En studie av förståelser av diakoni och diakonat i tre nya storpastorat i Svenska kyrkan genom analys av styrdokument för diakoni. Tre diakoniförståelser lever samtidigt i de tre undersökta pastoraten, diakoni som omsorg, röstbärare och välfärdsaktör. Stora pastorat innebär möjligheter för diakonalt nytänkande genom att organisera diakoni på nya sätt, med specialiserade roller som ges ansvar för att driva utvecklingsarbete. De tre undersökta pastoraten vill i första hand utveckla en samarbetsroll gentemot välfärdssamhället. Pastoraten vill utveckla diakoni som professionell praktik genom gemensamma riktlinjer, metodutveckling och kvalitetssäkring av det diakonala arbetet. En tendens i materialet är att det gemenskapande diakonala arbetet i framtiden i högre grad kommer bäras av ideella medarbetare. Den liturgiska gestaltningen av diakoni har inte i något av pastoraten behandlats som en del av strategin för diakoni vilket innebär att möjligheter till en djupare förankring av diakoni som teologisk praktik inte tas tillvara. Avgränsningar och prioriteringar av pastoratens diakonala verksamhetsfält har inte lyfts till den strategiska nivån trots att omfattande arbete föreslås läggas till. Innebörden av detta är att pastoratsgemensamma mål kan bli svåra att realisera eller att de i förlängningen riskerar att utmatta en redan ansträngd diakoni.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:49:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA OLIVEIRA PAULO.pdf: 2082679 bytes, checksum: 7b51f313211dd727a40bc12c6c1e3d78 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-26 / The objectives of this study was the investigation of texts from the New Testament that concern the women s diakonia. We intend to investigate Lc 10,38-42 and Rm16,1-2, emphasizing Marta and Febe at the deacon minister. The reason was to recover the history of women s deacon in the socio-politics context of the first century, around the year 30 B.C., as Marta at the Jesus movement. The dissertation was subdivided in four chapters. We discuss Febe and the deacon minister around the years 56-57, date of the letter to the Jewish- Christian in Rome. We believe that these women played the same deacon activities in diverse time at the original Christianity. Febe did not follow, served Jesus and has not been healed by Him, because Jesus acted around the year 30 B.C. However, Febe was a deacon at the Paulinas Communities. We hope that the subject under study may bring new perspectives for future researches. / Nesta pesquisa temos como objetivo investigar textos do Novo Testamento que abordam a diaconia de mulheres. Pretendemos investigar Lc 10,38-42 e Rm 16,1-2 destacando Mar ta e Febe no ministério diaconal. O intuito é resgatar a história da diaconia de mulheres no contexto sóciopolítico do século primeiro, por volta do ano 30 d.C.; como é o caso de Marta no movimento de Jesus. Dividimos a dissertação em quatro capítulos. Abarcamos Febe e o ministério diaconal, por volta dos anos 56-57, data da carta à comunidade judaico-cristã em Roma. Acreditamos que essas mulheres exerceram a mesma atividade diaconal em épocas diversas nos cristianismos originários. Febe não seguiu, nem serviu a Jesus e nem mesmo foi curada por Ele, pois Jesus atuou por volta do ano 30 d.C.; enquanto Febe foi diácona das comunidades paulinas. Esperamos que o assunto pesquisado possa abrir novas perspectivas para futuras investigações.