This study is about twinning partnerships between congregations in the Church of Sweden (CoS) and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). The study is about three congregations within the diocese of Härnösand that has twinning congregations within the diocese of Iringa. The aim of the study is to define values within the twinning congregations that are important to the CoS. The study is based on interviews with lay people, elected and employed people within CoS. Swedish informants have told me that they see the prayer being part of daily life in a more natural manner for the friends in Tanzania. “The prayer is real within the congregations in Tanzania”, the people of the CoS are saying. What is the value for the CoS of having twinning congregations with ELCT? What do the Swedish people gain of it and how is it affected of the economical differences between the twinning congregations?

The aim of this thesis is to analyse certain aspects connecting religion and narration (which is understood here as a common human faculty to think and express oneself in the form of narratives). The first part of the thesis is concerned with methodology; first of all, the issues of defining narrative are introduced and a more elaborate definition is presented. A complete methodology is then formulated with a help of several authors (mainly James W. Pennebaker and Mary Douglas) in order to distinguish particularities and functions of creating narratives in religious contexts. Two main points are stressed here: that the content of the narratives is often concerned with problematic aspects of experience and that the expression of these narratives is beneficial for their creators. The second part focuses on several religious institutions concerned with creation of narratives which are interpreted with the outlined methodology. In this manner, the act of confession in Catholicism, prayer in Christianity and certain healing rituals are described and interpreted. Conclusions of this thesis should help the reader get a basic idea of the way created narratives in religious contexts affect their authors.

Les Apophtegmes des Pères sont parvenus sous la forme de deux collections classiques de la fin du Ve s. qui regroupent les dits des grands ascètes surtout égyptiens des IVe-Ve s., ainsi que des anecdotes illustrant leur enseignement. C’est cette littérature fragmentaire, si influente, qui est étudiée ici pour déterminer ce qu’a été la prière de ces grands moines. Après une présentation des collections, une première partie est consacrée à la terminologie, puis à la typologie et aux modalités de la prière étudiées avec l’aide d’autres textes monastiques de même époque. La deuxième partie, sur le contexte historique, souligne l’importance pour l’évolution de la prière monastique qu’ont eue la polémique avec les messaliens, et celle avec les origénistes. Un dernier chapitre est consacré à un cas particulier important, celui d’Antoine le Grand, qui nous est connu par les Apophtegmes, mais aussi par ses lettres et la Vie que lui consacre Athanase. / The Apophtegmata Patrum reached us in the form of two classical collections of the late fifth century which regroup the sayings of the great ascetics of the fourth and the fifth century, especially Egyptian ones, as well as anecdotes illustrating their teaching. This influential, fragmentary literature is studied here in order to determine what the prayer of those great monks was. After the presentation of collections, Part I is devoted to terminology, then to typology and modalities of prayer which were studied with the help of other monastic texts of the same epoch. Part II examines the historical background and highlights the importance of the controversy with Messalians, and that with Origenists, for the evolution of the monastic prayer. The last chapter is dedicated to an important particular case, that of Anthony the Great, who is known to us by the Apophtegmata, as well as by his letters and his Life written by Athanasius.

