Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-68).

Thesis (M.A.P.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2006. / Vita. Text accompanied by two outlines: "The purpose of life review," and "Companions on the journey: traveling with those who are grieving." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-49).

No description available.

This essay aims to deliver and answer the question on what a valid christian approach for how self-love may look like. The purpose is to let the essay support as a critically constructive answer to the pastoral care in the Swedish church today which seems to lack a wider reflection of this subject. The material are the work of three caregivers which influence the way of talking about self and self-love in the Swedish Church today. The method used in this essay for answering the question is contextual idea analysis of Carl Henrik Grenholm and analysis-questions such as ”Where is the self?” ”What is the nature of the self?” ”What is a valid self love?” and ”How can the human being reach this self-love?” has been answered through the material. In a discussion with the material I suggest what I consider is a valid christian approach for how self-love looks like, which is that the human being should love herself through making authentic choices, and thereby being able to come close to the good and holy nature of herself which I argument for.

This research will focus on emotional trauma as a result of sexual abuse of a young girl within a family by a stepfather. This is a great challenge to pastoral caregivers within the context of South Africa in particular in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa; where sexual abuse within the family surroundings has become the norm. The impact of sexual abuse in young girls is vast and varied. The most commonly experienced impact of sexual abuse is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The most frequent observation among victims of sexual abuse is that the victimised young girl tend to engage in extreme sexualized behaviour compared to other young girls who are not sexually abused Since the abuse took place on and in the body; the body becomes the enemy. They carry a great deal of pain and memories. This is evident in Ann’s life; where she desperately tries to cope with the pain; which can lead to eating disorders, self-inflicting injuries, inability to have sex, or engaging in sex often, poor body image. This pastoral care study is an investigation of traumatic effects of sexual abuse of young girls by stepfathers. It seeks to give answers to questions like: - How does sexual abuse on young girls within a family impact on their lives? - Does sexual abuse that occurs in the life of a young girl affect the relationship within the family and community? - How do young girls fall into the sexual abuse trap? - How traumatically affected are young girls who grew up in a sexually abusive environment? - Can a male be a therapist for this abused girl? This study aims to deal with the pain of the survivors of sexual abuse and understand the background of these young girls. And to help survivors of sexual abuse to heal of all the wounds and year of trauma that they went through during their childhood and regain dignity and confidence, again, in life for their future sexual and family life. The first level of empowerment that this research seeks to achieve is to bring the survivor to accept and forgive the perpetrator in their future lives. Secondly, to assist the care giver to develop counselling models that would counsel sexual abuse survivors and their families. And lastly, to help survivors learn to cope and deal with this situation and understand that it is possible to live a positive life after the emotional and traumatic incidences that they had gone through. This research seeks to create awareness on the traumatic impact that sexual abuse has on the lives of young girls. The findings of this research will help pastoral caregivers, to deal effectively with this issue. This research will further empower young girls who have undergone sexual abuse to restore their dignity and, finally, help them to move from a place of paralysis to a place of being healers. The author undertakes this research with the assumption that Young girls that are raised within a sexual abusive environment are affected negatively by such experiences. From Ann’s experience, the author asserts that young girls are traumatized and may not function properly in the community as a result of this trauma. The findings of this study will allow the author to establish a pastoral care method which addresses the impact of traumatic and emotional sexual abuse towards young girls who grow up experiencing sexual abuse by stepfathers. And will be empowering pastoral caregivers, who experience such traumatic situations, to be able to help survivors heal from their own trauma and pain and then to become healing and transforming agents to other young girls. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Practical Theology / MA / Unrestricted

This research seeks to reveal the misuse of power by some church wardens, who are in the upper echelon in the parish leadership of the Anglican Church, in the diocese of Mthatha. It also seeks to reveal that as a result of this power abuse, the clergy as well as parishioners who voted these church wardens into the parish administration suffer trauma. There are also ensuing results manifested by cracks and crevices that are created in the Anglican Church, which are signs of an unhealthy church. In the endeavour to achieve his purpose, the author has embarked in conducting a research, with affected parties. Firstly, he encounters his own experiences as an incumbent of a parish. Then he approaches a parishioner who was aspiring to be admitted into the ordained ministry of the church who suffered at the hands of the churchwardens. Lastly, he approaches an ordained minister who was an incumbent of a parish who also received ill-treatment at the hands of churchwardens, as well as other clergy of various parishes whose stories could not be accommodated in this exercise because of space. Having established that the church wardens did misuse power and exceeded their terms of reference in the exercise of their duties as shepherds of the flock of God, he embarks on devising ways to come up with positive remedies of healing this incompetent administration of lay church officials. Firstly, he seeks to curb the power the church wardens assume to have. Then he draws a church of his dreams, a healthy church, led by healthy church leaders who are not lords over God’s flock but who pastorally take care of them, and leaders who are not corrupted by power, but always conscious of the fact that they are the servants of God. This exercise demonstrates that abuse of power in any church has disastrous effects and perpetrators should be stopped, if the church which is endowed with propagating the Gospel, wishes to be effective in its mission. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

No abstract available / Dissertation (MA (Research in Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

This study is aiming to investigate the psychological trauma that most people are experiencing during and after divorce and deconstruction of life. This investigation takes both of us into the role of St. Athanasius Parish- Fairfield at Mthatha which is at former Transkei in Eastern Cape. The problem which is caused by divorce, is physically, psychological, socially, economically and spiritual draining. The researchers concern through this thesis is to find out the role of the church as it seeks to take care for those affected by divorce. This thesis is an attempt to explore new theological perspective and utilize the available ones, which have already been dealing with issues that address trauma of divorce and to disclose their coping mechanism. The point of departure should be to equip those who embark on pastoral care in order to reach out to people who are based in rural areas who are experiencing the problem of divorce, deconstruction and reconstruction. Copyright / Dissertation (MA(Theol))--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