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to clarify the notion of diaconal nursing, to produce a description of diaconal nursing and to outline a model of it. The study was accomplished in three stages in accordance with the hybrid model developed by Schwarz-Barcott and Kim (2000). At the theoretical stage, the literature was searched for information of diaconal nursing. For this purpose, a discretionary sample of references dealing with diaconal work and nursing was collected in 1998–1999. The material was analyzed with methods of inductive content analysis. At the empirical stage, the narrative approach was used to collect experiential data about diaconal nursing. The data were collected in the form of written essays complemented by oral interviews. The narrators were a group of 70 senior nursing students with the orientation towards diaconal care, 36 teachers of diaconal care, two consecrated deaconess nurses from five polytechnics on different locations in Finland and eight nurses without diaconal education and four patients from the Kanta-Häme and Pirkanmaa regions. One of the informants was testing the diaconal nursing practice, and she discussed that in her personal narrative. The data were collected in 1998–2003. The substance of the empirical data was analyzed with holistic methods of narrative content analysis. At the analytical stage, diaconal nursing was described as a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical stages, and a model was constructed based on that description. The results indicated that nurses with and without diaconal education used different terms to describe diaconal nursing. Based on the model developed here, diaconal work and nursing are combined into diaconal nursing via the cultural level of religion. Diaconal nursing is a profession carried out in nursing environments and parishes by nurses with diaconal education. Knowledge of both nursing science and theology is applied. In addition to nursing interventions, caritative and liturgic interventions are also used in diaconal nursing. The term 'professional service' is in diaconal nursing. The interactive relationship is a professional human relationship, where the person being cared for receives care and compassion without an obligation to "pay back". For the nursing professional, actions accordant with the Christian view of humanity may be a resource in everyday nursing. The recipient of care is not expected to have a religious or other conviction. Diaconal nursing can be learnt through education, and being a professing Christian is not enough to make a nurse a professional of diaconal nursing. The knowledge produced is the study can be utilized in diaconal nursing instruction and helps students to encounter people in nursing practice. The model also provides insight for the development of diaconal nursing curricula in polytechnics. / Tiivistelmä Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selkiyttää käsitystä diakonisesta hoitotyöstä ja tuottaa kuvaus diakonisesta hoitotyöstä sekä rakentaa siitä malli. Tutkimus muodostuu kolmesta vaiheesta Schwarz - Barcottin ja Kimin (2000) kuvaaman hybridisen mallin mukaisesti. Teoreettisessa vaiheessa tehtävänä oli etsiä kirjallisuudesta tietoa diakonisesta hoitotyöstä. Tätä varten kerättiin 1998–1999 harkinnanvaraisella otannalla aineisto diakoniaa ja hoitotyötä käsittelevästä kirjallisuudesta. Aineisto analysoitiin induktiivisella sisällönanalyysilla. Empiirisessä vaiheessa koottiin narratiivista lähestymistapaa soveltaen kokemuksellista tietoa diakonisesta hoitotyöstä. Aineisto koottiin kirjoitelmina ja sitä täydennettiin haastatteluin. Kertojina oli 70 diakoniapainotteisen sairaanhoitajakoulutuksen päättävää opiskelijaa, 36 diakonian opettajaa, kaksi diakonian virkaan vihittyä sairaanhoitajaa viiden eri paikkakunnan ammattikorkeakoulusta sekä 8 sairaanhoitajaa ja 4 potilasta Kanta-Hämeestä ja Pirkanmaalta. Yksi kertojista testasi diakonista hoitotyötä hoitokäytännössä, josta hän tuotti sisäisen tarinansa. Aineisto koottiin 1998–2003 välisenä aikana. Aineisto analysoitiin holistis-sisällöllisesti narratiivisen aineiston analyysin mukaisesti. Analyyttisessa vaiheessa kuvattiin diakonista hoitotyötä teoreettisen ja empiirisen vaiheen muodostamana synteesinä, jonka perusteella siitä rakennettiin malli. Tulokset osoittivat, että diakoniaan