliest agreement was made by an Assembly of West Country ministers at Bristol in June 1690, nearly a year before the ‘Heads of Agreement’ were adopted in London. Moreover, in many localities following toleration, Presbyterians and Independents still came together in one meeting as a result of the earlier persecution and because of their loyalty to a particular minister. Where dissent was strong, such as in London and the major towns, separate congregations for Presbyterians and Congregational were likely; but where dissent was weaker, particularly in the countryside, congregations included members from both denominations. In these circumstances, members had to accept a minister who did not necessarily share their own denominational preferences. During the first two decades of the eighteenth century the majority of these joint congregations were to divide, as (in most cases) the smaller body of Congregational supporters withdrew to establish their own meetings. There had, however, been more than twenty years of co-operation in many areas in the period following the collapse of the Happy Union in London, and in a few cases such arrangements even continued until the early nineteenth century. There is evidence from at least two congregations, at Leicester and Chesterfield, of a formal agreement to settle the differences between the two denominations. The Happy Union and its failure in London has been the subject of a number of studies, but by contrast the continuing co-operation between Presbyterians and Independents in the provinces has received little detailed attention.

"In Vadász, Arad County, in the second third of the 18th century, the statue of Moloch in the village church caused a conflict, as the local Reformed minister had had it destroyed around 1769. At first glance, the situation seems simple since it is not customary in Reformed churches to have the decoration typical of Catholic churches, so it is not surprising that the minister removed it. Yet the situation is not clear-cut because we do not know why it had not bothered anyone in the two hundred years since the Reformation began. In our study, we describe – through the example of the statue destruction in Vadász – what Reformed identity was like in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 18th century. In our analysis, we find that the development of Reformed conscience was delayed compared to the western half of Europe. The same is demonstrated in the 18th-century Reformed Church history writings, as the events of the Reformation had not been put on paper in most congregations up until then. Most congregational histories are based on oral traditions, with little historical literature being used to support them. Keywords: collective memory, Reformed church, oral tradition, historiography, Calvinist identity, history of reading, idol demolition, history of Reformation, Hungarian Kingdom "

Michael Rex Horne was born in Leicester on 29 December 1921, the first child of the Reverend Ernest Horne and Katie Horne ( née Smeeton). Ernest, his father (1882—1959), was born and brought up in Rotherham into a disciplined family of three boys and one girl, and left school at quite an early age (as was usual at that time) to work in a steelworks in Sheffield. He had an ambition to enter the ministry but assumed that his lack of formal education would make this impossible. Encouraged by the minister of a Congregational church in Rotherham, Ernest applied to Paton Theological College in Nottingham, which admitted mature students without traditional qualifications. He was admitted in 1910 and became an accredited Congregational minister in 1914.

Community development is defined differently depending on the perspective of those defining it. There is a chasm between how academics define community development and how the general public views it. This results in some confusion, particularly regarding the role of churches in addressing community challenges. Fundamentally, community development is a human endeavor. Therefore, churches must have a clear understanding of community development in order for their participation in community transformation to be effective. This requires a comprehension of what community development is at the grassroots level. This article sheds light on the comprehension of community development at the grassroots level.This article will provide answers to two fundamental concerns. What is grassroots community development in the first place? Second, why is church participation in community development necessary?Two methods will be used to respond to the queries provided. This article utilises empirical data collected from Weltevreden Chapel Family Bible Church in Weltevreden Park and Christ Revival Centre Church in Lenasia, Johannesburg.The article compares the literature’s comprehension of community development to the grassroots perspective.Contribution: This article examines the literature and empirical data collected from two congregations in Johannesburg to better comprehend grassroots community development. The article will emphasise the significance of grasping what community development is so that churches can engage in the transformation of communities strategically.

Church growth is an important part of church history. One the important pillars in church growth is the cell group. The early church became a serious church in working on cell group principles as in Acts 2:46-47. The Covid-19 pandemic has made changes and shifts in the arrangement of cell groups. Before Covid 19 cell groups coulds be held in large numbers, but when the Covid 19 pandemis hit the world, cell groups could not be held in meetings with many people. The researcher is giving an explanation about the concept of cell group with the name of three party which is a simple implementation according to the principle of cell group Acts 2:46-47, especially in the present. This writing uses a descriptive literature method. The goal is that trough writing, namely : First, every believer understands the important principle in church growth through cell groups according to Acts 2:46. Second, every believer understands one of the newer models of effective cell grouping principles today. Third, every believer can implement the comsel three party concept, so that the local church experiences significant congregational growth.

The research objective was to prove the influence of God's Servant Leadership and the Role of the Congregation on Diakonia Transformation through Entrepreneurship. The research was conducted on 80 samples of the Servant of God and members of the congregation around the City of Pematangsiantar, Province North Sumatra using simple random sampling. Data collection using google form with a questionnaire. The study used SEM-PLS to process data for testing validity, reliability and hypothesis testing. Research proves that the influence of God's Servant Leadership and the Role of the Congregation has a very big influence on entrepreneurship in realizing the Transformative Diakonia. Thus, the influence of God's Servant Leadership and the Role of the Congregation is very large and has a direct impact through entrepreneurship to create a Transformative Diakonia. The research recommends three things; first, as a solution to the development of church services in dealing with problems that occur both in the church and in the community. Second, it is important to develop effective and significant leadership of the Servant of God in realizing the ministry of the Transformative Diakonia. Third, the results and research outputs explain that the Transformative Diakonia ministry is very important for church ministry.

AbstractThis paper is an attempt to address the question of gospel culture relationship from a Near Eastern perspective. Given the identity crisis challenge that the Reformed church of Syria and Lebanon is facing today, this paper discusses the following questions: is the gospel message, which is being enunciated by the Near Eastern Reformed ancestors of the American missionaries, applicable or not to the region's cultural and societal identity? Why are there features of conflict between the Reformed Near Eastern church's beliefs and values and the surrounding Christian cultural setting? Is this the responsibility of the missionaries or of the local, Arabic speaking Reformed church? These questions are answered by exposing two contemporary challenges that burden the Reformed church in the Near East. The first one is the relationship of the Reformed church to the theological and spiritual heritage of Eastern Christianity. And the second one is the relation of the Reformed ecclesial order, which is congregational and democratic in nature, to the Eastern ecclesial and social structure, which is hierarchical and autocratic in nature.

Abstract By focusing on the issue of the Lord’s Supper, this article explores the contextual theological responses of three Protestant churches in the eastern part of Indonesia towards the Covid-19 pandemic. The article argues that discourses on the Lord’s Supper in response to the pandemic reflected the mission theology of these communities in terms of their beliefs (doctrine) and practices (rites, structures, order, community). Through online interviews and document analysis, the researcher discovered that churches made significant contextual transformations during the first period of the pandemic. The pandemic challenged these churches to make significant theological responses to fulfill their mission. They changed traditional rituals to adapt to distancing guidelines. In contrast to the belief in the importance of church buildings, the homes of church members were transformed into church-centers. Solidarity among congregational members was stronger than before the pandemic, with ways for members to contact and support each other from home.

The year 2017 is an important centenary for women in the Church. In 1917, in the darkness of World War I, a woman was ordained as a Congregational Minister for the first time in Britain. She was not a Congregationalist but a Presbyterian by upbringing. She would go on to serve a small church in one of the poorest parts of London, yet she was highly educated and from an upper middle-class family. She was a pacifist, a feminist, a wife, mother and someone of deep faith. Constance Coltman’s ordination was a quiet event which attracted little attention at the time but which continues to have an effect even today. This article outlines and considers the historical, ecclesial and personal contexts within which Constance Coltman’s ordained ministry began.