For decades, men in South Africa and many African countries have enjoyed the role of being the main providers and protectors of the family. The concept, “head of the family” implied a lot in terms of playing a leading role in the family. A man literarily became the main provider of the family while the woman was the family maker, i.e. looked after the family. Since the new dispensation in South Africa, the economic situation of women has improved tremendously. The campaign for the equality through the Gender Equality process and the Feminine Theology has seen many women coming out of the oppression of economy and climbing the ladders of prosperity and better live. On the hand, the policy of gender equality seems to have negative effects on the lives of men who had the privilege of having better salaries and enjoying the economic authority and being the major breadwinners in the family. Before this, many women’s salaries were just an augmentation of the husband’s salary and most of the financial transactions in the family were done in the name of the husband. Women could not buy on credit without the authorization of the husbands. With the new dispensation, all those barriers have been removed and women have been empowered to participate in the financial transactions without getting authorizations of their spouses. Once men lose their jobs or discover that their wives are earning far more than they do, they get depressed and their lives deteriorate hopelessly. They become alcoholics and sometimes take their own lives or decide to wipe out the whole family. This situation does not only confine itself to married couples, but to single men as well, especially the young ones. Many young women have the opportunity of going through tertiary education and are therefore earning better salaries and can afford to buy houses and cars independently from male counterparts. They do not need the security and comfort of men and can live on their own. It is because of the escalation of the phenomenon of traumatised men that the researcher was challenged to want to study it further, to see how prevalent it is and work with men to make them aware of it and to find ways of accepting it as a reality. The researcher further worked on a strategy to develop a counselling model or strategies for the Church to help the affected men and to prepare those who have not yet been involved to be ready. / Dissertation (MA(Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Children witness violence in the home in a number of different ways. They may see or hear the abusive episode, will experience the aftermath, and sense the tension in the build-up to the abuse. Even when the parents believe the children were unaware of what was happening, the children can often give detailed accounts of the events. Quite apart from possible physical involvement or direct abuse, these emotionally damaging actions have a detrimental and often long-lasting effect on the children. This research focuses on the problem field of Domestic violence as a devastating social problem that impacts every segment of the population. Primary system responses are principally targeted toward adult victims of this violence and abuse. However recent increased attention is now being focused on the children who witness domestic violence. Children are often the 'forgotten victims' of Domestic violence and abuse. They are affected not only by directly witnessing abuse. But also by living in an environment where one of their parent, who usually is the main caregiver, is being repeatedly victimised. Children in a home where one parent is being abused are also at a risk of being abused themselves. Number of factors comes into play as far as the extent to which children exposed to domestic violence are affected. Age and gender, how much they witness and whether or not they are personally involved in the abuse, their personality, among others will play a role in this regard. Children who live with domestic violence are exposed to increased risks. Among others, the risk of exposure to traumatic events and the risk of losing one or both of their parents. These have the potential to lead to negative outcomes for children and affect their well-being, and stability. Children who have had exposure to domestic violence are likely to experience any or all of the following problems: emotional; behavioural; cognitive and attitudinal; physical; and long-term problems. Children's risk levels and reactions to domestic violence exist on a continuum where some children demonstrate enormous resiliency while others show signs of significant maladaptive adjustment. This has the ability and potential to lead to very serious psychological trauma with possible long-term effects, affecting not only the child's well-being during or shortly after the violence. But affecting the child's ability to build and maintain healthy relationships in his/her adult life. There is no classic of conceptual understanding and treatment of traumatized and troubled children. There is no archetypal therapeutic practice for traumatised children buttressed by pastoral counselling, forming a framework of shared assumptions, practices, and interpretive ideas. One suspects that the many clergypersons who seek to work with and help such children are struggling to find their way, with little to guide them and certainly no comprehensive model with which to work. This research does not seek to become a manual to aid clergy in helping traumatized children. But a navigation tool for the clergypersons who journeys with this young ones. The research will give attention to the issue of domestic violence, and provide a stark reminder that domestic violence breeds discomfort, disrupts normal life, especially in children. Furthermore the focus of this research is that domestic violence leaves a child traumatized. Thus the purpose here is inter alia, to reach out to such traumatized child as well as tapping into a child’s world; and to find healing for the traumatized child. <ul> <c>A Childhood Lost I am the eldest one of three I have two brothers younger than me When we were growing up our lives were sad Living at home with our mum and dad We had no money and very little food He spent it on drink and came home in a mood The teachers at my school said how well I did They must have known the secrets I hid How may pairs of glasses can one woman break? The bruises, the marks, the lives at stake That's why we slept out on the streets at night For me it was safer, so we used to take flight Away from the man supposed to protect Out into the darkness, did anyone suspect? For if we stayed I knew what it would mean A beating for mum would be heard or seen I envied my friends, they had happy lives With dads who actually loved their wives I am now older with kids of my own My dad's 56 and now lives alone He lost his kids, his home and his wife He's dying of cancer, now he's losing his life He’s no longer scary, he's no longer bad He's a Grandad who's dying, but he's still my dad. ~ T. </ul></c> / Dissertation (MA(Theol))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Practical Theology / unrestricted