In South Africa faith plays an important role in community-based volunteering related to HIV and AIDS work. Many community-based volunteers make use of their faith to provide healthcare and social services related to HIV and AIDS. This research examines this faith or religious vibrancy and critic two things: (1) to what extent such volunteers can be understood as a Religious Health Asset, and (2) what criteria can be used to consider community-based volunteers as a new form of the church emerging in a time of HIV and AIDS. The research first examines the concept of voluntary work in South Africa, particularly in times of HIV and AIDS. Field research relies on community based volunteers linked to Sinomlando, a research centre at the University of KwaZulu- Natal through participant observation and open ended interview method. I examine faith or religious aspects in volunteers serving the communities. The research notes that in community-based volunteering, the use of prayers, religious choruses and/or quoting of the Bible is a visible faith practice. I learnt that prayers and choruses are spontaneous, and they are volunteers’ expression and release of emotions caused by socio-economic stressors. The use of the Bible is not a common practice among groups of volunteers as it is with praying and singing. Given this, the thesis argues that faith practices in community-based volunteering can be understood as a religious health asset. Using the ecclesiogenesis theory of Leonardo Boff, the thesis then analyses whether these groups signify a new form of the church is emerging. However, the finding is that they do not constitute a new form of the church, but rather a new form of missionary spirituality as the laity is taking on the responsibility of living out their faith in a new context and in the face of new challenges. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This study intersects the disciplines of gender and development, feminist studies, and women’s theology. It is located within the socio-economic and political context of the region of Vulindlela, on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its subjects are poor and marginalised indigenous African women of faith who live in the area and attend the local Anglican churches. Engaging the theoretical debates of these three areas of gender studies, it argues that indigenous African women live by subjugated survival theologies. These working theologies are forged within a context of struggle for literal survival and give expression to the voices of millions of women in South Africa. Survival, it contends, intersects faith, feminisms, and development. Two potential locations of survival theologies of poor and marginalised women are identified in the study: the Mothers’ Union (MU), the Anglican women’s prayer union which is a part of the indigenous manyano movement, and a contextual Bible study group of women from the area. In the MU, an established site of women’s theology, rituals such as the wearing of the church uniform, extempore praying and preaching, and fundraising are practices which reveal aspects of subjugated survival theologies. In the contextual Bible study group, a new social site was established through the efforts of the author, in order to create a place for the safe articulation of these theologies. This aspect of the study explored the extent to which collaborative work amongst women across race and class is possible and the ways in which it furthers the liberative agenda of the women’s project. Employing postmodern notions of identity, subjectivity, agency, and historicised local knowledges, this study argues that survival faith needs to shape the way feminist paradigms understand notions of liberation, activism, and solidarity. It contends that these subjugated survival theologies pose a challenge to the academy and to the practice of the church because they are, in part, a resistance discourse which has not been recognised. The voice and agency of poor and marginalised women of Vulindlela is highlighted throughout and, the study argues, it is these voices that have been neglected in the women’s project. It is the subjugated knowledges of poor and marginalised women of faith that have to be recognised and recovered, if the women’s project is to truly reflect all South African women. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Following decades of political struggle in South Africa, the 27 April elections in 1994 offered many people a long-awaited chapter in their lives as democracy was ushered in. The researcher has observed that the result of this political change has had a profound impact on the people of South Africa, especially for the Black constituency, in many ways. The political changes caused thousands to move from the rural areas to live in the peri-urban or township areas for economic reasons. The uprooting of families from their original rural homes has had a negative effect on the new generation with respect to principles and values about marriage and family. The researcher has further observed that in the area of research at KwaNdengezi, as well as surrounding areas, the social, political and economic changes have contributed to an increase in separation and divorces and a general weakening of the moral fibre of families. The marriage and family system is under a lot of strain. There is a critical need for enrichment, growth and healing. As an ordained Methodist minister, the researcher has been fortunate to witness the development of various milestones of the Methodist Church, which has been an instrument of change in the Southern African context in the past decades. In the context of transition into “a New Land” (Olivier 1996: 1), the mission statement of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa has created a relevant message. The vision in the mission statement as declared in the MCSA Year Conference book is “A Christ-healed Africa for the Healing of Nations” (2010: 2). This is achieved by fervently “proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ for healing and transformation” by both ministers and laity (L & D 2010: 3). This study seeks to align and broaden the above MCSA vision through pastoral care and counselling. The intention is to precipitate the work done by