Christen Dalsgaard as a Grundtvigian Pictorial ArtistBy Nina HobolthThe article elucidates the connection between the first generation of Grundtvig’s disciples and the painter Christen Dalsgaard (1824-1906). This connection derives from the close bonds between people who play an important role in the creation of pictorial art, but who are very often not given the appropriate attention by art history.In Dalsgaard’s case, such connections go as far back as to his childhood and youth among the revivalist circles in the Salling-Mors region, which developed into a strong Grundtvigian movement, and the ties were strengthened during his work as a drawing master at Sorø Akademi. Nina Hobolth presents three examples of Dalsgaard’s work as a Grundtvigian painter. First the altarpiece in the church of the valgmenighed (i.e. a congregation within the Established Church, claiming the right to choose their own clergyman) at Ryslinge from 1869 is examined. The motif here is the Holy Family in Nazareth, presented as an .ordinary. family with God’s word in their midst. Thus the altarpiece functions as a symbol of the mid-Funen families, whose Christian life in home and congregation was the basis of their valgmenighed. The Grundtvigian emphasis on the importance of baptism is pointed out by the fact that Jesus has his arm round a font.The altarpiece in the church of the valgmenighed - today a frimenighed (i.e. an independent congregation, outside the Established Church) - on Mors, the Ansgar Church, was commissioned and donated by the lay preacher Peder Larsen Skr.ppenborg in 1871-1872, and represents Ansgar baptizing the first Danish child in the Helligbcek near Hedeby. The motif combines, in a Grundtvigian sense, Christianity, folkelighed, and history in a way probably unheard of so far in Danish church decoration, Ansgar becoming the symbol of Danish Christianity. The connection with Grundtvig’s church view is further emphasized by the fact that baptism has been chosen as the central motif. Thus, along with the Communion table, Christ’s presence at Baptism and Communion is emphasized. The fact that it is not a moralizing motif, but one that serves to strengthen the congregational community adds a light touch to the message of the altarpiece. In 1876 Folk High School Principal Ernst Trier wanted a repetition of the motif for a decoration of the extended lecture hall at Vallekilde Folk High School, the picture being intended to function as a Christian and folkelig symbol of revival, depicting the meeting between the Danish people and God’s congregation, the folkelig and the Christian.In conclusion, it is made clear in what way Christen Dalsgaard can be characterized as a Grundtvigian painter: Dalsgaard kept his official artistic career as a genre painter apart from his religious art, which, by virtue of a specific set of basic motifs, confirmed the community of the congregation and the shared values within the Grundtvigian movement. According to the art historian Julius Lange, it is the distinctive ark of Dalsgaard that he masters the psychological expression, and this evaluation was shared by the contemporary Grundtvigian circles who saw Dalsgaard’s pictures as soul-stirring, rendering the »human« content of the motif. His art did not involve any stylistic renewal; such a renewal came about with the painters of the next generation, of whom Joakim Skovgaard in particular caused dismay and admiration.

Equipping the saints for ministry is a primary work of the local church. However, the task of constructing equipping ministries requires theological and contextual reflection. This article argues that as theological educators, we must teach our students to exercise practical theological methods in order to develop an effective ministry of equipping. The article will first explore the underpinnings of practical theology, culminating in a closer look at the model posited by Richard Osmer. Engaging Osmer's model, the article will engage a case study to show how practical theology aids the congregational leader in formulating theologically faithful and contextually relevant equipping ministries.

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, . . . set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. . . . put therein the ark of the testimony . . . bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.” No, I am not going to preach a Puritan sermon to you. I want only to remind you of the Puritan in Roger Williams who said the words that provide the title of the book under consideration. The words come from Williams's debate with John Cotton over church government: “When they [or the those who desired to Christianize the world through the use of worldly power] have opened a gap in the hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world, God had ever broke down the wall itself, removed the candlestick, and made His garden a wilderness.” For Mark deWolfe Howe, Williams's “theological wall of separation” represents the evangelical impulse in American religion and is an important source for understanding American law concerning church and state. A key contribution of Howe's monograph was to remind its readers that not only Jefferson's sense of natural law and individual rights but also Williams's congregational and biblical notions informed the First Amendment religion clauses. Howe finds fault with the Supreme Court's ignoring this dual lineage and favoring only Jefferson's Enlightenment view. For Howe, the modern Court's use of Jefferson's language to impute due process values to the religion clauses “distorts their manifest objectives” to grant religion constitutionally protected status—a status distinct from other forms of conscience, not least irreligion. These other forms of conscience are, he argues, protected by other constitutional guarantees, such as speech, press, and association.

“Seeing Sanctuary” explores the practice and labeling of immigrant sanctuaries in the Trump era of migration enforcement and family separation. The essay utilizes the case of a class visit to a migrant sanctuary in Amherst, Massachusetts, and explores the challenges, rewards, and sense of futility from this flawed but necessary form of accompaniment. In March of 2018, my “History of Deportation” class visited Lucio Pérez, a Guatemalan migrant and nineteen-year resident of Massachusetts, who resides in sanctuary at the First Congregational Church. At this writing, in August 2020, thirty-five months since he entered the church, Pérez is still in sanctuary. Facing deportation in October 2017, Pérez sought refuge, five months prior to our class visit. The essay, drawing from the public narrative of Pérez, distinguishes the open defiance of Pérez’s sanctuary from the broader “sanctuary city” efforts at non-compliance with federal enforcement schemes.

The connection between music and the church is integral, especially during worship, where hymns require musical accompaniment. The musical experience influences congregational engagement and emotions. Given the significance of musical accompaniment, diversity is essential. Coaching can enhance musicians' skills and contribute to varied worship experiences. This action research aims to guide music players at GKE Palangka I Palangka Raya to improve their music-playing skills, which are carried out in two cycles. Each cycle consists of four stages: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The subjects of this study were ten teenage music players. Data were collected through observation, documentation, and skill tests. The data were analyzed by processing scores of assessment aspects, including the ability to imitate sounds, read notation, tempo suitability, intonation accuracy, and fingering techniques. The results increase musicians' skills in playing music through ensemble music, with an increase in the average score of each participant from pre-cycle 52 to the first cycle 62 by 19% and from the first cycle 62 to the second cycle 77 by 24%. This research contributes to the significance of musical diversity in worship, the impact of musical instruments on congregational engagement, and the potential benefits of coaching in enhancing musicians' skills for diverse music presentations, particularly within small musical ensembles. Additionally, this research highlights the significance of a theological-oriented approach to training in music ministry and practice and the potential for collaborative music training to improve musical proficiency in the context of worship.

The increase in the number of poor people during the current COVID-19 pandemic is a serious challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost all of the living arrangements of most people. This can be seen from the increasing economic crisis in people's lives which is increasingly concerning. One of the causes is quite significant, because many companies do mass layoffs of employees due to the economic crisis in the company. This also affects many people who lose the only job that supports their daily needs. Therefore, to reduce the level of poverty among the people and assist the government in dealing with these problems, the church can take on its role. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview or concept of the role of the church in alleviating the problem of poverty in the midst of the congregation. The research method used is library research with a descriptive qualitative approach. The results of this research, namely: First, the church needs to make training that can develop the abilities (skills) of each congregation. Second, the church needs to be an example in terms of work and in building awareness to help the poor. Third, the church needs to build healthy congregational spiritual growth.AbstrakPeningkatan jumlah masyarakat miskin di masa pandemi covid 19 saat ini, menjadi sebuah tantangan yang cukup serius. Pandemi covid-19 merubah hampir semua tatanan hidup dari sebagian besar masyarakat. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari meningkatnya krisis ekonomi dalam kehidupan masyarakat yang semakin memprihatinkan. Salah satu penyebab yang cukup signifikan, karena banyak perusahaan melakukan pemecatan secara massal kepada karyawan akibat terjadinya krisis ekonomi di perusahaan tersebut. Hal ini pun berimbas kepada banyaknya orang yang kehilangan satu-satunya pekerjaan yang menghidupi kebutuhan mereka sehari-hari. Oleh sebab itu, untuk mengurangi tingkat kemiskinan di kalangan masyarakat dan membantu pemerintah dalam menghadapi persoalan tersebut, gereja dapat mengambil perannya. Untuk itu, tujuan dari penulisan ini adalah untuk memberikan gambaran atau konsep mengenai peran gereja dalam mengentaskan persoalan kemiskinan di tengah-tengah jemaat. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian pustaka dengan pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif. Adapun hasil dari penelitian ini, yakni: Pertama, gereja perlu membuat pelatihan yang dapat mengembangkan kemampuan setiap Jemaat. Kedua, gereja perlu menjadi teladan dalam hal bekerja dan dalam membangun kesadaran untuk menolong kaum miskin. Ketiga, gereja perlu membangun pertumbuhan spiritualitas jemaat yang sehat.