kouluttautuneet ja kouluttautumattomat sairaanhoitajat puhuvat eri käsittein diakonisesta hoitotyöstä. Kehitetyn mallin mukaan diakonia ja hoitotyö yhdistyvät diakoniseksi hoitotyöksi uskonnon kulttuurisen tason kautta. Diakoninen hoitotyö on professio, jota tekevät diakoniseen hoitotyöhön kouluttautuneet sairaanhoitajat hoitotyön toimintaympäristöissä ja seurakunnissa. Siinä sovelletaan hoitotieteen ja teologian tietoa. Diakonisessa hoitotyössä toteutetaan hoitotyön auttamismenetelmien lisäksi karitatiivisia ja liturgisia auttamismenetelmiä. Diakonisessa hoitotyössä puhutaan ammatillisesta palvelemisesta. Vuorovaikutussuhde on ammatillinen lähimmäissuhde, jossa hoidettava kokee saavansa lahjomatonta hoitamista ja rakkauden tunnetta. Hoitotyöntekijälle kristillisen ihmiskäsityksen mukainen toiminta voi olla voimavara hoitamisen arjessa. Hoidettavana olevalta ihmiseltä ei edellytetä uskonnollista tai muuta vakaumusta. Diakoninen hoitotyö voidaan oppia koulutuksessa ja pelkkä hoitajan kristillinen vakaumus ei anna valmiuksia tähän työhön. Tutkimuksessa tuotettua tietoa voidaan hyödyntää hoitotyön opetuksessa ja sen seurauksena käytännön hoitotyössä ihmisen kohtaamisissa. Lisäksi tuotettu malli lisää ymmärrystä kehittää diakonista hoitotyötä opiskelevan sairaanhoitajan opetussuunnitelmaa ammattikorkeakoulussa.

The main purpose of this study is to find out how active clerics within the Church of Sweden experience working under the clerical vow of silence, which is mandatory for all clerical members practising individual pastoral care within the church organisation. Another purpose is to find out whether there are any occurring ethical or moral dilemmas related to the clerics’ experiences of their vow of silence. This study was conducted using semi-structured qualitative interviews with seven clerics from different parishes, mainly from the Stockholm region, with a minimum of five years of clerical work experience. The participants were asked how they regard the clerical vow of silence and if they ever considered breaking the vow during their careers. Furthermore, the participants were asked how the clerical vow of silence affects their everyday lives. The applied method for this study is the narrative analysis with a thematic approach, as described by Riessman (2008). This resulted in five recurrent main themes deriving from the interviewees answers to our main questions. Our result implies that the participants regard the clerical vow of silence as important, albeit being described as difficult to contain and cope with, thus giving rise to morally and ethically related dilemmas for some of the participants. / Huvudsyftet med denna studie är att ta reda på hur yrkesverksamma präster inom Svenska kyrkan upplever att arbeta med den absoluta tystnadsplikten, som omfattar Svenska kyrkans präster inom den enskilda själavården. Ytterligare ett syfte är att ta reda på huruvida det uppstår etiska eller moraliska dilemman i samband med deras erfarenheter av den absoluta tystnadsplikten. Genom semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer har dessa utförts med sju präster från olika församlingar i Sverige, främst i Stockholmsregionen, under förutsättningen att de har varit yrkesverksamma i minst fem år. Informanterna har tillfrågats hur de betraktar den absoluta tystnadsplikten och om de någonsin har funderat kring att bryta den. Vidare har informanterna även frågats hur den absoluta tystnadsplikten påverkar dem i deras vardagsliv. Genom att använda Riessmans (2008) tematiska narrativa analys har fem huvudteman uppkommit. Dessa teman utgör resultat utifrån informanternas svar kopplade till studiens frågeställningar. Resultatet visar att informanterna upplever den absoluta tystnadsplikten som meningsfull, samtidigt som den beskrivs som svårhanterlig och således har givit upphov till etiska och moraliska dilemman för vissa av informanterna.

