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The quest for collaborative ministry: an investigation into an elusive practice in the Church in Wales
Adams, Stephen P.
Adams, Stephen P.
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2019-07
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Abstract
Over at least fifty years, the Church in Wales (in common with the Church of
England) has repeatedly called for the establishment of collaborative ministry
(between clergy and between clergy and laity) both as a theological necessity and
to respond to changing patterns of parochial organisation. The need to make these
repeated exhortations implies that implementation has been at best patchy. My
own experience, together with an Appreciative Inquiry approach to interviews with
nine experienced clergy indicates that the culture of the institution is problematic
concerning collaborative practices – particularly about the exercise of power. Using
Pierre Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology, I locate my participants’ narratives within the
framework of their habitus, the field of the Church in Wales, and the symbolic
capital of individuals and groups. I argue that the Church in Wales defaults to
unhelpful hierarchical or managerial notions of ministry and mission that too often
set clergy and laity at odds with one another. I examine practices of teamwork that
create inclusion, psychological safety, and that are grounded in social models of the
Trinity. Such appropriation, in my assessment, establishes the groundwork for
effective collaborative practice and underpins the human flourishing that is at the
heart of the gospel.
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Adams, S. P. (2019). The quest for collaborative ministry: an investigation into an elusive practice in the Church in Wales (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, UK.
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University of Chester
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Thesis or dissertation
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en