As founder of ‘the first continuing Congregational church on English soil’ in the London suburb of Southwark in 1616, Henry Jacob has figured prominently in denominational hagiography. His place in the wider circle of puritan scholarship has also been secured by virtue of this radically new ecclesiological experiment in puritan Congregationalism which, by most historical accounts, signalled a drastic departure from the prevailing presbyterianism of the Cartwright generation of left-wing puritanism. While his shift into a more progressive, democratic ecclesiological mode has appeared self-evident to many historians, those scholars intrigued by Jacob's churchmanship have often puzzled over the source of his new polity. Among an earlier generation of historians, the obvious solution seemed to be that Jacob had at some point borrowed from the Separatists, adopting their ecclesiology while declining their practice of separatism. This conclusion arose primarily from the assumption (which persists today) that before Jacob's Southwark church formed, Congregationalism was alone the preserve of late Tudor and early Stuart separatism. Daniel Neal became one of the first to suggest this, explaining that Jacob probably derived his Congregationalism from the Separatists by way of John Robinson at Leyden, where the two had met in 1610.

Moral renewal: a challenge to the churchesThe article addresses the issue of moral formation in the South African society and focuses on the role the Christian churches can play in this respect. It argues that the church can indeed play a vital role, if it succeeds in facing up to at least four challenges. The first one has to do with a stronger emphasis on the moral implications of the gospel on congregational level. Too many churches preach a version of the gospel that lacks clarity about the moral commitment asked of disciples. The second challenge is to get a more focused picture of what an intrinsic Christian lifestyle looks like. A plea is made for the reinstatement of a condensed basic moral code grounded in biblical teaching. The third challenge relates to the vital question of how moral formation is actually being implemented in the faith communities. Attention is given to different ways this question is being answered. The fourth challenge concerns the churches' hesitancy to accept co-responsibility for the public communities we are living in. Congregational and denominational leaders have to realize that churches are called not only to discipleship, but also to citizenship. If the churches are willing to accept these challenges, they can be an important factor in the moral renewal of the South African society.

The primary virtue of establishment is the Church's duty under law to minister to anyone at all who may turn to it, including the ungodliest. Establishment does not imply a religious State, that is a State whose law requires subservience by the citizens to the State religion; if it did, it would be barbarous (but contrast the Black Rubric in the Book of Common Prayer). Establishment does not entail State control of the Church. The legal characteristics of establishment are as follows. (1) The law of the Church of England is part of the law of the land. (2) Bishops and some other office-holders are appointed by the Queen on ministerial advice. (3) 26 diocesan bishops sit as legislators in the House of Lords. (4) The Queen as Supreme Governor acts as monarch for the Church as she acts as monarch for the State. The Church of England is not a “congregational” church: its forms of worship are prescribed by law, and are not at the liberty of the community worshipping in any particular church. The bishops' resolution which authorised the use of the 1928 revision of the Book of Common Prayer in face of the will of Parliament (which was the lawful authority in the matter) was a lamentable disobedience to the law which it was their duty to uphold. Such a legal transgression might possibly nowadays be subject to correction by the High Court on judicial review, though that would require departure from earlier high authority. However that may be, it has to be recognised that there is no room, in the practice of an established Church, for the notion that conscience might justify disobedience to the law. The conscience of the believer is worth no more than the conscience of an unbeliever. The established Church possesses two immeasurable virtues: first, that religion is no tyrant: belief is not compulsory; second, that the Church's ministration is available to everyone. Their unified effect is a great force for good.

The sacristy is an ancillary but also a necessary liturgical space in every religious complex. Judging from late-antique and early-medieval written records, a chamber adjacent to the façade or the east end (frequently one of the pastophoria) of the main congregational church had the function of a sacristy. In the regions practising the Western rite, the sacristy was located next to the church façade. It housed liturgical vessels, ecclesiastical objects, liturgical vestments for the clergy and books. The sacristy was the place where priests were robed for the eucharistic celebration and from which they emerged in the solemn procession marking the beginning of the service. In the West, the sacristy was not the place where the gifts of the congregation were accepted; instead, they brought them to the church’s chancel screen. on the other hand, in the east, the additional function of the sacristy was that of the place where gifts were presented (prothesis). Therefore, the congregation had access to it so that they could deposit their offerings which the clergy then carried to the altar. In any case, in the West and east alike, there was no separate room set aside exclusively for the offerings of the congregation. In fact, it cannot be said that the prothesis and diaconicon – the chambers flanking the presbytery – had the function of a sacristy at this point because they appeared in Byzantine architecture only in the early middle ages. Constantinopolitan sources confirm that a liturgical reform took place between the first three decades of the eighth century, that is, the office of Patriarch Germanus i, and the mid-tenth century reign of emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus: the previously unified liturgical function of the sacristy split into two. Therefore, the application of the terms prothesis and diaconicon to the chambers (pastophoria) flanking the main apse in early Christian architecture should be discarded. Focusing on the example of the chamber situated next to the façade of the early Christian Cathedral in the episcopal complex at Zadar, it can be noted that its architecture and function were that of a sacristy, especially if one compares it to liturgical documents from Rome (Ordines romani). This chamber and its location are interpreted on the basis of the historical records of local chroniclers who mention a custom of offerings – the so-called Varina – during the office of Bishop Felix, and all of this, taken together, suggests that in the earliest Christian times the Church of Zadar practised a romanstyle Westernrite.

In 1641, the Congregational minister Thomas Goodwin delivered a series of sermons to his independent church in London, expounding the letter to the Ephesians in characteristically meticulous detail. Goodwin had recently returned to England after a brief but formative period of religious exile in the Netherlands, and as the Sundays passed, his auditors were surely moved by the oratory of a speaker so “blessed with a rich invention and a solid and exact judgment.” The minister's breadth was equally impressive. The sermons opened up a cornucopia of Christian themes, flowing from one topic to the next as Goodwin's capacious mind found stimulus in the scriptural text. Seemingly eager to follow every possible digression, application, and excursus, Goodwin's unhurried pace required thirty-six sermons simply to exhaust the epistle's first chapter. And yet, amid this abundance of subject matter, one issue in particular arrested Goodwin's attention. While delivering his thirty-fifth discourse on Ephesians, Goodwin paused to consider what he described as “the Great question of these times” and, alternatively, “the great Controversy of the times.” By the middle of 1641, Goodwin's world was experiencing an unprecedented upheaval—England had been invaded by Scottish covenanters, the archbishop of Canterbury had been arrested and imprisoned, and the king had been forced to call a parliament he would be unable to dissolve. Yet Goodwin's “great Controversy” turned not upon political or cultural convulsion but rather upon a seemingly obscure point of ecclesiastical polity, a question not often considered by modern historians and even less often fully appreciated: “the great Question of these times,” said Goodwin, was “whether yea or no . . . many congregations, many Churches united in one may not be called one particular Church.” What did this strangely worded question mean to Goodwin and his hearers, and why did the future president of Magdalen College and religious adviser to the Lord Protector deem this rather specific query the very hinge upon which the nation's future turned? To answer these questions, we must consider how the early modern English mind understood the idea of a “national church”—for though he does not explicitly invoke the term, it was, as we will see, a concept embedded at the very center of Goodwin's “great Controversy.”