Text in Afrikaans / Die (NG) kerk in Suid-Afrika bevind haar aan die begin van 'n nuwe millennium in 'n oorgangstydperk. Die NG Kerk se aandeel aan die sonde van apartheid hou verband met haar legitimering van die apartheidsideologie. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde het sy 'n apartheidsteologie verkondig, ten spyte van die ernstige vermanings wat ook vanuit eie geledere gemaak is. Die lot van noodlydendes in die land hou grootliks verband met die gevolge van apartheid. Hierdie studie wys op die noodsaaklikheid dat die kerk in die konteks van noodlydendes weer haar diakonale rol moet nastreef. Die studie ondersoek die transformasiekrag van die metafoor as integrerende deel van die denk- en taalsisteem van die mens. Die bewuswees van teenstellings tussen die toegepaste en nie-toegepaste onderskeidinge binne die betekenis van die gebruikte woord is verantwoordelik vir die spanning wat daar in die metaforiese woordgebruik bestaan. Laasgenoemde bied die metafoor 'n dinamiese krag. Die prediker kan as kreatiewe metafoorskepper die metafoor in prediking aanwend. Sodoende kan gelowiges geaktiveer word om voetewassers te word en kan die diakonale kerk profetieses die bevryding van nood verkondig. Die (NG) kerk in Suid-Afrika bevind haar aan die begin van 'n nuwe millennium in 'n oorgangstydperk. Die NG Kerk se aandeel aan die sonde van apartheid hou verband met haar legitimering van die apartheidsideologie. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde het sy 'n apartheidsteologie verkondig, ten spyte van die ernstige vermanings wat ook vanuit eie geledere gemaak is. Die lot van noodlydendes in die land hou grootliks verband met die gevolge van apartheid. Hierdie studie wys op die noodsaaklikheid dat die kerk in die konteks van noodlydendes weer haar diakonale rol moet nastreef. Die studie ondersoek die transformasiekrag van die metafoor as integrerende deel van die denk- en taalsisteem van die mens. Die bewuswees van teenstellings tussen die toegepaste en nie-toegepaste onderskeidinge binne die betekenis van die gebruikte woord is verantwoordelik vir die spanning wat daar in die metaforiese woordgebruik bestaan. Laasgenoemde bied die metafoor 'n dinamiese krag. Die prediker kan as kreatiewe metafoorskepper die metafoor in prediking aanwend. Sodoende kan gelowiges geaktiveer word om voetewassers te word en kan die diakonale kerk profetieses die bevryding van nood verkondig. / At the beginning of the new millennium, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa finds itself in a transitional period. The part the Dutch Reformed Church played in the sin of apartheid, can be directly ascribed to the legitimizing of the apartheid ideology. With reference to the above, the church preached an apartheid theology, in spite of serious warnings from within its own ranks. The misery of the 'suffering humanity' in our country is a direct result of apartheid. This study highlights the immense importance resting upon the Dutch Reformed Church to once again fulfil its diaconal role with reference to those who suffer. This study investigates the transformation power of the metaphor as integral part of the cognitive- and language systems of the human being. The awareness of the implied contradictions between the applied and non-applied parts in the meaning of the word creates a tension in metaphorical speech. The latter endows the metaphor with a dynamic power. The preacher may then apply creative metaphors in the sermon. He is therefore a creator of the metaphor. The effective use of the metaphor in preaching will enable him to empower his audience to be servants like Jesus. The effective use of metaphors in preaching will help to activate believers and will assist the diaconal church in relaying its prophetic message of salvation to those who suffer. Through the active conduct and unity of the church, those who suffer experience the salvation of the living Christ. This study implies that the preacher should approach the text from his own experience, combined with an existentional knowledge of the needs of the people in need, to the text. The study highlights the creative role of the preacher as creator of the metaphor, and the activation of believers in the context of those who suffer, so that the church may fulfill its diaconal role. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

