This exploration involves the influence of a system of patriarchy on both women and men in an inclusive way within business context. The work attempts to move away from dualisms that stereotypically define gender according to patriarchy. The challenge of this work is to find ways of describing women and men that is less defined by gender and more about our similarities as human beings. It has been suggested in the research that the business environment is still a male dominated environment. It is therefore the intention of this work to encourage ways of defining ourselves that one person does not hold benefit one over another in an abusive way. As the system of patriarchy has been endorsed by the church, the research considers how the pastoral therapist may be relevant to the business environment. / Practical Theology / M. Th - Specialising in Pastoral Therapy

This dissertation of limited scope explored via a qualitative reflective approach how pastoral therapy and care practices contributed to workplace transformation and ethics at a factory that had to be restored to profitability. In Chapter 1, the study's research curiosity questions how pastoral therapy and care practices could inform business in its resistance of workplace trauma and injustice. The epistemology of contextual theology and social constructionism is reviewed in Chapter 2 in its support of the research. Themes and ideas such as; participatory ethical care, ethics, the prophetic role, narratives, workplace culture, witnessing and participant awareness and empowerment are applied to workplace culture transformation. Chapter 3 explores the factory's dominant story of low morale, financial loss and feelings of no hope for the future in context of discourses of capitalism. In resistance to the dominant story, Chapter 4 focuses on practices and experiences that supported the factory's alternative story and Chapter 5 reviews the factory's alternative story in context of purposeful transformation practice. Chapter 6 concludes the study by reflecting on the research curiosity, the research aims and the researcher's development. / Practical Theology / M. Th ((Specialising Past Therapy) Practical Theology)

The thesis argues that there is a need for Christian communal pastoral care and counselling practice beyond the individualistic Western pastoral care and counselling practices. The communal pastoral care model advocated by the author uses culturally gifted care-givers who follow spontaneous caring models. Several of the major books concerning communal pastoral care and counselling were reviewed. The author concludes that the church has been impoverished by ignoring the cultural gifts of the majority of members and the mutual communal care of the community. Pain and its healing in this thesis are understood in a culturally sensitive manner. Pastoral care must be done in context, in this case in the Vhavenda context. Hence the thesis looks systematically at the way in which the Vhavenda understand and heal pain from their cosmological perspective. The thesis engages in empirical research among the Vhavenda people using qualitative interview. The author selected five small communities to test for their understanding of pain and healing. He developed his own interview schedule. Themes encountered in interpreting the research results include pain as part of life. The thesis develops two sub-models of a Vhavenda-Christian culturally gifted model of communal care arguing the need of their incorporation into Christian communal care. They are “Kha ri vangulane” model which pictures pain as a thorn which people help to remove from a person; and the “khoro” or “dzulo” gathering which is family or community care-giving. A case study has illustrated how they are used.Finally, the author argues that the Bible is full of communal pictures which resonate well with the African people. Hence it is fairly easy to correlate the Vhavenda sense of community with the body of Christ model of Christian community as found in the Bible. The conclusion is that members of the Christian community need to reincorporate their culturally gifted care resources and integrate them with the biblical care. / Thesis (D. Th. (Practical Theology))

This insider research journey explores the meaning-making processes of female spousal caregivers in anticipatory mourning and the knowledges which they have gained in retrospect. The research traces the social constructions of meaning and how they influence the process of meaning-making. A phenomenological study was undertaken in which unstructured interviews were conducted with five bereaved participants, highlighting the unique way in which each woman made meaning of loss in anticipatory mourning. The main phenomenological themes to emerge from their meaning-making were: a) the significance of time; b) challenges and gifts; c) witnessing the decline; d) paradoxes; e) the significance of the spousal relationship; and f) spirituality. The therapeutic effect of telling the life story is explored in this study and the need for contextual pastoral care that is specific to the state of anticipatory mourning is highlighted. Finally, possibilities for co-constructive pastoral care are raised in the light of the research findings. / Practical Theology / M. Th. ( Practical Theology, with Specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

This research concerns disciplinary practices within a school system in Lesotho. The school that has been researched is a girl’s high school in Maseru (the capital of Lesotho). The school belongs to the Anglican Church. I (the researcher) am a Mosotho man and an English and Religious Studies teacher in this school. For a while I have been concerned about the way punishment happens in the school, often leaving girls feeling shamed and powerless in the face of authority. I have also noticed that these disciplinary practices are losing their effectiveness, in that girls are showing resistance to the system. In other words corporal punishment, which has been the traditional form of discipline, is proving ineffective in today’s world. The researcher also considers this form of discipline abusive of power. It is in the light of this that I worked within this system, both with pupils, as well as teachers, to explore alternative practices that might work with pupils, that are respectful of all parties concerned. The research is a participative action research, using collaborative narrative practices in working with both students and staff at the school. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

