Thesis (D. Min.)--McCormick Theological Seminary, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

The Protestant Church has a tradition of active participation in the life of the community. This tradition comes from a conviction that the church has a responsibility to work for the well-being of society. The United Church of Canada is active in the field of social action. It has also assumed responsibility for the operation of some social services. During the past twenty-five years the profession of social work has made tremendous strides and is now taking its place as one of the major professions. Many services, formerly offered by the church, are now included in distinctive social work agencies. The relationship between the church and these social work agencies is one that interests the writer. There are some within the church who would advocate a Protestant bloc of social services in the community, others feel the church's contribution must be indirect through the participation of its leaders and members in the work of the social agencies, and a few would restrict the church to a centre for worship and religious teaching. The secularism of the modern age has impelled many to consider the Protestant Church's relationship to education and social welfare. One of the principal home mission agencies of the Protestant church is the institutional church, a centre for a religious and social service ministry. These churches are situated in deteriorated parts of the city. Some would advocate an extension of this programme into the transitional areas of the city. This thesis has sought to examine the place of the church in social welfare programmes and to relate this to the study of an institutional church. First United Church is located on the periphery of a deteriorated area and is also adjacent to a transitional area in the city. Its programme has been studied in the light of its service to these specific areas. Finally, the Demonstration Housing Survey of the University of British Columbia is recommending that the Strathcona district be replanned and that a low-rent housing project be erected in this section of the city. Consideration has been given to the possible modification of services which would be indicated and the new opportunities for community service which would be presented if this project proceeds. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Page 250 was not included becasue it was a blank sheet. / <p>Relying on original research and breaking with the dominant interpretations offered so far by historians, this thesis argues that the United Church of Canada maintained an evangelical institutional identity between the 1930s and 1960s despite the fact that its leaders did not hold evangelical beliefs. For a variety of reasons, these leaders found it expedient to promote institutional practices of evangelism, moral reform, and Christian education that embodied evangelical characteristics and therefore projected an evangelical image of the church to its members and the public. At the same time, they personally rejected key evangelical beliefs, a fact that was reflected in the intentional omission of these beliefs from successive official theological statements of the church, although frankly non-evangelical sentiments were rarely found in such statements. This leadership paradigm, which coupled non-evangelical beliefs and evangelical institutional practices, endured into the 1960s.</p> <p>The tensions inherent between the non-evangelical beliefs held by church leaders and their promotion of evangelical institutional practices made it increasingly difficult for leaders to maintain this paradigm from the 1950s onward. Finally, a series of long-term and short-term catalysts both inside and outside the denomination which converged in the mid-l 960s caused church leaders to abandon the evangelical institutional practices of evangelism, moral reform and Christian education that had defined the church in preceding decades, and simultaneously to state openly their "liberal," non-evangelical beliefs. The result of this major shift, and the ensuing public controversy, was the collapse of the old paradigm and the public redefinition of the United Church as an unambiguously non-evangelical institution. Based on new research into the institutional activities of the United Church after 1930, this conclusion challenges traditional interpretations that have either overlooked the continuing evangelical practices of Canada's largest Protestant denomination or overestimated the extent of its commitment to evangelicalism in this period.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (D. Min.)--McCormick Theological Seminary, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis advisor: Mark S. Burrows / Ecclesiology in Motion: Ecumenical Vocation and the Developing Ecclesial Identity and Self-Understanding of the United Church of Christ (USA) By: Jason M. Donnelly Advisor: Mark S. BurrowsThis study explores the question of ecclesiology in the United Church of Christ by presenting a historically descriptive account of this church's developing ecclesial identity and self-understanding during the last two decades of the twentieth century. Chapter one, "Ecumenical Vocation and the Question of Ecclesiology in the United Church of Christ" considers the context and composition of the organic union that established the United Church of Christ in 1957, engages the founding documents and early developments of the UCC's ecclesial identity and self-understanding up to 1982, and situates this study within its larger historical, ecumenical, and theological contexts. Chapter two, "Corporate Expressions of Ecclesial Identity in the United Church of Christ" examines the emergence of a theologically descriptive tradition of ecclesial identity and self-understanding in the UCC. Proposing that this united and uniting church developed its own ecclesiological tradition in the process of responding to a series of ecumenical texts from the 1980s, this central chapter charts the gathering momentum of a maturing ecclesiological tradition evident in the processes and corporate responses of the UCC to these ecumenical texts as the young church remained faithful to its ecumenical vocation by adapting to an ecumenical context vastly different from the one that inspired the creation of the UCC in 1957. The four ecumenical texts that provoked these corporate expressions of the UCC's ecclesial identity between 1982 and 1995 include: Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, the 1982 text produced by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches; An Invitation to Action, the 1984 text produced from Series III of the Lutheran-Reformed Dialogue; The COCU Consensus, the 1984 text presented to the member churches of the Consultation on Church Union for formal action; and Churches in Covenant Communion, the 1988 text, also presented to the member churches of the Consultation on Church Union for formal action.Chapter three, "Deepening Ecclesial Self-Understanding" briefly explores the origins and ecclesiological significance of the UCC's three full-communion agreements, focusing primarily on the theological content behind the UCC's most recent full-communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Reformed Church of America.Chapter four, "Assembling the Expressions of Ecclesial Self-Understanding" presents the theological content expressed in the four corporate texts considered in chapter two in conversation with The Nature and Mission of the Church.Chapter five, "Conclusion" provides a brief overview of the study and suggestively explores the significance of what has been advanced in relation to the ecumenical movement in general and the UCC's ecclesiology in motion in particular. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The problem of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between the universal Gospel of Christ and modern nationalism, as seen in the history of four churches in the Philippines. The Philippines provides a significant setting for studying this relationship because of two factors. In the first place, nationalism has had a long and vigorous influence upon the Philippines, having for nearly a century helped shape the life of the nation, not only politically but religiously as well. Secondly, the Philippine churches--Roman Catholic, Independent Catholic, United Church of Christ, and Methodist--have each responded differently to nationalism. Thus, in one nation, a variety of responses by Christian churches to nationalism can be observed and evaluated. The method of the dissertation is twofold. First, it is theological and philosophical, through which five norms are proposed as a means of evaluating the relationship between the Christian faith and modern nationalism. These norms are arrived at in the light of contemporary ecumenical documents, especially those dealing with modern mission theory. They also grow out of the discipline of soctal ethics, in addition to the writer's experience as a missionary in the Philippines. Secondly, the dissertation is historical in method, Case studies of four churches are made in which is traced their development as they have each responded to, and been affected by, Philippine nationalism. The Roman Catholic Church brought Christianity to the Philippines at the beginning of Spanish colonial rule in the sixteenth century. Although the early missionaries enriched the islands by introducing many cultural and religious contributions, by the nineteenth century the Church had largely become a force of exploitation and oppression in the archipelago. Just as the government resisted demands for political reform and steps toward independence, so the religious orders--the real focus of power of the Church in the islands--opposed not only national independence but also resisted the development of an indigenous clergy. When the Philippine Revolution came, it was directed against the Church as well as the state. Much of the conflict between Philippine nationalism and Roman Catholicism has continued into the twentieth century due to the large degree of foreign missionary domination in the Church. The opposition of Roman Catholicism to Philippine nationalism resulted in the formation of the Philippine Independent Church in 1902 by Filipinos who wanted a Church led by Filipinos and responsive to Philippine nationalism. Hindered by poverty, lack of churches, and a shortage of trained priests, the Independent Church failed to grow beyond the two million who initially joined its ranks. Until recent years, it was motivated largely by nationalistic impulses and sought to develop a uniquely Filipino Christianity. The two largest Philippine Protestant churches--the United Church of Christ and the Methodist Church--have both had policies that were in harmony with the objective of Philippine nationalism for self-determination in the religious institutions of the country. At the same time they have not been narrowly bound by nationalistic policies. The United Church of Christ is completely independent in government and policies. Philippine Methodism, however, is organically related to American Methodism. This relationship in Methodism has caused some conflict with Philippine nationalism. An evaluation of the history of each church by use of the five norms substantiates four principal hypotheses: 1) Roman Catholicism has made a generally negative response to Philippine nationalism; 2) until recently, nationalism was the directive force in the Philippine Independent Church; 3) the Protestant churches have made a generally balanced response to Philippine nationalism; and 4) the positive response of Methodism to Philippine nationalism has been partially modified by its lack of autonomy. Further conclusions follow from these hypotheses. / 2031-01-01