clergy training laity in basic Christian care giving and counselling skills. This will hopefully address the apparent brokenness in marriages and families in the various contexts in the communities and precipitate healing and transformation. ii The approach of this thesis, whilst predominantly pastoral, is ecclesiological as well as missiological. Elements of contextual theology bring forth the cultural perspective of the community in the area of research as hermeneutical tools of reading scriptures are applied. A cross-cultural dialogue between existing Western pastoral care and counselling models and African care giving and counselling practices plays an important role in this study. Through fieldwork, data was collected via questionnaires, interviews, recording, transcribing, participant observation and empathetic listening to the responses of the participants in the communities of KwaNdengezi. Valuable themes emerged from the process of assessment and analysis through theological reflection on the data. The various themes emerged through engagement with married couples, single parents and families. These include communication skills, scriptural values in marriage, Zulu cultural values and customs in a Christian household, the parent-child relationship, family health matters, family finance matters, teenager problems, resolving conflict, forgiveness and healing. Emanating from the themes, the study seeks to publish a contextual booklet or manual on “marriage and family wholeness”. In an effort to bring about enrichment, growth and healing to marriages and families, the new programme intends to use the lay team trained in basic Christian counselling as resource people when marriage and family retreats are offered by the local church. The programme also emphasizes partnership and interdisciplinary engagement with other disciplines through engaging with, for instance, social workers, clinical psychologists, medical doctors, local congregations, ethical theologians and financial accountants. This study presents the programme as a new tool or model relevant for a specific cultural context. The context encompasses the Methodist people of KwaNdengezi near Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal. However, because of its cross-cultural dialogue, the model can be adapted for use in any cultural context as an enrichment, growth and iii healing tool for all people of God as they struggle with the complexities of marriage and family life in a changing world. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, December 1999.

This work is a contextual study of five selected biblical texts from the Fourth Gospel: John 2:1-12 and John 19:25-29; John 4:1-42; John 11:1-12:1-11 and John 18:15-17. Its aim is to read the selected texts with a Rwandan woman’s eyes, focusing on her peacemaking role and her potential as an agent of reconciliation. It is motivated by the context of the Rwandan situation during and after the catastrophic genocide of 1994. This work seeks to open the eyes of Rwandan women toward the role of peacemaking and unity-building by using a combined approach to conflict resolution. This approach includes the application of some theories in the domain of sociology, as well as the contextual biblical approach. Thus, it combines the capacity of awareness of conflicts in the community and its pain in the victim, and strives to restore the broken relationship caused by the conflict. The reading of the biblical texts with Rwandan eyes and the dialogue with the texts pointed out that the women used some tools in the gospel for success in the role of peacemaking and peace-building in their communities. The main tools are listed in the data findings of the exegesis. But mainly the transcendence of conflictual myths of origin to with kinship ties was found to be a major tool for breaking the kind of barriers which could lead to genocide. This research also highlights the failure of women in that domain because of their lack of transcendence of obligations based on regional and kinship ties. They fail to display their ubumuntu and their ubunyampinga. They rather point fingers at the victims instead of siding with or shielding them. Various suggestions are made for women to play a successful role in bringing about true and lasting peace and reconciliation, pointing out some ways in which Rwandan women can help to restore unity and trust among the population. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

My intention in this study was to assess the response of the ‗Anglican Church‘¹ of Tanzania to Ujamaa².Using archives and interviews as sources, I explored the reactions of Anglicans to the struggle for independence, the new regime and Ujamaa. I also explored the response of the political elite to these Anglicans' reactions to the new regime and Ujamaa. Furthermore, I investigated the consequences experienced by the church after the fall of Ujamaa in Tanzania. It emerged that when Tanganyika and Zanzibar had received their independence, the new African state authorities made rigorous changes so that their countries would reflect African identities. These efforts included an increase in the number of Africans in civil services (replacing Europeans and Indians), modification or changes of names of towns and cities, and the introduction of new policies. Named as Africanisation,³ this development had far reaching impacts on the establishment of the two countries. They merged to form the United Republic of Tanzania and then declared Ujamaa the state policy. Ujamaa, which derived its meaning from the Kiswahili word Jamaa (a family member within an extended family whose utu (humanity) became meaningful only through watu (the community)⁴ was the choice because it signified ‗Tanzanian extended family‘— mtu ni watu (I am because we are). President Nyerere urged every individual, institution, the church included, to work for and live up to the Ujamaa goals.⁵ At a conference with religious leaders at Tabora, for example, Nyerere challenged the leaders to review the European inherited ‗traditions‘ of their churches which, according to him, were in conflict with the Ujamaa which the state was trying to promote.