In every order or monastic congregation a group of ‘favourite’ saints can be selected. The reasons differ. Most often the foremost place goes to the congregation’s founder or founders. It should be emphasized that in a number of orders, monastic congregations, monasteries, or abbeys the cult is given to benefactors and founders not formally canonized by the Church. The other group of saints venerated with a particular cult in congregations are those recognised as patrons or protectors of their congregations and saints and beatified coming from the ranks of their order. In the history of the Congregation o f the Sisters o f Saint Felix o f Cantalice Third Order Regular o f Saint Francis o f Assisi we can clearly see the care of the cult of a number of saints and beatified who in a distinctive way affected the Congregation’s spirituality and activity. First the founders of the Congregation, Blessed Honorat Koźmiński (1826-1916) and Blessed Mother Angela Truszkowska (1825— 1899), should be mentioned. From the beginning of its existence the Congregation was deeply rooted in Franciscan spirituality. The Congregation was established after approval by sisters of the Tertiary Order of Saint Francis of Assisi. It should not come as a surprise that in monasteries of the Felician Sisters the cult of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) and also of Saint Clare (1194-1253) was cherished with great popularity. The Saint to whom the Felician Sisters owe their name is Saint Felix of Cantalice (1515-1587), while in a special way the Congregation was entrusted to the care of Saint Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Abstrak:Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dengan jelas faktor faktor apa saja yang terjadi disaat jemaat bernyanyi dalam ibadah minggu di Gereja Huria Kristen Batak Protestan ( HKBP ) Lumban Lintong kabupaten samosir. Metode yang di gunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian kualitatif. Adapun proses kerja yang di lakukan saat penelitian berlangsung yaitu, menggunakan instrumen Wawancara, Pengamatan, Dokumentasi dan Studi Pustaka. Penelitian ini di lakukan dengan mengumpulkan informasi melalui penelitian di lapangan untuk memperoleh hasil yang diolah menjadi data asli. Penulis mengambil tiga sampel lagu yang dinyanyikan salah pada saat ibadah yaitu BE. 174, BE. 761, BE. 240. Penulis melihat secara langsung di lapangan mulai dari cara bernyanyi jemaat, nada lagu, dinamika, dan ketidaksesuaian iringan musik box dengan nyanyian jemaat.Hasil dalam Penelitian ini jelas memang terlihat ketiga lagu yang di nyanyikan jemaat terdapat kesalahan dalam bernyanyi yaitu yang pertama, jemaat kurang memahami notasi.Yang kedua, jemaat juga kurang memahami Tempo lagu sehingga ending dalam nyanyian tidak sesuai dengan iringan musik. Yang ketiga Artikulasi ketika notasi yang dinyanyikan jemaat tidak benar maka otomasis artikulasi dalam pengucapan syair lagu juga tidak jelas. Dan bisa kita simpulkan bahwa notasi,artikulasi dan tempo lagu sangat mempengaruhi kualitas nyanyian jemaat. Dari kesalahan tersebut upaya yang bisa di lakukan adalah memberikan pengetahuan kepada jemaat tentang pemahaman teknik cara bernyanyi yang benar bisa di lakukan dengan melaksanakan seminar dengan pembicara yang memang lulusan seni atau ahli dalam suaraKatakunci: studi deskriptif, nyanyian jemaat, ibadah Abstract:This study aims to determine clearly what factors occur when the congregation sings during Sunday worship at the Huria Kristen Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) Lumban Lintong, Samosir Regency. The method used in this research is a qualitative research method. The work process carried out during the research was using the instruments of Interview, Observation, Documentation and Literature Study. This research was conducted by collecting information through research in the field to obtain results that were processed into original data. The author took three samples of songs that were sung incorrectly during worship, namely BE. 174, BE. 761, BE. 240. The author saw directly in the field, starting from the way the congregation sang, the tone of the song, the dynamics, and the discrepancy between the accompaniment of the music box and the congregation's singing. The results in this study clearly show that the three songs sung by the congregation have errors in singing, namely the first, the congregation does not understand the notation. Second, the congregation also does not understand the tempo of the song so that the ending in the song does not match the musical accompaniment. The third is articulation when the notation sung by the congregation is not correct, the automatic articulation in the pronunciation of song lyrics is also unclear. And we can conclude that the notation, articulation and tempo of the song greatly affect the quality of the congregation's singing. From these mistakes, the effort that can be done is to provide knowledge to the congregation about understanding the correct singing technique, which can be done by holding seminars with speakers who are art graduates or experts in sound.Keywords: descriptive, study of congregational song, worship

The new millennium has seen increased hostility to Israel among many progressive constituencies, including several mainline Protestant churches. The evangelical community in the US remains steadfastly Zionist, so overall support for financial aid to Israel remain secure. But the cultural impact of accusations that Israel is a settler colonialist or apartheid regime are nonetheless serious; they are proving sufficient to make support for the Jewish state a political issue for the first time in many decades. Despite a general movement in emphasis from theology to politics in church debate, there remain theological issues at the center of church discussion. The Protestant church with the longest running and most well-funded anti-Zionist constituency is the Presbyterian church in the US. In the last decade, its Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) has produced several increasingly anti-Zionist books designed to propel divestment resolutions in the church’s annual meeting. The most widely debated of these was 2014’s Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide. This essay mounts a detailed analysis and critique of the book which documents the IPMN’s steady movement toward antisemitic positions. Among the theological issues underlying debate in Protestant denominations are the status of the divine covenant with the Jewish people, the role that the gift of land has as part of that covenant, and the nature of the characterization of the Jews as a “chosen people”. These, and other issues underlying Protestant anti-Zionism, have led to the formation of Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PFMP), a group, unlike IPMN, that supports a two-state solution. The competing positions these groups have taken are of interest to all who want to track the role that Christian denominations have played in debates about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

In January 1875 John Blackham, a West Bromwich draper, a deacon and Sunday school teacher from the Ebenezer Congregational Church, went to Birmingham intent on hearing the American evangelist Dwight D. Moody. So large was the crowd that Blackham was turned away from the meeting. He then went to look for an alternative Christian gathering and, in his own words, I came across a room where about 30 fine young fellows were assembled listening to their teacher, a magnificent man, with a marvellous store of information. His address was so long and so good that my head and back ached with the prolonged attention. … I wondered how it was that Moody could get 4,000, while this splendid Bible class leader could only draw about thirty, and as I thought on this the first light broke in, and I saw clearly why we had failed. I learnt also how not to do it. I realised that if the men were to be won, we must give them a service neither too long nor too learned, we must avoid dullness, gloom, and constraint.

Leonard Bacon, minister of the First Congregational Church at New Haven, preaching before the Foreign Evangelical Society in New York in May 1845, found in the Atlantic Ocean a vivid image of an underlying unity which he perceived in the divided evangelical churches that surrounded it. Separated though they were, still influences upon them operated like ‘the tide raised from the bosom of the vast Atlantic when the moon hangs over it in her height, [which] swells into every estuary, and every bay and sound, and every quiet cove and sheltered haven, and is felt far inland where mighty streams rise in their channels and pause upon their journey to the sea’. The choice of metaphor betrayed an aspiration that the North Atlantic itself should become an evangelical lake. Such hopes, Bacon appreciated, would be worse than fruitless if they were driven by a model of Christianity as ‘one and indivisible’. No, the model should be the American, not the French Republic, e pluribus unum, unity in diversity.