The Church of Sweden had barely 6.5 million members in 2012. Just over 1% of the members visit a church service regularly every Sunday. The number of visitors in worship services has diminished continuously for a very long time. From 1990 to 2010, the annual number of visitors at the main worship services has decreased by 50% from 9 million to about 4.5 million. The service activities can still be maintained at the current level because the many passive members still pays their membership fee. According to the national documents from the Church of Sweden the Sunday service is the most important mission. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between the mission to celebrate divine worship as the official church gives local parishes and how this is perceived by the employees and the elected officials of the local parish. What are the similarities, differences and tensions between the mandate given by the Church of Sweden at the national level and the way performers perceive this? The study was based on three main documents: The Church Order for Church of Sweden (Kyrkoordningen), The theological basic principles for preparations for a new book of Common Prayer (2006), and the Explanations for the Proposal of the Book of Common Prayer. Part 1. Finally I analyzed the documentation (2011-2012) for preparation of the parish structural regulation on Northern Gotland. From these documents I formed 26 claims about the service that was presented to the informants in the attitude survey. The claims were then grouped into eight tentative quality dimensions for a "right celebrated worship", namely practical issues, faith, didactics, emotions, ethics, fellowship, diaconal issues and tradition. The empirical study was made in seven parishes in the North of Gotland. The informants were 34 employees and 40 elected officials. To this survey I added ten semi-structured interviews with the same groups. This study has essentially a religious sociological frame of reference. The main contribution of theories has been given by Grace Davie, Per Pettersson, Ole Riis and Linda Woodhead.  Davie analyzes North European churches which has or has had any ties to the State and where the majority of the population belongs to the Church, but very few members makes use of church services. Davie has described this in terms like "belonging without believing" or “vicarious religion”. Pettersson describes the relationship between the Church and the many members in service theoretical terms. He measures the quality of what the Church of Sweden offers as a service organization and from a theoretical perspective of this service. Riis and Woodhead have mainly contributed to this study through their theories about religion and emotions. The result of the study was that the elected officials were slightly more satisfied with the service as it is performed today compared with the employees. Overall, it was a surprisingly unanimous group that shall plan and develop the service. The elected officials emphasize the importance of parish church more than the employees while matters of faith are more important to the employees. The national documents often points to the importance of tradition. This ambition was not found in any of the groups in the study.

Summary in German and English / Die Arbeit untersucht aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive, wie das christliche Profil der (Gemeinwesen-) Diakonie dargestellt wird, welche Herausforderungen sich daraus ergeben und in welchem Bezug Mission dazu steht. Hierzu dienen die geschichtlichen Entwicklungen von Diakonie und Mission innerhalb Deutschlands und die Ausführung des ganzheitlichen Missionsverständnisses nach David J. Bosch als Grundlage. Die Arbeit zeigt, dass in der Verbindung von Theologie, Diakonie und der Sozialen Arbeit wesentliche Grundannahmen und -spannungen gegeben sind, die Parallelen zur Missionstheologie aufzeigen, welche aber nicht als ‚Mission’ benannt oder anerkannt werden.Das Ergebnis dieser Forschungsarbeit lautet, dass die missionarisch ganzheitlich verstandene Gemeinwesendiakonie einen Ausweg aus der mangelnden Praxisrelevanz theologischer Leitbilder darstellt und somit einen Beitrag zur Stärkung des christlichen Profils diakonischer Einrichtungen liefern kann. / Using an interdisciplinary perspective, this piece of work examines how the Christian profile of diaconal community work is portrayed, the challenges that emerge and how missionary work relates to the debate. The historical developments of social work and missionary work in Germany, as well as David J. Bosch’s holistic understanding of mission serve as a foundation for the analysis. The study will show that the relationship between theology, diaconal community work and social work reveals major assumptions and tensions which show parallel elements to a theology of mission but are not named or acknowledged as such. The conclusion of this study will state that diaconal community work, understood as holistic mission, can offer a solution to the decreasing relevance of theological mission statements and therefore contribute to strengthening the Christian profile of diaconal institutions. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Text in Afrikaans / Die (NG) kerk in Suid-Afrika bevind haar aan die begin van 'n nuwe millennium in 'n oorgangstydperk. Die NG Kerk se aandeel aan die sonde van apartheid hou verband met haar legitimering van die apartheidsideologie. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde het sy 'n apartheidsteologie verkondig, ten spyte van die ernstige vermanings wat ook vanuit eie geledere gemaak is. Die lot van noodlydendes in die land hou grootliks verband met die gevolge van apartheid. Hierdie studie wys op die noodsaaklikheid dat die kerk in die konteks van noodlydendes weer haar diakonale rol moet nastreef. Die studie ondersoek die transformasiekrag van die metafoor as integrerende deel van die denk- en taalsisteem van die mens. Die bewuswees van teenstellings tussen die toegepaste en nie-toegepaste onderskeidinge binne die betekenis van die gebruikte woord is verantwoordelik vir die spanning wat daar in die metaforiese woordgebruik bestaan. Laasgenoemde bied die metafoor 'n dinamiese krag. Die prediker kan as kreatiewe metafoorskepper die metafoor in prediking aanwend. Sodoende kan gelowiges geaktiveer word om voetewassers te word en kan die diakonale kerk profetieses die bevryding van nood verkondig. Die (NG) kerk in Suid-Afrika bevind haar aan die begin van 'n nuwe millennium in 'n oorgangstydperk. Die NG Kerk se aandeel aan die sonde van apartheid hou verband met haar legitimering van die apartheidsideologie. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde het sy 'n apartheidsteologie verkondig, ten spyte van die ernstige vermanings wat ook vanuit eie geledere gemaak is. Die lot van noodlydendes in die land hou grootliks verband met die gevolge van apartheid. Hierdie studie wys op die noodsaaklikheid dat die kerk in die konteks van noodlydendes weer haar diakonale rol moet nastreef. Die studie ondersoek die transformasiekrag van die metafoor as integrerende deel van die denk- en taalsisteem van die mens. Die bewuswees van teenstellings tussen die toegepaste en nie-toegepaste onderskeidinge binne die betekenis van die gebruikte woord is verantwoordelik vir die spanning wat daar in die metaforiese woordgebruik bestaan. Laasgenoemde bied die metafoor 'n dinamiese krag. Die prediker kan as kreatiewe metafoorskepper die metafoor in prediking aanwend. Sodoende kan gelowiges geaktiveer word om voetewassers te word en kan die diakonale kerk profetieses die bevryding van nood verkondig. / At the beginning of the new millennium, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa finds itself in a transitional period. The part the Dutch Reformed Church played in the sin of apartheid, can be directly ascribed to the legitimizing of the apartheid ideology. With reference to the above, the church preached an apartheid theology, in spite of serious warnings from within its own ranks. The misery of the 'suffering humanity' in our country is a direct result of apartheid. This study highlights the immense importance resting upon the Dutch Reformed Church to once again fulfil its diaconal role with reference to those who suffer. This study investigates the transformation power of the metaphor as integral part of the cognitive- and language systems of the human being. The awareness of the implied contradictions between the applied and non-applied parts in the meaning of the word creates a tension in metaphorical speech. The latter endows the metaphor with a dynamic power. The preacher may then apply creative metaphors in the sermon. He is therefore a creator of the metaphor. The effective use of the metaphor in preaching will enable him to empower his audience to be servants like Jesus. The effective use of metaphors in preaching will help to activate believers and will assist the diaconal church in relaying its prophetic message of salvation to those who suffer. Through the active conduct and unity of the church, those who suffer experience the salvation of the living Christ. This study implies that the preacher should approach the text from his own experience, combined with an existentional knowledge of the needs of the people in need, to the text. The study highlights the creative role of the preacher as creator of the metaphor, and the activation of believers in the context of those who suffer, so that the church may fulfill its diaconal role. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

Denna studie undersöker kyrkan som välfärdsaktör och belyser, utifrån intervjuer med professionella diakoniarbetare, hur protestantiskt kristna kyrkor i Sverige gör socialt arbete. Empiriska data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 15 diakoniarbetare fördelade över hela landet och analyserats med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Genom tematisering och kodning har tre huvudteman med underteman framträtt: Kyrkans roll i samhället, Självständighet och beroende samt Inkludering och exkludering. Av resultatet framkommer att kyrkan ser ett behov av välfärdstjänster utöver de som erbjuds av offentlig sektor. Många gånger anser sig kyrkan vara kapabel att utföra stöd och hjälp på ett sätt som offentliga myndigheter inte kan och därmed utgör ett komplement