Listening to Place: Losing and Finding Our Place (original) (raw)
Related papers
Rooted in Christ, grounded in neighbourhoods – A theology of place
Verbum et Ecclesia, 2019
This research underscored the importance of developing a theology of place in the midst of a global sense of rootlessness, dislocation and displacement. This is significant because of the unfortunate lack of attention to theologies of place in Christian literature. It illustrated the possible rich contribution of mission theology to assist in developing a vision of place because of the emphasis on incarnation, contextualisation and inculturation in this theological discipline. This is enhanced by the important reflection on faithful presence and the restoration of the commons in missional ecclesiology. The research used literature study to develop the groundwork for a theology of place and to propose possible contours of a missiological engagement with a theology of place. This resulted in research that found that reality and contextuality demands a theology of place, which can be defined as an appreciation for the theological significance of specific geographic locations. The research developed the following contours of a theology of place, and introduced some ideas on each of these storied places, beautiful places, ugly places, holy and sacred places, places of exile and discomfort, places of healing and restoration, and quiet places. The research opened up a theological discourse on place and the implications of a theology of place for missional ecclesiology. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research challenges the relative lack of theological engagement with a theology of place and proposes an approach grounded in missional ecclesiology with its emphasis on incarnation to develop contours for a theology of place. Keywords: beautiful places; commons; dislocation; faithful presence; holy places; incarnation; missional ecclesiology; places of exile; places of healing; places of reflection; theology of place; storied places; ugly places.
Crossing at the Intersections: Placemaking and the Holy
2015
The sacred and the material interact in any number of ways. "Crossing at the Intersections" is ac ase studys howing missionalp lacemaking as one wayi n which the sacred meets the material. One might consider am agnificent cathedral, ar emote wilderness, or the endpoint of apilgrimage. In fact, there is adistinguished tradition of writing on sacred places. Some of this writing focusesonindividuals' spiritual experiences of divine presence in relation to the physical characteristics of ap lace. Belden Lane, for example, considers "places or landscapes that becomeembodied means of experiencing the divine presence." 1 For him, one can encounter the divine by paying attention to the immanent God at work in the glories of creation, and by thirsting for the un-graspable God in places of desolation. John Inge likewise focuses on the sacramental nature of directhuman experiences with the divine, highlighting the identity-forming power of our relationships to these places. 2 For the non-Christian who does not haveaccess to sacramental encounters, he calls on the Churchtooffer the next best thing, the virtue of neighborliness. Craig Bartholomew begs to movethe discussion beyond Christians' individual spiritual encounters. 3 In this vein, Philip Bess brings his architectural expertise to show how specific characteristics of places relate to specific theological positions and to social qualities like civic virtue. 4 Bess shows how aChristian view of the city can fundamentally shape the practice of architecture and design in away that promotes agood life for all. 1B elden Lane, Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrativei nA mericanS pirituality
A space of transition and transaction: A rejoinder to selected commentaries on place spirituality
Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 2019
This rejoinder acknowledges the empirical gaps and theoretical/theological disharmony highlighted in the three selected commentaries on Place Spirituality (PS), but we defend our central argument about the developmental pathways of PS. First, we provide an overview of recent studies on PS, highlighting what has been done so far in the field. Second, we draw from the commentaries to advance the understanding of PS in relation to three world religions: Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. Third, we evaluate the normative aspects of PS as a transactional versus transitional phenomenon. Finally, we defend the two contested developmental pathways to PS, involving the compensation and correspondence working models of attachment, while complementing these models using the motivational systems framework. We maintain that these models are relevant for understanding the relationship between religious attachment and place attachment among religious and non-religious people. Recommendations for further studies are made in relation to the broader implications of PS.
Home-Coming: Restoring a Theology of Place Within Christian Education
Innovating Christian Education Research
To be human is to dwell within a particular place-from the moment we are, we are "implaced." Christian education, as person forming communities, should therefore seek to curate, cultivate and celebrate implacement, particularly in a contemporary age where a haunting sense of placelessness shapes our current generation. This chapter invites Christian educators and leaders to restore a theology of place within the academy and explores the high importance of place and how geography, location, community and neighbourhoods are actually part of a grander story of God's sovereign purpose in and through creation. This chapter will review and explore a snapshot of the corpus of literature relating to the importance of place as a theological construct and will propose how an understanding and recognition of place can be used as a lens through which to curate the importance of place and implaced embodiment, within our Christian educational communities. The chapter will also explore how principles of placemaking within Christian education that are grounded in an incarnational posture can reflect and celebrate the significance of the incarnation of Christ whereby "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14 MSG). Keywords Christian education • Incarnation • Placemaking • Community In an age of increasing fragmentation, disconnection and social isolation, and where an aching sense of placelessness is prevalent across society; the restoration, application and celebration of a theology of place is of pressing importance. Christian education, as intentionally placed, person forming, interdependent learning environments, need to restore and re-imagine afresh the importance of a theology of place within their variegated educational communities. This chapter will review and explore a snapshot of the corpus of literature relating to the importance of place as a theological construct and will propose how an understanding and recognition of place can be used as a lens through which to cultivate and celebrate the importance of place and implaced embodiment within our Christian educational communities.
Recovering the Practice of Place
Why is "place" transparent to us? How does "place" differ from "space?" How are places our partners in redemption? What might the recovering of place and parish mean for us as missional communities?
SPACE & PLACE: Theological Perspectives on Living in the World
2019
The 5th Consultation of the Global Network for Public Theology. Hosted by the University of Bamberg (Germany) and the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Research Centre for Public Theology. I presented a paper at this conference: "BEHIND THE BLUE CARDS: mechanisms for the exclusion of a safe space" (or, Understanding Orthodox non-engagement to topics of LGBTQI+ human sexuality in the ecumenical space).
Religions
This article places the conceptual artist Gordon Matta-Clark in conversation with hermeneutical debates within the field of theological aesthetics. By exploring the transformative effect Matta-Clark’s Splitting evokes on spatially related categories, I argue that place is a locus of meaning, and that absence is a constitutive feature of that meaning. The hermeneutics at play in Matta-Clark have a set of formal features which is in accord with certain positions within theological aesthetics, namely: the particularities of place over the generalities of space, the constitutive role of both absence and presence for perception, and the formative power of these on human identity. A final section argues that while meaning is embedded in place, the imagination retains a vital place in the hermeneutical process through its “imaging” function in events of perception.
Where are you Church? An Invitation to a Vineyard Theology of Place
Despite being historically rooted in the California Jesus people revivals, around key figures such as John Wimber, Lonnie Frisbee and Kenn Gulliksen, the Vineyard movement has spread across the world in a relatively short period of time, echoing the fundamental displacement of contemporary culture. As a relationally connected family of scattered servants, the Vineyard is agile and relatively quick to reproduce - with thriving churches in a wide variety of settings. In some places, local Vineyard churches exist in and around pre-existing ‘parishes’, particularly in the United Kingdom and other countries where forms of Christianity such as Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism have been prevalent. As the Vineyard has spread from it’s Californian roots, and a generation of leaders emerges who have little or no experience of Wimber, Anaheim or Toronto, it is vital that the Vineyard considers the question of a theology of place. By asking the question ‘Where are you Church’, this paper offers some pointers to those seeking for reflection on the Vineyard’s ‘place’ within wider Christianity, it’s literal physical location in different neighbourhoods, and the motivating language of ‘movement’ that gives the Vineyard it’s distinctive flavour. Drawing on key voices from within and without the Vineyard, this paper proposes a Vineyard Theology of Place that echoes both Kingdom flexibility and historic rootedness.