AbstractA significant body of research supports the relationship between religious attendance, objective and subjective social networks characteristics, and mental well-being. This trajectory may be particularly important in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Thus, the current study examined the relationship between religious attendance, social network characteristics, loneliness, and mental well-being in a sample of 564 young adults (aged 18–35 years) soon after the first COVID-19-related restrictions were imposed in Poland. In line with previous findings, both frequent (FAs) and infrequent religious attenders (IAs) reported more people in their social networks compared to non-attenders (NAs). Further analysis revealed full mediation of religious attendance (FAs vs. NAs) via social network size on loneliness and mental well-being. This pattern of results was still observed after the exclusion of worship-based affiliates from the social network score. A follow-up survey carried out one year later (N = 94) showed that all three groups of participants (FAs, IAs, and NAs) reported increased loneliness and decreased mental well-being. Taken together, these findings show that the influence of religious attendance on social functioning cannot be attributed solely to congregational relationships.

AbstractThis study of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Madonna-figures questions some influential arguments about the novelist's treatment of motherhood and domesticity. Critics such as Jane Tompkins, Elizabeth Ammons, and Gillian Brown have claimed that the novels privilege an alternative maternal culture and may even present the Christian Savior in feminized terms. But the early novels in fact reveal the gender restrictions of nineteenth-century Protestantism, which allowed no sanctified female roles. Uncle Tom's Cabin and Dred, for example, have Christ-figures but no Madonnas. Stowe's travels overseas, which exposed her to European religious art, and her gradual movement from the Congregational to the Episcopal church (documented by John Gatta), had a profound impact on two subsequent novels, The Minister's Wooing and Agnes of Sorrento. Here, for the first time, female characters are made Madonna-figures. But the novelist presents them as contemplative saints and prophetic virgins, rather than as mothers. Only in her late religious writings does Stowe portray the biblical Mary as not only prophet and poet but also mother—and then in an inimitable way. In The Minister's Wooing and Agnes as well as her religious writings, Stowe examines the New Testament sisters Martha and Mary of Bethany, who in church tradition represent, respectively, the active and the contemplative life. These discussions reveal the conflict the author experienced between her domestic responsibilities and artistic vocation, and her misgivings about many of the maternal characters found throughout her fiction. Stowe's contemplative and creative Mary-figures include Mary Scudder, Agnes, and the Virgin Mary herself. The contrasting Martha-figures are domestic geniuses but have “worldly” values, which sometimes threaten their daughters' happiness. These Marthas, who are increasingly subjected to authorial criticism, suggest some needed qualifications of arguments for the consistently positive valence of motherhood and domesticity in Stowe.

In 1593, Simon Lyra (1547-1601) was appointed cantor of the St. Elisabeth Church and Gymnasium in Breslau/Wrocław. In the same year, he drew up a list of prints and manuscripts that he considered appropriate for teaching and for use in Lutheran worship. In addition to this list, there are six music manuscripts dating from the 1580s and 1590s that either belonged to him or were collected under his direction. Taken together, Lyra’s repertoire list and the additional manuscripts contain well over a thousand items, including masses, motets, responsories, psalms, passions, vespers settings, and devotional songs. The music in the collections contain all of the items necessary for use in the liturgies performed in the St. Elisabeth Church and Gymnasium in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. This list provides valuable clues into the musical life of a well-established Lutheran church and school at the end of the sixteenth century. When studying collections of prints and manuscripts, I believe it is helpful to make a distinction between two types of use. Printed music represents possibilities. In other words, they are collections from which a cantor could make choices. In Lyra’s case, we can view his recommendations as general examples of what he considered liturgically and aesthetically appropriate for his time and position. On the other hand, manuscripts represent choices. The musical works in the six Bohn manuscripts associated with Lyra are the result of specific decisions to copy and place them in particular collections in a particular order. Therefore, they can provide clues as to what works were performed on which occasions. In other words, manuscripts provide a truer picture of a musical culture in a particular location. According to my analysis of Lyra’s recommendations, by the time he arrived at St. Elisabeth the liturgies, especially the mass, still followed Luther's Latin "Formula Missae" adopted in the 1520s. The music for the services consisted of Latin masses and motets by the most highly regarded, international composers of the first half of the sixteenth century. During his time as Signator and cantor, he updated the church and school choir repertory with music of his contemporaries, primarily composers from Central Europe. Three of these composers, Gregor Lange, Johann Knoefel, and Jacob Handl, may have been his friends and/or colleagues. In addition, some of the manuscripts collected under his direction provide evidence that the Breslau liturgies were beginning to change in the direction of the seventeenth-century Lutheran service in which the "Latin choir" gave way to more German-texted sacred music and greater congregational participation.

The purpose of this study is to find out the various definitions and placements of the three types of Christian education based on the New Testament in formal, informal and non-formal educational institutions according to the levels and educational programs needed by Christians.This type of research is qualitative in order to elaborate and present data/information about various definitions consisting of three types of education namely: Christian Education, Christian Religious Education, Religious Education of Christianity which takes place in educational institutions within churches, theological schools and public schools.This research method is descriptive which seeks to present data or information and an overview of the results of the elaboration and clarification of the various definitions that affect the placement of the three types of Christian education at the level of general and theological educational institutions in Indonesia.The results of the study present a definition according to the New Testament, especially the Synoptic Bible as a reference to define: First, Christian Education and the educational institutions in it consist of Sunday School, Bible School, Evangelism School, Bible Course, Bible Teacher School (Congregational Teacher), Baptist Catechism, Biblevrow School, Church Elder/Worker Candidate School, Deaconess School. Second, Christian Religious Education consists of: Early Childhood Education or Christian Theological Kindergarten, Christian Theological Elementary School, Christian Theological Middle School, Christian Theological Middle School and Christian Theological College or Christian Religious Education College. Third: Religious Education of Christianity consists of: Early Childhood Education, Kindergartens, Elementary Schools, Junior High Schools, High Schools, Public Universities.

The ministries of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia are the foundation of a church, meaning that a church that is aware of its duty and calling on this earth must rely on these three ministries. It can be said that the true main duty of the church is reflected in the ministry of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia. Based on this main task, the church must be able to demonstrate and impart the life of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia with the aim of impacting and changing human life. This is what the Ressud Sudirman Surabaya Indonesian Christian Church is aware of in the context of its duties and vocation as a church that has been present in the midst of the Surabaya community, of course its presence is required to fulfill God's plan to become salt and light, a blessing for the surrounding community in general and the congregation in particular. through Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia's ministry. This research uses a descriptive method. The author directly conducts research, both literature and field research. Bibliography that contains various theoretical data related to topic material from various sources of information which contains important statements to support the accuracy of the research. In addition, this research is also complemented by field research either through questionnaires or direct interviews with several trusted sources including congregants, church activists, servants, sympathizers so that the results of the research present a strong and accurate combination because they are supported by strong theoretical aspects but are also followed by field research evidence. The purpose of this study: first to realize how important the services of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia are for the growth of the Indonesian Christian Church in Ressud Surabaya in particular and to the Lord's church in general. Second, the Church is aware of her duty and calling on this earth which has been mandated by God to be her witness so that the impact is evident in church growth both in quality and quantity. Third, the Church of God has the correct concept of the impact of the ministry of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia on church growth from the perspective of Missiology, Theology and Ecclesiology. Based on the research conducted by the author, the results obtained are how the extraordinary impact of the services of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia on the growth of the Indonesian Christian Church Ressud Surabaya. This is evidenced by the increasing number of church members from year to year and the increasing quality of the congregation's faith. By having a correct understanding of the ministry of Diakonia, Koinonia and Marturia, the congregation will be more active and diligent in carrying out the duties and responsibilities that have been mandated by God to become a blessing, to become salt and light in this world, in various forms of diaconial services such as selling rice. cheap for the congregation and partly distributed by the surrounding community, cheap medical treatment and even free for the congregation and the poor by establishing a polyclinic "Waluyojati", scholarships for underprivileged congregations ranging from elementary, junior high and even vocational levels, house renovation program held 1 a year one to two times for the congregation. In the form of Koinonia, it can be seen from the congregation that is divided into several sectors or regions, the congregation will continue to grow and increase even out of the city, namely Lamongan, Denpasar and even to Batam, the Denpasar congregation was institutionalized in 2003, while in the city of Surabaya the Indonesian Christian Church Lebak Jaya was matured in 1994 and the Kutisari area in 1998 was instituted simultaneously in 1998 the Batam Indonesian Christian Church was also institutionalized where the Batam Indonesia Christian Church is the fruit of the ministry of several Indonesian Christian Churches including the Indonesian Christian Church Ressud in it. The goal is to be a witness through this service, but the most important of this research is that the Indonesian Christian Church congregation in Ressud is a congregation that has marturia diaconiality, while the implementation of Marturia directly or verbally is not optimal, this is also acknowledged by the council is a local church based on interviews and research based on a questionnaire.