This paper is a case study in Religion in Peace and Conflict, in which the role of religion and religious expression in Swedish education is examined. The focus of this case study is on Swedish public schools. It begins with a literature review into the role of multiculturalism and cosmopolitan theories in Swedish government and policies with a discussion of how this extends into education. This is followed by an overview of the history of religion in Sweden and Swedish schools. The impact that different stakeholders, including teachers, students, administrators, and parents, might have within the Swedish school systems is excavated as well as the impact that the school space might have on integration. A field study in three different Swedish schools was conducted and is described in this paper. The results of the data suggest that there is a clear distinction between non-religious students and the religious students. The case study points to the overall finding that practicing religious students in the Swedish public school does not have the same freedom of conscience as the majority of students and that Swedish religion education is not neutral, as is the state intends. Some objections in regards to rights claims and majority-minority group dynamics are also explored and discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:27:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria da Gloria Melo de Souza.pdf: 1348138 bytes, checksum: 7b3fbf342baf7cdea458863b14c0fcc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-11 / The objective of this work is making a critical analysis of the Divine Office of Communities, which is a proposal for the Liturgy of the Hours inculturated. The Divine Office of Communities, for over two decades of existence, has been a reference to communal prayer, which unites the richness of the ancient tradition of prayer of the Hours of the Church and the faith experiences of ecclesial communities, in dialogue with popular piety. The background motivation of this work is the realization of the need for a deeper critical analysis of the Divine Office of Communities. Specifying: the first part, offers an overview of the Divine Office of Communities, remembers its history, presents briefly the Hours of Office, its structure and elements, gestures and symbolic actions, music, ministries in the celebration of the craft and elements of inculturation found therein. The second part, which is the body of work consists of two phases: the description of instrumental analysis and application of this instrumental. The third part is devoted to the practice of the Divine Office of the Communities, their celebratory practice: some reports are presented to communities, groups and many people who celebrate this Office in the community or pray in private. We conclude that, truly, the Divine Office of Communities is a valuable proposal for Liturgy of the Hours inculturated and deserve to be approved by CNBB and recognized by the Apostolic See, as an alternative book Liturgy of the Hours for the people / O objetivo do presente trabalho é fazer a análise crítica do Ofício Divino das Comunidades, que é uma proposta de Liturgia das Horas inculturada. A primeira publicação deste livro litúrgico brasileiro data de 1988, e o mesmo já se encontra em sua décima quarta edição (2007). O Ofício Divino das Comunidades, ao longo de mais de duas décadas de existência, vem sendo uma referência de oração comunitária, que une as riquezas da antiga tradição da Oração das Horas da Igreja e as experiências de fé das comunidades eclesiais, em diálogo com a piedade popular. Este Ofício devolveu ao povo simples a possibilidade de celebrar no ritmo das horas, como o era nos primeiros séculos. A motivação de fundo desta tese foi a constatação da necessidade de uma análise crítica mais profunda do Ofício Divino das Comunidades. Maria da Penha Carpanedo, que pertence à equipe que elaborou este Ofício, e se dedicou, desde o início, e continua se dedicando à divulgação do mesmo, se ocupou de seu estudo, em sua dissertação de Mestrado intitulada: Ofício Divino das Comunidades, Liturgia das Horas inculturada (2002). No presente trabalho, analisa-se criticamente este Ofício, levando também em consideração a sua prática celebrativa. Especificando: na primeira parte, oferece-se uma visão de conjunto do Ofício Divino das Comunidades: recorda-se a sua história, apresenta-se brevemente as Horas deste Ofício, sua estrutura e elementos, seus gestos e ações simbólicas, a música, os ministérios na celebração do Ofício e os elementos de inculturação que nele se encontram. A segunda parte, que é o corpo do trabalho, compõe-se de dois momentos: a descrição do instrumental de análise e a aplicação deste instrumental. O referencial teórico do primeiro momento é a tradição da Liturgia das Horas, a sua história ao longo dos séculos. No segundo momento, aplica-se o instrumental de análise ao Ofício Divino das Comunidades; confronta-se, compara-se a sua estrutura e os seus elementos com a tradição da Liturgia das Horas. A terceira parte do trabalho é dedicada à práxis do Ofício Divino das Comunidades, à sua prática celebrativa: são apresentados alguns relatos de comunidades, grupos diversos e pessoas que celebram este Ofício em comunidade ou o rezam em particular. Conclui-se que, verdadeiramente, o Ofício Divino das Comunidades é uma proposta valiosa de Liturgia das Horas inculturada, merecendo ser aprovado pela CNBB e reconhecido pela Sé Apostólica, como livro alternativo de Liturgia das Horas para o povo

Children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are often secluded from society, as the condition is perceived to be a defect. These children constantly fidget, move, lose track of time, and forget to complete tasks, leading them to struggle within existing social environments. Additionally, in Qatar there is a need to educate society about ADHD. This research explores wearable solutions that alter behaviors through physical interactions and sensory engagements. In response to the challenges faced by ADHD, Qatari traditional attire has been customized to support children with time management, and communication between child, parent, and society. Additionally, these wearables challenge Qatari perspectives surrounding existing health conditions in Qatar. Design outcomes consists of clothing elements, driven and shaped by the experiences of ADHD children, their physical behavior, their senses like touch, smell and sight. It addresses the daily conduct of the ADHD child, and the relationship of the child and parent. By challenging existing norms and analyzing the Qatari traditional clothing (the Thobe, the Abaya and the Prayer Bead), design outcomes have been realized by experimenting and playing with materials, prototyping and 3D printing on fabric. Existing functions of zippers, pockets, beads, cuffs and technical construction of the outfit have been redesigned and reconstructed.

Thesis (D. Min.)--King's Seminary (Van Nuys, Calif.), 2003. / Includes bibliographical references and vita.

