{"title":"Easter Day 2021","authors":"J. Astley","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2022.2048543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2022.2048543","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study offers an example of ‘standing theology’, as distinguished from sitting theology and kneeling theology. It was delivered at the Easter Day communion service, 2021 at a church in the Diocese of Durham. The readings were Isaiah 25: 6–9 and John 20: 1–18.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44753533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Challenge of Digital Ecclesiology for a Sacramental Church","authors":"M. Grundy","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2022.2048544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2022.2048544","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Until recently Christian worship has emphasised people coming together to participate as a community. The COVID pandemic has presented a challenge to this primary activity. It was no longer possible to attend church, receive the sacraments or to share faith in small groups. New means of sustaining faith communities had to be put in place in unprecedented ways. Researchers and authors have been swift to begin an analysis of the ways in which churches have responded. In particular the acceleration of the use of digital technology has been charted. We are fortunate that publishers have made research known more widely with books and research articles. Two of these, Ecclesiology for a digital Church: Theological reflections on the new normal edited by Heidi A. Campbell and John Dyer (SCM, 2022) and Holy Communion in contagious times: Celebrating the eucharist in the everyday and online worlds by Richard A. Burridge (Cascade Books, 2022) are discussed and analysed alongside others in this review article.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42402678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An introduction to Christian ethics: a New Testament perspective","authors":"M. Grundy","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2022.2036462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2022.2036462","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44936830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Church going gone: a biography of religion, doubt and faith","authors":"M. Grundy","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2021.2009130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2021.2009130","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45603167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Looking at the Birds, Considering the Lilies, and Perceiving God’s Grace in the Countryside: An Empirical Investigation in Hermeneutical Theory","authors":"Leslie J. Francis, Greg Smith, J. Astley","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2021.1968642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2021.1968642","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study is situated within the newly emerging interest in the concept of grace as a legitimate topic for empirical enquiry, and draws on the theoretical framework provided by the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics, an approach rooted in reader-perspective hermeneutical theory and in Jungian psychological type theory. Data were draw from two one-day workshops with Anglican Readers (lay ministers). On each occasion the participants were invited to divide into three separate groups according to their preferences for sensing or intuition (the two perceiving functions) and within these groups to explore the messages of grace in Matthew 6: 25–30 (Jesus’ invitation to look at the birds and to consider the lilies). The rich data gathered from these workshops generated insights into contemporary theologies of grace and also confirmed the hypothesis that biblical interpretation is shaped by the reader’s psychological type preference for sensing or for intuition.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48909041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reading Other People’s Prayers: A Pilot Study around a Prayer Tree at a Church Christmas Tree Festival","authors":"J. Muskett","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2021.1968639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2021.1968639","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This pilot study explores the extent to which adults attending a Christmas tree festival in a parish church read prayers hung by others on the festival prayer tree. In the growing body of empirical research on prayer content in public prayer spaces, the practice of reading others’ prayers has tended to be inferred from copying patterns evident in prayer books, rather than evidenced from on-site observation. To discover whether on-site observation is feasible, four 30-minute observations were conducted over two days around the festival prayer tree. Use of hand tally counters during these sessions revealed that on average 40% of festivalgoers who entered the chapel where the prayer tree was located read at least one prayer written by someone else. Possible motivations are discussed. On the basis of this limited pilot study, it is recommended that more sophisticated ethnographic work be carried out in prayer facilities of public spaces.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48320859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stewardship: Solution or Problem?","authors":"A. Village","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2021.1968643","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2021.1968643","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Jewish-Christian tradition has been partly blamed for creating an attitude towards the environment that sees it as something to be dominated by humans and exploited for their benefit. These traditions also stress the idea that humans are ‘stewards’ of creation, given the task to look after the planet for God. What does it mean to steward creation, and does stewardship offer a solution to the escalating ecological crisis? This article draws on the author’s research and experience to raise challenging questions for our generation.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43294812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experiencing Welcome","authors":"John Holdsworth","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2021.1968641","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2021.1968641","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study offers an example of ‘standing theology’, as distinguished from sitting theology and kneeling theology. The occasion was the midday Eucharist on day two of the St Mary’s Centre Annual Symposium in Practical Theology and Religious Education convened at Noddfa, Penmaenmawr, 12–14 November 2019. The Gospel was Matthew 10: 27–31, 40–42.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48815101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Some Reflections on the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4: 1-20; Matthew 13: 3-23; Luke 8: 5-15)","authors":"James M. M. Francis","doi":"10.1080/14704994.2021.1980657","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14704994.2021.1980657","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This short essay offers a study of the Parable of the Sower as a contribution to an exhortation to listen, connect and reflect. It explores sowing in the ancient world as a means to understanding the parable, and concludes how this may affirm the church in a rural setting.","PeriodicalId":41896,"journal":{"name":"Rural Theology-International Ecumencial and Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42473783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}