till offentliga aktörer. Exempelvis anser sig kyrkan inte enbart kunna möta människors fysiska nöd utan också sociala behov och existentiella frågor. Kyrkans omfattande krisberedskap och volontära krafter framhålls som en styrka och som viktiga resurser. Diakonin skiljer sig från socialt arbete på så sätt att den bygger på den kristna tron som också utgör en central del och en grund för kyrkans sociala förändringsarbete. Vidare belyser studien styrkor och svagheter hos civila välfärdsaktörer och problematiserar maktstrukturer i hjälpalliansen. Slutligen belyser studien vikten av professionell kompetens och ett kritiskt förhållningssätt i en organisation som drivs av välvilja och volontärt engagemang. Studien visar att en kritiskt reflekterande kyrka genom sina volontära resurser har potential att vara en viktig samarbetspartner för offentliga aktörer, en välfärdsaktör som är värd att tas på allvar. / This study examines churches as welfare actors and demonstrates how protestant churches in Sweden accomplish social work.  The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 professional diaconal workers from all over Sweden and analysed through a thematic analysis. Through thematisation and coding three main themes were identified: The role of churches in society, Independence and dependence and Inclusion and exclusion. The findings show that churches are seeing a need to offer welfare services as a complement to services offered by the public sector. The churches are often capable to offer support and help in a way that authorities are not able to offer and therefore they act as a compliment to public actors. For example, the churches can not only satisfy physical needs, but also the social needs and a support to deal with existential issues of people. The extensive crisis preparedness and voluntary resources of the churches are presented as a strength. In Sweden the diaconal work differs from social work, offered by the public sector, by building on Christian faith that is also an important component in the churches work for social change among vulnerable people. The study also exhibits strengths and weaknesses in civil society actors and problematises power structures in the help alliance. Finally, this study illustrates the importance of having professional competence and a critical approach in an organisation that is operated with kindness and voluntary engagement. The study shows that churches, through their voluntary resources and while maintaining a critical reflection, have the potential to be important collaboration partners for public actors, and are therefore welfare actors to be taken seriously.

Chapter 1 describes practical theology as a communicative operational science and stresses how important it is that a hermeneutical and narrative approach compliments it. It is shown that pastoral work must be launched from the church community. The premise is that the Enlightenment paradigm causes a reductionistic, individualistic and denominational approach to pastoral work. A holistic, comprehensive and ecologically orientated approach is proposed. Chapter 2 discusses the need for an ecosystemic approach as a metaparadigrn for practical theology in terms of the move away from the Newtonian view of science and the post-modem critiques of a technocratic society. This is supported by developments in systemic family therapy, constructionism and community psychology. Chapter 3 describes an interrelated ecclesiology as a base theory for practical theology and pastoral work with reference to the church's interrelation with society and the need to include an anthropology as part of an ecclesiology. This interrelationship implies that the serving (diakonia) and caring (koinonia) functions of the church should converge, forming a diaconal pastorate. In chapter 4 the secularised modem world-vie\v and the traditional African world-view, both functioning in South Africa, are employed to shed light upon the importance of the concept community for the church's pastoral work. The term community is broadened to include the idea of networking, emphasisingg that community is more than geographical proximity. Chapter 5 is a quantitative investigation. by means of a questionnaire, of the views (ecosystemic/non-ecosystemic) of pastoral workers regarding the church and of pastoral work. Chapter 6 discusses the implications of a community pastoral work approach. Pastoral work has a serving-caring role, but should also function prophetically, to conscientise. sensitise and empower people. The church as a healing community must become the springboard from which pastoral actions can face the challenge of AIDS (chapter 7). This will require the church to shift its paradigm from the reductionist, individualist approach, presently prevalent in society and church pastoral actions, to an all-encompassing. holistic one. / Practical Theology / Th.D. (Practical Theology)