This thesis consists of four self-contained essays. Essay 1 (with Olof Åslund and Matz Dahlberg): In this essay we investigate the impact of commuter train access on individual labor market outcomes. Our study considers the exogenous introduction of a commuter train linking locations in the northern part of Uppsala County (Sweden) to the regional employment center, considerably decreasing commuting times by public transit to the center for those living close to the pre-existing railroad. Using difference-in-differences matching techniques on comprehensive individual panel data spanning over a decade, our intention-to-treat estimates show that the reform had mainly no impact on the earnings and employment development among the affected individuals. Essay 2: In this essay I look into the role of public transit for residential sorting by studying how the introduction of a commuter train linking locations in the northern part of Uppsala County (Sweden) to the regional employment center affected migration patterns in the areas served. Using a difference-in-difference(-in-difference) approach and comprehensive individual level data, I find that the commuter train had a positive effect on overall in-migration to the areas served and no effect on the average out-migration rate from these areas. With regards to sorting based on labor market status, I find no evidence of sorting based on employment status but some evidence that the train introduction increased the probability of moving out of the areas served for individuals with high labor incomes relative to the probability for individuals with lower income. Considering sorting along other lines than labor market status, the analysis suggests that people born in non-western countries came to be particularly attracted towards the areas served by the commuter train as compared to other similar areas. Essay 3: In this essay I look into the relation between housing mix and social mix in metropolitan Stockholm (Sweden) over the period 1990-2008. Using entropy measures, I find that although the distribution of tenure types over metropolitan Stockholm became somewhat more even over the studied period, people living in different tenure types still to a large extent tended to live in different parts of the city in 2008. The degree of residential segregation was much lower between different population groups. I further find that the mix of family types, and over time also of birth region groups and income groups, was rather different between different tenure types in the same municipality. The mix of different groups however tended to be similar within different tenure types in the same neighborhood. While the entropy measures provide a purely descriptive picture, the findings thus suggest that tenure type mix could be more useful for creating social mix at the municipal level than for creating social mix at the neighborhood level. Essay 4 (with Matz Dahlberg): The last decade’s immigration to western European countries has resulted in a culturally and religiously more diverse population in these countries. This diversification manifests itself in several ways, where one is through new features in the cityscape. Using a quasi-experimental approach, essay 4 examines how one such new feature, public calls to prayer, affects neighborhood dynamics (house prices and migration). The quasi-experiment is based on an unexpected political process that lead way to the first public call to prayer from a mosque in Sweden combined with rich (daily) information on housing sales. While our results indicate that the public calls to prayer increased house prices closer to the mosque, we find no evidence that the public calls to prayer served as a driver of residential segregation between natives and people born abroad around the mosque in question (no significant effects on migration behavior). Our findings are consistent with a story where some people have a willingness to pay for the possibility to more fully exert their religion which puts an upward pressure on housing in the vicinity of a mosque with public calls to prayer.

The Prayer Book of the Church of England reached South Africa as a part of the establishment of the British Administration at the Cape. In its new environment it obviously required some revision. The Book of 1662 reflected the political and social conditions of its time. lt was designed for a Church not immediately concerned with missionary work amongst heathen peoples but directly established under the Crown. The circumstances of a Church in the colonies, particularly when the colonies became self-governing, required some modernisation of language, some omission and adaptation of old prayers and some addition of new ones. Yet the Church appears to have been wary of attempting anything more than this, and it was especially reluctant to make any revision which might imply a doctrinal change. The consecration prayer in the liturgy -'our incomparable liturgy' - was particularly sacrosanct by virtue of long use and the accretion of sentimental associations. Revision of this part of the book would naturally be slow and hesitant and this is the revision with which we are concerned - the most interesting and important part of the history of the South African Prayer Book. Chapter 1, p. 6.

The dissertation is a study of the origins, development and contemporary manifestations of Christian retreats. It traces origins from the Biblical record until current retreats. Christian retreat is a period of withdrawal from usual activities to experience encounter with God through Christian prayer. Jesus' pattern of engagement in ministry and withdrawal is a vital basis for retreat. Other Biblical descriptions of retreat are studied. There is an examination of retreat experiences in Church history with a particular focus on monasticism, as a major expression of retreat life, and Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the modern retreat movement. Varieties of subsequent retreat types in the spiritualities of different traditions from the Protestant Reformation onwards are considered. The spectrum of study includes Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Pentecostal spiritualities. The study culminates in focusing on current Ignatian and other retreats in their many forms. This includes private devotions to lengthy periods of retreat. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)