Imminent retirement: Pastors’ experience of their congregation, personal well-being and financesThe provisions of pastors to congregations is of great importance to the Dutch Reformed Church and its congregation. To retire is a complex process of transition affecting various aspects – among others psychological, spiritual and financial aspects. According to current estimates, more than half of the full-time pastors in the Dutch Reformed Church could retire within the next fifteen years. A quantitative online survey was conducted amongst pastors who will retire in the near future, their experience of their congregation, personal well-being and financial prospects before and during retirement was taken into account. For the first time research provides insight into what will happen in churches when a pastor retires. The information should provide valid conclusions and recommendations can be made regarding the demand for pastors (and students?) in order to plan for effective ministry within churches.

This field experiment examined the effects of a gratefulness intervention in the context of a Christian church congregation. Two Christian congregations with comparable demographic and socio-economic characteristics were enrolled and assigned to the experimental and comparison conditions. The gratitude intervention was developed collaboratively with church leaders. Though within-subject effects were found for psychological well-being, spiritual well-being, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, daily spiritual experiences, and favorable views of psychology and interdisciplinary collaboration, the comparison group showed similar increases to the intervention group. Thus, the effects of the gratitude intervention were supported within but not across groups. No significant changes occurred on measures of interpersonal engagement. This research represents the first quasi-experiment to study a gratitude intervention within a faith congregation. In spite of methodological limitations, it highlights the potential benefit of gratitude interventions designed in collaboration with clergy.

The World Picture and the View of Man in Grundtvig’s Hymns.By Peter Balslev-ClausenThis lecture for the Degree in Divinity at the Faculty of Theology in Copenhagen is a summary of the writer’s studies in the hymns, written by Grundtvig over the years from 1810 to 1872, with a view to determining the overall view of human life and Christianity that constitutes their background. The lecture discusses central concepts in these hymns, taking the point of departure in the word, i.e., speech as expressing the fact that man was created in God’s image. Hymn-singing is seen as man’s reply to God’s address, partly in the church service, partly in the daily prayers, as it is evidenced by the hymn "Congregation of God, Sing Secret Songs of Praise to Our Creator" (Guds menighed, syng for vor skaber i l.n (1847)). This hymn was composed during Grundtvig’s work on a collection of popular ballads, and is modelled on the ballad about hr. Villemand, who, by playing his harp, forces the merman of the river to give his bride back to him.The lecture concentrates on the Mosaic-Christian view of the world and of man, considered, consciously, by Grundtvig to be the contrast to the scientific picture of the world and idea of man of his own age. It is claimed that the new world-picture as Grundtvig saw it, made impossible any notion of a connection between God and man, heaven and earth, creation and consummation, and that without this connection man would lose his identity and his companionship with others. Grundtvig, accordingly, retained the Biblical calendar.Especially after meeting his second wife, Marie Toft, in 1845, and the breakthrough for congregational singing of his hymns in Vartov Church on Christmas Day the same year, Grundtvig came to think of the woman and the human heart as the essence of human nature, in contrast to the rationalistic concept of man, which Grundtvig regarded as a product of Antichrist.Grundtvig was aware that his picture of the world and his view of man was not acceptable to the majority, at least not in the academic world. But he considered it necessary to maintain it, both for the sake of the Mosaic-Christian way of thinking and the Christian faith.The first five years after the meeting with Marie Toft were a turbulent time of regeneration in Grundtvig’s personal life, as it is reflected for example in the hymn "The Clouds Are Turning Grey, and the Leaves Are Falling" (Skyerne gråner og løvet falder). The crisis resolved itself in a new sense of wholeness in life, which is expressed in the series of adaptations of older hymns which did not acquire their final form until the 1850s, such as "O, Christian Faith" (O Kristelighed), "The Sun Now Shines in All its Splendour" (I al sin glans nu stråler solen) and "The Lord Has Visited His People" (Herren, han har besøgt sit folk).Since even today Grundtvig’s hymns are used as existential expressions of the lives of the congregation, the question arises whether they can still be used when his presuppositions no longer apply. Precisely by his strangeness, Grundtvig insists that his reader and participant in the hymn-singing is entirely responsible for acquiring an existential experience of a hymn, on the basis of the assumptions that belong to each individual and are determined by the time he or she lives in.

The purpose of this study is to find the causative factors and problems of the GKSI Filadelfia Buntu Barana congregation that are less experiencing spiritual growth. Than directed through the strategy of pastors or servants of God to increase formation of the congregation in the midst of many of their busy actifities that prioritize work rather than worship or followship in church on Sundays. The methods used in this study are: First, the library research method is a study of books end literature relating to this research as a theorectical reference. Second, the method of field research is research conducted directly to the object of research by observation or direct observation in the field, and interviews. The conclusions of this study are: first, the spiritual growth hampered by the GKSI Buntu Barana congregation because there is not yet real repentance for some congregations, second, there are obstacles that hinder the spiritual growth of the GKSI Buntu Barana congregation, including the lack of community and social environment that does not support spiritual growth of the church. Third, some effective strategies in increasing the spiritual quality of congregants are by engaging in their busy activities by getting involved in their busy work, outside of worship hours as Christians should: Suday Services, Hausehold Services, School Services Sunday, Youth Services, Church prayer Services, and visits if they are at home. In addition we as servents of Gad often provide young people with a variety of creativity.

The Christian church in its current composition, structure, and expression is in crisis. However, the crisis of the congregation and the church that has escalated in recent decades can be understood as a spiritual challenge. This means not only making structural changes in the existing forms of congregation and church, adapting to the changing reality in the context of the current lack of resources, but also paying attention to the spiritual perspective of complex processes of change. How is it possible to think about the congregation and the church in a completely different way? What could be the new forms of plural, lively and open congregation and church that are important for the sustainable development of the whole society? The starting point is to rethink what we mean by the concepts of “congregation” and “church” and what could be the practical forms of religion in the near future – in an individualized, differentiated, and complex society. In 2020, the Internal Development Goals initiative emerged, suggesting that there is one blind spot in the efforts to solve complex societal issues and create a sustainable global society – the internal development of a person and the need for internal change in the person himself. The initiative proposes the idea of a new, inner, consciousness-raising revolution, capable of creating a new foundation for the coexistence of humanity. At the end of 2021, the first part of the initial project was completed, formulating 23 different qualities and skills – in relationships with oneself, thinking and cognition, relations with others and the world, cooperation with others, and in action. As the church and Christianity become involved into and a part of the program for achieving the inner goals of a person, aligning their actions with these goals, and creating the structures necessary to achieve these goals, the church would become one of the driving forces of sustainable development, a kind of “folk high school” for the birth of a new consciousness, gaining new relevance on a societal scale. In this global task of learning and building a metastable civilization, the congregation and the church have a decisive potential. The article discusses the latest insights contributed by several theologians (Uta Pohl-Patalong, Tomáš Halík, etc.) regarding models of the congregation and church relevant to the future of Christianity, and analyses the project Erprobungsräumen of the Evangelical Church of Central Germany, aspiring towards new forms of congregations.

