Text in Afrikaans / Die samelewing heleef tans groot veranderinge. Die kerk en gesinslewe word heide daardeur geraak. Al meer druk word op gesinslewe geplaas en daardeur verander gesinne se hehoeftes. Een van die grootste hehoeftes van gesinne is 'n hehoefte aan diepteverhoudings, medemenslike erkenning, emosionele sekuriteit en interpersoonlike intimiteit. Die kerk moet hierdie hehoeftes kan raaksien en aanspreek. Vir 'n hediening aan gesinne en deur gesinne, is dit noodsaaklik dat die gemeente opnuut weer God se plan met die gesin herontdek; die gemeente moet die gesin as 'n ekosistemiese eenheid verstaan en die ontwikkelingsfases en emosionele prosesse binne 'n gesinsisteem moet in ag geneem word. In hierdie studie word die selgemeente gehruik om moontlike antwoorde te hied vir die hehoeftes van gesinne. Die hevinding van hierdie studie is dat die selgemeente oor die potensiaal heskik om vir die gesin 'n ware tuiste te hied waar gelowige gesinne toegerus en opgehou kan word vir hulle roeping in die gemeente, die samelewing en die wereld. Die selgemeente kan 'n moontlike model vir 'n gesinshediening wees. / The church and family are both affected by the immense changes in society. Family needs change under the pressure of these changes. Among the greatest family needs are a relationship with depth, acknowledgement from fellow-man, emotional security and interpersonal intimacy. The church must recognise these needs and address them. A ministry to families must firstly rediscover God's plan for the family; secondly the family must be seen as an ecosystemic unity; thirdly development and emotional phases in the family must be understood and managed. I used the cell church model as a basis to develop a structure for family ministry. I found the cell church model to be essentially a relationship model. I came to the conclusion that the cell church model has the potential to be a genuine home for family; to be a basis from which the family can be built up and from which the family can be equipped for their calling. Thus, I found the cell church model to be a possible model for family ministry. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of working women when they announce their pregnancies, take maternity leave, transition back to work, and utilize flexible work policies. Using a qualitative methodology, transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed utilizing a life history approach. Key findings of the study are that women perceive more negative responses to the announcement of their pregnancies than positive ones. In terms of maternity and parental leave policies, all the participants had access to these benefits. Women found issues with financial adequacy, administration, and duration of these policies. Mothers found that financial support from the Canadian government was inadequate to allow them to take the full duration of the 52-week maternity and parental leave for which they were eligible. In addition, employer “top-up” payments were limited and administrative details of maternity leave were often not discussed fully with pregnant workers. When women returned to work, they found that workplaces did not offer resources such as a phased-in return to work or personnel to help them re-engage with their prior work projects. Women discussed the challenges of managing their dual roles of worker and mother and found that managers and coworkers put them in a mommy mould which lessened the quality of their assignments. New mothers found that they had difficultly juggling their work and home responsibilities, finding time for themselves, and receiving increased domestic support from their spouses. While some workplaces offered women flexible workplace policies, not all mothers chose to access them as they found these policies often negatively impacted their career progression. Other issues were a lack of flexible workplace policy transparency, inconsistent manager support, and difficulty maintaining a flexible schedule. Findings have major implications for an improved response from managers upon pregnancy announcement, improved dialogue among employers about increasing “top up” maternity leave pay to new mothers, developing a formal transition plan for new mothers returning to the workplace, and expanding the use of flexible workplace policies.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of working women when they announce their pregnancies, take maternity leave, transition back to work, and utilize flexible work policies. Using a qualitative methodology, transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed utilizing a life history approach. Key findings of the study are that women perceive more negative responses to the announcement of their pregnancies than positive ones. In terms of maternity and parental leave policies, all the participants had access to these benefits. Women found issues with financial adequacy, administration, and duration of these policies. Mothers found that financial support from the Canadian government was inadequate to allow them to take the full duration of the 52-week maternity and parental leave for which they were eligible. In addition, employer “top-up” payments were limited and administrative details of maternity leave were often not discussed fully with pregnant workers. When women returned to work, they found that workplaces did not offer resources such as a phased-in return to work or personnel to help them re-engage with their prior work projects. Women discussed the challenges of managing their dual roles of worker and mother and found that managers and coworkers put them in a mommy mould which lessened the quality of their assignments. New mothers found that they had difficultly juggling their work and home responsibilities, finding time for themselves, and receiving increased domestic support from their spouses. While some workplaces offered women flexible workplace policies, not all mothers chose to access them as they found these policies often negatively impacted their career progression. Other issues were a lack of flexible workplace policy transparency, inconsistent manager support, and difficulty maintaining a flexible schedule. Findings have major implications for an improved response from managers upon pregnancy announcement, improved dialogue among employers about increasing “top up” maternity leave pay to new mothers, developing a formal transition plan for new mothers returning to the workplace, and expanding the use of flexible workplace policies.