⁶ Although there were some reservations,⁷ the Anglican missions which became the state church of the colonial regime after World War I were faced with two crucial challenges. First was a demand for reorientation of their loyalty from the colonial government to the new state authority and the goals of Ujamaa. The discussion in chapters two, three, four and five of this study focused on this demand. Second was the whole question of whether Ujamaa was compatible with the Anglicanism they were propagating. This question was fully discussed in chapter six of this study. This study showed that changes, especially the ones which touched spiritual aspects of the people, were not easily received and that was what had brought the challenges which the church experienced. This was clearly analysed in chapter seven and the concluding chapter. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Ephraim Amu is a distinguished musician. He is well known for his advocacy on African tradition and culture. Amu's pride in the African personality has earned him a place in Ghana's hall of fame. It was in recognition of these achievements that his portrait was embossed on Ghana's highest currency, the Twenty Thousand Cedi note. But there is more to the Amu story. In this thesis I have drawn substantially on Amu's own works to demonstrate how, in fact, he is an exemplar of mother tongue apprehension of the Christian faith in Africa. Amu showed in his songs, diaries, sermons, letters, addresses and private papers that the mother tongue, in this case, Ewe and Twi can be used to express not only Christian experience but also to formulate theological ideas in an innovative and creative ways. Amu's credentials as "African statesman" and "a self-conscious nationalist" owe not so much to Pan-African ideologies as his understanding of African culture and tradition from a biblical perspective. Amu believed that the entire universe, including the African cosmos, was created by God from the very beginning as kronkronkron (pure), pepeepe (exact), and fitafitafita (without blemish). He wrestled with the problem of (evil) and how this may have polluted an otherwise unblemished creation. Amu also wrestled with the issue of human participation in God's work of creation and the extent to which humankind may have contributed to the desecration of creation. In spite of the pollution, Amu believed that creation can be redeemed and restored to its original status by cleansing with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This belief led him to adopt a positive stance towards African culture and tradition. Amu demonstrated this particularly in the use of language. Most of his sermons and notable musical compositions are in Twi or Ewe. He kept a diary in his mother tongue, Ewe, for almost seventy years. Amu demonstrated that by using indigenous African languages it is possible to make a fresh contribution to theological issues and thereby present African Christianity as an authentic expression to God and capable of contributing to world Christianity. Apart from language, Amu believed that other elements in the African tradition could be employed to express the Christian faith. It is in this regard that his contribution to Christian worship, particularly the use of indigenous musical instruments, must be appreciated. Amu's realisation, that "There are deep truths underlying our indigenous religions, truths which are dim representations of the great Christian truths", led him to deal with the perception that / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This study focuses on the history of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and United Methodist churches reaction to HIV and AIDS in Manicaland province, Zimbabwe between 1985 and 2005. It attempts to document and analyse what the three so called ‗mainline‘ churches did and failed to do in responding to a new epidemic. The findings that culminated in this work were obtained mainly from primary written and oral sources that were collected between 2009 and 2011. These comprise oral testimonies of Christians from the Roman Catholic, Anglican and United Methodist churches including bishops and lay members of the churches. In addition, information from medical personnel serving at the churches‘ healthcare as well as that from officers serving in the National AIDS Council (NAC) and the Zimbabwe Association of Church-Related Hospitals (ZACH) were incorporated. Primary written sources include statements issued by the church leaders, the synod and annual conference resolutions, the minutes of parish council meetings, the ad clerums, reports by the church HIV and AIDS structures among others. The study establishes that HIV and AIDS, which emerged in Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, definitely affected the church and also seeks to show that the churches‘ reactions in turn had an influence on the epidemic. The state came out to publicly acknowledge AIDS in Zimbabwe in 1985 and two years later the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops‘ Conference became the first ecclesiastical body to issue a statement on HIV and AIDS in 1987. In 1989 the churches issued a collective statement under the Heads of Christian Denominations (HOCD) in Zimbabwe, which publicised their views on the Christian response to AIDS. The messages were largely moralistic in nature and the churches maintained this stance throughout the period of study. However, it has also been established that the church healthcare centres were involved in accessing condoms to people living with HIV (PLHIV) and other members of the public. Throughout the twenty-two years covered by this study the church healthcare system made an impact on the epidemic through offering treatment to PLHIV. The input of the church healthcare system underwent a three phased evolutionary process: the complementary stage between 1985 and 1994, the church paralleling of the state healthcare system from 1995 to 1999, and replacement of the responsibility of the government in healthcare between 2000 and 2007. Generally, the responses have been subdivided into three phases, which were the early years: from 1985 to 1994, the middle years lasting between 1995 and 1999 and finally the later years falling between 2000 and 2007. The individual churches appear to have been involved in responding to HIV and AIDS