Management treasury church is something important in a church service, because urgent for accountability to congregation or people. The newly elected treasurers or deacons come from diverse educational backgrounds. Only few treasurers or deacons have knowledge related with management finance specifically treasury church. Based on this background, this activity was carried out to provide an understanding of treasury managers at GMIM Musafir Kleak in accordance with the GMIM church order and improve the ability of treasury managers at GMIM Musafir Kleak in the aspects of recording, depositing, and reporting in accordance with GMIM church order. The activity was carried out in two stages, the first stage was socialization regarding treasury management in accordance with church regulations. The second stage is an examination of the treasury manager at GMIM Musafir Kleak. The results of this activity greatly impacted the treasurers and deacons, because they gained an understanding of how to properly record and manage the congregation's finances in accordance with church regulations. Recommendations have also been given for improving treasury management regarding financial management which is expected to have an impact on improving services at GMIM Musafir Kleak.

Along with the development of the digital era and pandemic conditions have increased the need for systems capable of working remotely. This motivated the researchers to conduct observations at the Bethany Tower of Christ Church. Based on observations and interviews that have been conducted with church pastors and deacons, it is found that the system already owned by the church has a lack of features, one of which is the feature of submitting requests to the church. In addition, there is also a need to update features related to adding devotionals, news, and posts to make it more practical and efficient. The development of this system uses the Waterfall method in which in the process the researcher first conducts direct observation and research at the Bethany Tower of Christ Church followed by analyzing the needs of the church and congregation which results in the design of a congregation management system. As for after the design is done, the system implementation is carried out. After that, researchers conducted testing of system maintenance. Based on the overall results obtained from the survey of respondents' assessment of the website, an average assessment of 87.3% was obtained, indicating that the website is feasible and has impressive respondent satisfaction. Researchers still find shortcomings in the system created, namely the lack of some features and the presence of bugs that need to be fixed. However, researchers still hope that the designed system can be useful for congregations and churches and can continue to be developed and maintained so that the system can be better.

The phenomenon of early Christian triconchal churches on the Adriatic has already been noted in the scholarly literature. A separate study ‘Le basiliche cruciformi nell’area adriatica’ was published by S. Piussi in 1978, followed by N. Cambi with the 1984 publication ‘Triconchal churches on the Eastern Adriatic’. However, both scholars include triconchal churches in the typological group of ‘cruciform basilicas’ or treat them together with the churches which have three apses with spaces between them placed along the nave. However, because of their specific morphology consisting of the closely placed conchs and a large number of such examples in the Adriatic area, it seems justified to treat them as a separate typological group. These churches had originally been funerary chapels, but many of them subsequently grew into congregational spaces with complex liturgical functions. In addition, among the triconchal churches it is possible to discuss separately the type of a small triconchal cella without a nave, but sometimes provided with a narthex, as form which is different from similar chapels with a long entrance arm in front of the sanctuary. Based on this difference, it is possible to establish a different terminology which classifies cella trichora as the simple trefoil type, and triconchal churches as the more complex type. The latter is relatively numerous in the territory of late antique Dalmatia. The title of this paper stems from those buildings. However, they originate in cellae trichorae. Thus, in the introductory section I am discussing examples of these cellae in the Adriatic and the connection between their appearance and funerary traditions in the Mediterranean in general. The beginnings of Christian funerary architecture in Dalmatia are found in the grouping of round cellae in the cemeteries of ancient Salona, as known from N. Duval’s works, and in the presence of conchs next to the memorial chapel at Muline which was studied by M. Suić. I deem that the early Christian triconchal churches were created through the crystallisation of the forms present in the groups of funerary cellae in such complexes; cella trichora being the simplest form and triconchal church a more complex one. However, both are generically tied to the Roman tradition in pagan and early Christian funerary architecture. On the other hand, early Christian trefoil structures in the majority of examples stand next to the rustic villa which in itself speaks in favour of a private funerary function. Thus, it is important to assume that cellae trichorae and triconchal churches in the beginning represent early Christian memorial chapels, independent of the subsequent development of the complexes which enveloped them.Thus, the memorial chapel at Muline on the island of Ugljan is part of a larger funerary complex. It is still the most thoroughly researched group of early Christian buildings erected next to a Roman rustic villa in Dalmatia. Apart from a similar example at Brijuni, the Muline complex is crucial for the consideration and interpretation of the origins and development of Christianity in late antique rural areas on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic. It reflects the developed Christianity in the urban setting of Zadar. The owner of the villa was obviously a rich citizen who had a memorial chapel erected on his estate for a deceased person about whom we know nothing. The chapel nave is square. Two deep semicircular apses are found at the back; in the southern one was a sarcophagus. The second sarcophagus was buried under the pavement in the nave. Next to the façade was a protyron, a vestibule with a porch resting on two columns. A courtyard was subsequently added in front of the façade and provided with additional cellae around it. According to Suić’s analysis, it seems that the first layer of the memorial chapel was built in the fourth century. At that time it lacked a crystallized form of somewhat later triconchal churches on the Adriatic. Two original conchs at the back stand slightly apart. The third cella next to the back was subsequently added to the north wall. It has a rectangular ground plan similar to those around the courtyard. All this speaks in favour of a gradual multiplication of cellae around the original memorial, a process similar to that at the cemeteries in Salona. In this paper, I am discussing the phenomenon of early Christian and early medieval triconchal churches on the Adriatic. In doing so, I am only considering those which have three conchs along the sanctuary wall. Based on their form, function and date, I classify them into five groups.The first group one consists of relatively early, small cellae trichorae. They had originally been funerary chapels on private estates. The remains of these memorial chapels have been preserved in various locations along the Adriatic coast: from those at Concordia Sagittaria near Aquileia, Betika near Pula, to those at Gata near Salona and Doljani near Duklja. Older examples have been dated to the late fourth or to the first half of the fifth century, which seems to be the date of the formation of this type of Christian memorial.In the second group are somewhat more complex triconchal churches which, unlike the cellae, have a long nave in front of the sanctuary. They are found in the territory of the Roman Dalmatia and therefore referred to by the author as Dalmatian. Unlike the cellae trichorae, which in their original form do not have a long entrance arm preceding the sanctuary conchs like a nave, triconchal churches are characterised by this very element in the front part of the chapel. In this respect they are spatially more developed than the basic, cella trichora type, and thus probably represent a somewhat later variants of trefoil memorial chapels. It seems that the triconchal churches at Dalmatia were mostly built by the late fifth century or in the early sixth century.The third group consists of those churches from the second group which were transformed from the initial funerary chapels into complex triconchal basilicas. Similar to other types of original memorial chapels which were subsequently transformed into congregational churches in Dalmatia, these too were remodelled in mid-sixth century. Thus, by being enveloped by a ring of subsequently added rooms, some triconchal churches were transformed from the original memorial chapels into public congregational churches furnished with liturgical annexes, among which were baptisteries. Baptisteries in particular witness about the nature of the remodelled triconchal churches and newly created complexes, with a trefoil structure at the core. They indicate an increase in conversion of the population which probably caused the building of such structures. Of course, a similar development was shared by other types of originally private chapels in the time when churches were being built after the model of complex basilicas. However, in Dalmatia, there are no examples of such buildings before the age of Justinian i.e. before the second third of the sixth century. It is likely that the mentioned conversion occurred in this period. With it, many older churches, including triconchal churches, became cores of new complexes. Based on the examples of such a development, it is possible to speak convincingly of pre-Justinianic origins of the initial form of Dalmatian triconchal churches.The fourth group is formed by pre-Romanesque triconchal churches. Their morphology differs from early Christian triconchal churches, and they are represented by two subgroups of interesting early medieval churches in Dalmatia. In the first one are numerous centrally-planned buildings while in the second are two longitudinal structures. Both subgroups are characterised by a sanctuary with three semicircular apses. In the centrally-planned buildings they are placed radially and their axes originate at the centre of the rotunda. Thus, they were not arranged in a cruciform way towards the sanctuary as it had regularly been the case in early Christian cellae trichorae or triconchal churches, where the axes of the lateral apses are perpendicular to the axis of the central apse. However, the three conchs grouped at the sanctuary are a crucial spatial feature in the buildings of the first subgroup so, in principle, they can be referred to as triconchal structures. In this group are the church of Holy Trinity at Zadar and a number of Dalmatian hexaconchal churches, as well as the rotunda at Ošlje. In the second subgroup are the longitudinal churches of Holy Saviour at Vrh Rika near Cetina and the church at Lopuška glavica, both near Knin. These two churches have a long nave in front of the sanctuary, and three conchs along the sanctuary wall, as was the case with early Christian triconchal churches. However, the axes of the lateral conchs are not perpendicular to the axis of the main apse but are placed radially. The nave in the church is significantly wider than the diameter of the main apse. The original layout of the church of St Donatus at Zadar, as a free-standing rotunda, was probably created in the in the eighth century. All other pre-Romanesque triconchal churches in Dalmatia have been convincingly dated to the period between the mid-ninth century to the early decades of the tenth century.Finally, the fifth group consist of the Romanesque trefoil churches. These are small, cruciform cellae which have a short entrance arm at the front and three conchs grouped around the core at the back. The front usually rectangular and the conchs are semicircular. They are vaulted with semi-domed vaults. Above the core is a round drum with a dome. Two of those cellae are almost completely preserved and of particular interest due to the intersecting vault ribs below their domes. Stylistic characteristics of these buildings indicate the early Romanesque architectural features of the twelfth century. All other medieval triconchal churches in this group probably also belong to the wider Romanesque period.Finally, regardless of all similar spatial forms in antique and late antique secular buildings, it should be pointed out that the cellae trichorae and triconchal churches originated as Christian memorial chapels, inspired by the gglomerations of the earliest funerary a chapel installed in early Christian cemeteries. The triconchal shape of these chapels originated in these agglomerations and remained related to the funerary and memorial character. It can be concluded that the triconchal churches in Dalmatia were formed with relation to that character and that they persisted from the early Christian time to the mature middle ages. Perhaps it might be naive and mistaken to interpret the morphology of later buildings as being directly influenced by the earlier. Pre-Romanesque rotundas display a variety of triconchal forms which were not known in early Christian architecture of Dalmatia (except the hexaconchal interior of Zadar Baptistery). Nonetheless, polyconchal spaces of early medieval memorial buildings were furnished with a triconchal sanctuary of the same shape as those in early Christian triconchal buildings, and witness about the funerary function in the pre-Romanesque period. The Romanesque trefoil churches, however, recreated the original type, not as direct replicas of early Christian triconchal forms, but through their function, while their shape grew out of the reformation spirit of the great church reform in the Romanesque period. Thus, Dalmatian triconchal churches illustrate a continuous need for private memorial chapels which does not necessarily have to be triconchal but this particular shape has been discussed here because of its peculiarity. Already in the early Christian period, some trefoil structures outgrew their function of a family chapel to become churches for a larger community. That is why they were accompanied by additional liturgical functions and annexes necessary for monastic or parish churches. By this, they were transformed into complex basilicas with additional spaces while the original triconchal structure, situated at the centre, became the church, quadratum populi, sometimes surrounded by a series of interconnected rooms which served as an ambulatory. This might point to the possibility that in some cases the old funerary function of the original memorial chapel could have continued together with the new liturgical rites in the newly formed complex basilica as a congregational church. These changes did not take place in the medieval memorial structures although some hexaconchal churches and the octaconchal church at Ošlje were provided with new annexes soon after the initial building phase, and that added to the rotunda of St Donatus at Zadar included a gallery.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to develop a critical assessment of the history of the family of Dutch Reformed churches in Piketberg. The purpose of this is to determine a more adequate theological framework for the deconstruction of the traditional ecclesiological and socio-cultural anthropologies as a first step in the process of establishing sound ecclesiological and socio-cultural relations in the ongoing process of being church. Within this ecclesiological exploration, the focus will be on the schism within the once one Reformed congregation of Piketberg into three separate congregations and specifically on the unique understandings of the reasons for the divide along racial lines. The emphasis for this study is on the theological accountability of the church and all her members, with a specific emphasis on theological identity within the Reformed church in South Africa. The case study will thus focus on the stories of one particular place in the hope of raising more general ecclesiological questions of identity, culture and race.