In 2006, the United Church of Canada developed a website, WonderCafe.ca, that provided space for internet users to engage in discussions about religion and spirituality online. This website balanced user freedom to explore any topic of discussion with promoting the United Church to visitors. The website uses Web 2.0 technology, which gives internet users a great amount of freedom to shape the space that they participate in online. Using Kim Knott’s spatial analysis, this thesis explores the types of spaces created by the United Church and WonderCafe users. It also seeks to understand the factors the lead to the creation of WonderCafe, the tensions present on the website over its purpose, how one understands community online, the types of values highlighted within this community, and how internet space differs from offline space.

In 2006, the United Church of Canada developed a website, WonderCafe.ca, that provided space for internet users to engage in discussions about religion and spirituality online. This website balanced user freedom to explore any topic of discussion with promoting the United Church to visitors. The website uses Web 2.0 technology, which gives internet users a great amount of freedom to shape the space that they participate in online. Using Kim Knott’s spatial analysis, this thesis explores the types of spaces created by the United Church and WonderCafe users. It also seeks to understand the factors the lead to the creation of WonderCafe, the tensions present on the website over its purpose, how one understands community online, the types of values highlighted within this community, and how internet space differs from offline space.

The application of the 1984 Education Policy of the Division of World Outreach (DWO) of the United Church of Canada was examined in its "loosely coupled" context that is characterized by a consultative relationship based on trust in overseas partners and confidence in their choices of goals and objectives. Egon Guba's model of policy analysis, its policy-definition driven research process, and its categories of policy-in-intention and policy-in-implementation usefully assisted the appraisal of logical congruence between the goals and objectives stated in the 13 guidelines of the education policy (a policy-in-intention) and those stated in documents from a sample of supported programs (policies-in-implementation). In addition, the DWO's program-based budget practice was assessed for any relevant use of the Planning Programming Budgeting System (PBBS). Finally, a logical congruence between Guba's model and the PBBS model was probed for a possible synthesis. / Documents from 1981, 1985, and 1989 from the sample of five programs from five regions in three continents were reviewed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

In 2006, the United Church of Canada developed a website, WonderCafe.ca, that provided space for internet users to engage in discussions about religion and spirituality online. This website balanced user freedom to explore any topic of discussion with promoting the United Church to visitors. The website uses Web 2.0 technology, which gives internet users a great amount of freedom to shape the space that they participate in online. Using Kim Knott’s spatial analysis, this thesis explores the types of spaces created by the United Church and WonderCafe users. It also seeks to understand the factors the lead to the creation of WonderCafe, the tensions present on the website over its purpose, how one understands community online, the types of values highlighted within this community, and how internet space differs from offline space.