with the same motive of serving humanity starting with their followers and moving beyond. Within the Roman Catholic Church the intervention such as care of PLHIV and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) became a national and diocesan priority that witnessed the birth of the Mutare Community Home Care project in 1992. The new initiative grew stronger over the years and expanded from nine to nineteen stations covering the province. The Anglican Church launched its institutional AIDS care initiatives between 1999 and 2006. The main thrust was on training of Anglicans in responding to the epidemic and the establishment of AIDS care and treatment centres in selected rural areas. Within the United Methodist Church, the thrust was on care of orphans and vulnerable children and home-care at the station, circuit and annual conference levels. All the three churches received donor funding for HIV and AIDS interventions and this became important at a time when the state healthcare and welfare systems were unable to provide care and support to people infected and affected by the epidemic. The study argues that indeed HIV and AIDS like other earlier epidemics such as Black Death in Europe and influenza in Southern Africa is a historical phenomenon which received mixed responses from the community including Christians. It brought to light some of the negative reactions such as denial, stigma and discrimination and yet the epidemic also drew in Christian communities, individuals and institutions to show compassion by caring for people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. At the institutional level bishops were in a dilemma of maintaining the moral teaching of the church on sexuality and yet they were also expected to be flexible in finding practical ways of preventing HIV. There were other dynamics such as culture, which prevented people from using condoms. The church followers made a very essential contribution in mitigating the effects of the epidemic by being the army of caregivers to people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. Despite their unique dedication to caring for AIDS clients, women were the most affected by the epidemic because of the patriarchal nature of the churches and the cultural perceptions of gender and sexuality. It is hoped that the churches will draw on this history to shape future HIV and AIDS interventions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not Sallie McFague's body of God model is an adequate resource for a Christian ecological theology. The study endeavours to evaluate, test and revise this particular theological model. It is located on the abstract and hypothetical level and is thus a non-empirical analysis of McFague's thought. The researcher analysed the body of God model by using theological and philosophical resources. Current literature on ecological theology was studied in order to formulate thirteen criteria for an adequate Christian theology. These criteria were used throughout the study to test the theology that accompanies McFague's model. The study analysed three key areas of McFague's thought: cosmology, anthropology and theology. It was found the body of God model tends towards reductionism, because it does not appear to endorse a coherent complexity hierarchy. This reductionism was apparent in the three key areas of McFague's thought. However, it was found the body of God model functions as a transformative metaphor that takes into account the social reality that affects the health of planet earth. Its strength is a clear orientation towards ethics that takes Jesus' praxis as its departure point. The researcher provides suggestions on how the body of God model may overcome reductionism. After consideration of the three key areas of McFague's thought, the researcher concluded that the body of God model is an adequate resource for a Christian ecological theology. It is suggested that this theological model is applicable to the South African context in three areas: the socio-economic reality and its impact on the natural environment, the land ownership and the issue of racism. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, [2006]

This dissertation on, "A theological analysis of African proverbs about Women with reference to proverbs from Gikuyu people," is set on the premise that there is a need for a new cultural hermeneutics that will move towards the deconstruction of the wrong attitudes against African women; that are experienced through some (African) proverbs; that have continued to misinform and misdirect the society. Seen from this perspective, the study boldly proposes that there is need to move towards conscientizing the society on the necessity for a change of attitude in order to redeem it from the typecasts that do harm to the society - which, ironically, includes the church of Jesus Christ in Africa. If the idea of the change of attitude is put into reality, then the society, the study urges, will have to uphold, create positive proverbs and dismantle the old ones, which are designed to distort a woman's image. This section therefore introduces the above contention. In conclusion the study recommends that African women scholars and theologians, together with the "concerned" men should publish books that will put to public domain the "newly" published and reconstituted proverbs and reach out to those who cannot read or write in seminars and in their respective communities. Otherwise, it would be defeatist to say that we are upholding some proverbs, creating new proverbs or dismantling some proverbs without engaging ourselves in publications that are geared towards re-doing the damage that is already there. In addition, the study urges that we should, make it a habit to severally quote the "new" proverbs in our speeches and in our publications - in our endeavour to bring a new community of men and women where the lion and the goat will sit together at a Kamukunji of interaction and genuine friendliness - and where none will be harmed or made to fear. In so doing, there would be no categorisation of goats versus lions - as all will be one people of God - reflecting the new humanity that will be created by the new cultural hermeneutics. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.