Doctor Theologiae / This research project is situated in the history of Christianity in Zambia with specific reference to the relationship between the United Church of Zambia and the New Jerusalem Church, one of the so-called African Instituted Churches (AICs). Since the 1950s numerous members of the UCZ have become attracted to the New Jerusalem Church. Why is this case? One may identify several factors in this regard, including the administration of sacraments such as Baptism and Holy Communion also the ministry of faith healing, the ministry of pastoral care the confession of sins and the assurance of pardon. In this research project I have investigated one such factor namely the role of the ministry of music in these two churches. The term ministry of music in this context refers to praise and worship in the liturgy, to the significance of church choirs, the role of music leaders, the appropriation of melodies from various sources, the use of musical instruments and then of course to the actual text of the hymns that are sung. In this research project the focus has been on a description and analysis of the lyrics of selected hymns. This is based on the observation that the hymns that are frequently sung constitute the “theology of laity”. This project has first identified those hymns that are frequently sung in selected congregations of the United Church of Zambia and the New Jerusalem Church. For this study five urban and five rural congregations of both churches were selected. The identification of such hymns was done through interviews with the local pastors and the musical leadership of the selected congregation. On the basis of this process of identification ten of these hymns in each of the four categories mentioned above were subjected to closer analysis. The question that was addressed is this: What similarities and differences may be identified in the text of hymns sung frequently in urban and rural congregations of the United Church of Zambia and the New Jerusalem Church? The point of comparison that was used in this regard is the soteriologies embedded in the text of the selected hymns, that is, the notions of salvation expressed through these hymns. The study therefore sought to identify, describe and analyse the underlying soteriologies in the ministry of music in these two churches. It also assessed the significance of the similarities and differences identified in this way. The assumption was that there may be different images of salvation embedded in such hymns and that these may partially account for attracting people to a particular church.

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.

No description available.

Thesis (D. Min.)--McCormick Theological Seminary, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

The work of mid-twentieth century psychoanalyst Melanie Klein stresses the importance of the phantasy world and its role within the human psyche. For Klein innate human destructive phantasies coexist with feelings of love, guilt, and reparation. Love and hate exist in tension with one another and one must cope with balancing these feelings. I will use the psychoanalytic concept of reparation as understood by Klein to explore the performance of apology and reparation. Reparation, for Klein, refers to the psychological need to make things good, that is to say, to mend and repair relationships with others. Using this concept this work will examine the United Church of Canada's 1986 and 1998 apologies to First Nations peoples for its involvement in the residential school system, as well as the Canadian government's “Statement of Reconciliation” and 2008 apology for residential schools. This work asks the question: are these apologies effective in their attempts to make amends for past injustices or are they examples of what Klein calls “manic reparation”, which works to conceal, hide, or preserve phantasies of aggression? Klein's theories will provide a new and evaluative theoretical lens to discuss apology. The academic study of apology currently seeks to find “categorical elements”, which are then used to decide if the apology is a “success.” But this approach is missing the important component of the implied reparative concept within an apology. An apology is not only a written text but also an act that can work to conceal or reveal the perpetrators’ view of their transgressions. Exploring the manifest and latent content of apologies will provide a richer insight into the apology process.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-160).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-142).

No description available.

Three significant theories have been advanced to explain the development of 19th century Canadian Church history: frontierism, metropolitanism and the church-sect typology. Consequently, the conclusion is that revivalism in Central Canada began to decline with the disappearance of the frontier from about 1820 or with the emergence of a complex society. For example, S. D. Clark suggested that the British Methodist organization had a profound influence on the Canadian Wesleyan Methodists, thereby resulting in the development of a sophisticated Methodist organization in Central Canada after 1832 and the decline of revivals. / No detailed studies of revivalism in Central Canada have been made for the period from 1830 to 1860. By studying the Wesleyan Methodist Church during the period delineated, this thesis demonstrates that the revival movement in Central Canada survived until at least 1860. Its success was determined more by Methodist preaching, programmes and doctrine than by any external factors.

For 141 years, The Ryerson Press was both a cultural engine for and a reflection of Canadian society. Founded in 1829 as the Methodist Book Room, it was Canada’s first English-language book publisher and became the largest textbook publisher in Canada. Its contributions to Canadian literature, particularly under long-time editor Lorne Pierce, were considerable. In 1970, however, the press was sold to American branch plant McGraw-Hill, causing a cultural and nationalist crisis in the publishing community. The purpose of this thesis is to explanation many of the factors causing the United Church to sell the House. The purchase of an expensive and outdated printing press in 1962 has been blamed for the sale, as has the general state of Canadian publishing at the time. However, the whole story is much more complex and includes publication choices, personnel shifts, management failures, financial ruin, organizational politics, inflation, and the massive cultural shift of the late 1960s. Specifically, the thesis looks at the succession crisis that followed Lorne Pierce’s retirement, the Woods, Gordon Management Report, the New Curriculum, The United Church Observer, the practice of hiring ministers as managers, the formation of the Division of Communication, the proposed merger of the United Church of Canada with the Anglican Church of Canada, and falling church membership.