Congregations throughout the nation are often the first responders when an individual or family needs extra support and care after a traumatic experience. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, church leaders were tasked with providing extra pastoral care in a unique way that kept every individual physically safe. A survey was completed to learn more about the educational preparedness of pastors specific to trauma, frequency of conversations about trauma before and during COVID-19, competency of church leaders before and during COVID-19, and experiences of collective trauma within congregations. This article focuses on the results of that survey to bring awareness to the lived experiences of church leaders and congregants when dealing with trauma

The liturgical section of The New English Hymnal contains musical settings for both eucharistie orders of the Church of England’s Alternative Service Book 1980. The modern-language service, Rite A, is provided with a newly-composed congregational setting in speech rhythm. The texts of Rite B use the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer, and are given a musical setting taken from The Booke of Common Praier Noted by John Marbeck, published in 1550. An accompaniment is added, and the text is adapted where the original is no longer accurate. Its inclusion in this new hymn-book is evidence of the popularity which Marbeck’s setting has enjoyed for more than a hundred years. Its rediscovery took place in the nineteenth century through the influence of the Tractarians and their successors, who sought to revive traditional liturgical practices such as the singing of plainsong during worship. The Booke of Common Praier Noted is a musical setting of parts of the first English Prayer Book, which had been promulgated in 1549. The appearance of a second Prayer Book in 1552 rendered Marbeck’s work obsolete, as the new book expresses a different attitude towards music in worship. The 1549 Prayer Book encourages singing in many of the services, not least the Office of Holy Communion. The clerks, singing-men usually in minor orders, are expected to take a full part, and the normal eucharistie celebration is one which is sung virtually throughout. The Offices in the 1552 Book contain very few references to singing, and the clerks are nowhere mentioned. The only direction for singing any part of the order for Holy Communion is found at the end, when ‘Glory be to God on high’ may be said or sung. A rubric at Morning Prayer allows for the singing of the lessons in that service and at Evening Prayer, as well as the Epistle and Gospel at Holy Communion, so that the people may hear them more clearly. It is possible that the retention of this reference to singing from the first Prayer Book may have been an oversight, as the rubric is situated away from the main body of the service.

This article investigates followers’ influence on the leadership process in congregations. A working hypothesis is that in church, people without formal leadership roles have considerable power. The main question in this article asks: What are characteristics of follower influence on the leadership process in local congregations? The article is a theoretical discussion of the problem guided by three questions: How are followers influencing leadership? What is a follower in church? What characterizes the leadership process in congregations? The theoretical perspectives applied in the first part are on followership and upward influence, seeking to understand how followers exercise influence. The second part of the article asks what a follower in the church is and what characterizes the leadership process in congregations. I have identified three characteristics relevant to the leader-follower relationship in congregations, i.e., voluntarism, an egalitarian push, and a commitment to theological values and purposes. These characteristics I have structured as organizational, cultural, and theological. In the discussion, I have related these identified characteristics of congregations to the theories of how followers influence leaders. The findings in the discussions suggest that the identified characteristics of congregations increase follower influence on the leadership process.