The research on "The healing touch of Nature in the context of pastoral therapy" illustrated the role of Nature in bringing healing to individual people in an urban context in South Africa. The role Nature plays in connecting the participants with God and how this positively affects their daily lives, has been central in the research. Through their interaction with Nature, the participants lead richer, more meaningful lives and experience a greater sense of well-being. Nature stimulates and elicits response as the digital world is set against the calm energy and "warmth of the earth". Through connection with God in Nature, the participants translate the healing metaphor into more tangible "language" – the "beautifying effect" of Nature. It is not the words that captivate, but the thoughts which the words carry. Mostly the research tells the story of the experiential knowledge of living in the intimate presence of God and the healing power of God‘s presence. This narrative is about a kind of knowing that can only come through Nature. The research offers a way of seeing Nature that could influence pastoral care today. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / Huisbesoek is 'n kerklike bandeling wat algemeen in gereformeerde kerke beoefen word. Die bandeling is omstrede en word geassosieer met baie besinning en bespreking. Hierdie studie gaan van die standpunt uit dat die teoriee grondliggend aan buisbesoek, nie in ooreenstemming is met die verwagtinge van lidmate nie. In die bantering van die probleem is die teorie van buisbesoek ondersoek met bebulp van 'n literatuur studie. Huisbesoek word ook beskrywe as pastorale sorg. Daarom is die teorie van pastorale so~g ook ondersoek. Empiriese navorsing is gedoen om die verwagtinge van lidmate te bepaal. 'n Ideografiese strategie is gebruik en lidmate is per onderboud gevra na bulle siening. Vanuit die ondersoek bet dit geblyk dat die teorie die praxis van buisbesoek in meeste instansies nie meer ondersteun nie. Vanuit die bevinding sluit die studie af met die trek van enkele riglyne, om teorie nader aan die verwagtinge van lidmate te bring. / Visitation is an activity generally practised in reformed churches. It is not without problems, and form the topic of many discussions. This study works from the premise that the theoretical foundation of visitation, are out of touch with the expectations of church members. In the approach to the problem, the theory of visitation is explored in a literary study. Because visitation can be described as pastoral care, the theory of care has been included in the study. Empirical research was done to ascertain the expectations of church members with regards to visitation. This has been done according to a idiographic strategy, by interviewing church members. From the research the conclusion was drawn that there is a gap between theory and praxis in regard to visitation. In the last paragraphs the author explores ways in which to bring theory closer to the expectations of members. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This dissertation examines the use made of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator in the pastoral work of Anglican Clergy. The practical theological focus of the study is reflection on praxis. Various theories of pastoral work are discussed. The history and development of the MBTI is given as well as the Jungian background to it. A qualitative research, grounded theory approach, is utilised. Interviews of 14 Anglican clergy generate the data for the research. The research questions are: "Why do Anglican clergy use the MBTI?"; "How do Anglican clergy use the MBTI?" The research findings show that Anglican clergy use the MBTI for the purpose of personal growth, clergy self-care, and understanding relationships. Anglican clergy attend workshops which encourage the application of MBTI insights in pastoral work. / Practical Theology / M Th. (Practical theology)

The pastoral visitation practice of Continuing Witness Training (CWT) is theoretically intended to cooperate with God to lead individuals to Christian conversion, but reconciles fewer individuals to God than anticipated. This empirical theological study of Praxis 1 analyzed the visited individuals' (1) perception of care-concern by the visitors, (2) post-visit positive mood, (3) satisfaction with the visit, (4) sense of God's presence in the visit, and (5) decision to pray to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ. in association with (a) the amount of the CWT presentation given, (b) the length of the visit, and (c) prior religious involvement. Greater amounts of the CWT presentation given resulted in greater satisfaction and greater conversion prayer. Longer pastoral visits resulted in greater satisfaction among females and males, in greater conversion prayer in females, and in higher post-visit positive mood in males. Lower prior religious involvement resulted in greater amounts of the CWT model presentation being given to females, and in greater conversion prayer in males. Although 60% of Individuals visited reported no or minimal religious involvement, the complete CWT presentation was given to only 19%, and a substantial portion of CWT was given to an additional 17%. Among this 36% of those visited who received the CWT presentation, 55% decided to pray to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This situational analysis identified four praxis problems: ( 1) inconsistent application of the CWT model with unchurched individuals, (2) dissatisfaction among 25% of individuals visited, (3) lack of sense of God's presence in the visit reported by 23% of individuals visited, and (4) 31% of those visited being outside the stated unchurched target population for CWT visits. These praxis problems and related findings in the descriplive theological research were addressed by formulating a revised practical theology upon which to base Praxis 2. This revised theology of evangelism incorporated a multi-modal model of pastoral role-fulfillment (inYolving ketygma, didache, and paraklesis) as an agogic situation of primary initiation of a person into the kingdom of God, by proposing multiple contacts within a pastoral theology of care and counseling. / Practical Theology / Th. D. (Practical Theology)

Text in Afrikaans / Een van die funksies van die Kerk is om vir sy lidmate te sorg. In die praktyk wil dit voorkom asof die Kerk se sorg meer gerig is op die adolessent en die volwassene. Vanwee verskeie faktore ontvang kinders baie min of geen sorg in die vorm van pastorate sorg of pastorate beraad nie. 'n Gespreksmetode van beraad slaag nie altyd as daar met kinders gewerk word nie. In die veld van die psigoterapie en maatskaplike werk word daar algemeen gebruik gemaak van spelterapie wanneer daar met kinders gewerk word. Laasgenoemde kan ook in die pastoraat met kinders gebruik word sonder om die unieke karakter van pastoraat verlore te laat gaan. Die Kerk kan langs hierdie weg ook sy pastorate verantwoordelikheid teenoor kinders nakom. / One of the functions of the Church is to care for people. The children, however, are often neglected with more attention being paid to the adolescent and adult. Moreover, the verbal approach used when pastors work with children who experience difficulties do not seem to address this fully. Play therapy, on the other hand, appears to be a useful means of addressing this deficiency. It is often used in psychotherapy and social work and can be used to good effect in the caring of the Church for children. Play therapy enables the pastor to fulfill the Church's obligation to care for children, without disregarding the unique character of pastoral care and pastoral counselling. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)