Not Getting Stuck in Dryness - Strategies for Coping with Phases of Spiritual Dryness Among Religious Brothers and Sisters in Germany—Findings from Qualitative Interviews

Many believers experience phases of spiritual dryness in their lives coupled with feelings of exhaustion, confusion, and emotional emptiness. Even religious sisters and brothers experience such phases. But how do they cope with phases of spiritual dryness, and what resources do they use to overcome them? In a qualitative study, 30 religious brothers and sisters utilized four main categories of resources: internal reflective resources, internal spiritual resources, external personal resources, and external other resources. A primary strategy does not seem to exist for overcoming phases of spiritual dryness. In the context of this study, therefore, several resources emerged that were used in accordance with the triggers and were applied against the background of the life situation, context and attitudes, perceptions, behavioral competencies, resources, and abilities of the person concerned.

Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations

A growing body of literature explores how religious congregations shape attitudes toward mental health in racial/ethnic minority communities. Such research has primarily focused on the views of Black clergy and congregants, limiting our ability to understand how the views of Black Christians might differ from Christians in other racial/ethnic minority communities. We drew on focus groups with 14 pastors and interviews with 20 congregants from Black and Latino churches in Houston, Texas, to examine how church members make decisions about where to seek mental health care or direct others for help. We found that both Black and Latino Christians prefer seeking spiritual resources, like their pastor, when dealing with mental health issues, even though pastors feel limited in their ability to help congregants. The preferences of members of each racial/ethnic group, however, were driven by different logics. While Black Christians in this study sought spiritual resources based on perceived norms within the broader Black community, Latino Christians relied on pastoral care due to norms in their individual congregation. The results shed light on how religious beliefs, race/ethnicity, and social class intersect to shape attitudes toward mental health care in ways that have implications for potential partnerships between churches and mental health care providers.

Violence, War, and Capital Punishment in For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church

In response to the challenges presented by violence, war, and capital punishment, For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church argues that foundational liturgical, canonical, and spiritual resources invite the Church to manifest a foretaste of the fullness of God’s peace amidst the brokenness of a world that remains tragically inclined toward taking the lives of those who bear the divine image and likeness. It also summons the Church to engage people and power structures toward the end of enacting practical reforms that ameliorate the underlying causes of violence, a task especially urgent in light of the powerful weapons and technologies employed by governments today. While reflecting distinctive Orthodox sensibilities on the topics it addresses, the document also presents points of commonality with other Christian traditions of theological and moral reflection, especially concerning the obligation to take realistic initiatives in peacemaking.

Do Chronic Pain Patients Wish Spiritual Aspects to Be Integrated in Their Medical Treatment? A Cross-Sectional Study of Multiple Facilities

Background: Chronic pain is a complex, multidimensional experience. Spirituality is hypothesized to impact pain experience in various ways. Nevertheless, the role that spirituality plays in multimodal pain therapy remains controversial and, to date, quantitative data on whether and for which patients spiritual aspects should be considered in the treatment of chronic pain is lacking. The aim of this study was thus to investigate the proportion and characteristics of patients with chronic pain who wish spiritual aspects to be integrated in their treatment.Methods: Two hundred nine patients with chronic pain were recruited from five inpatient departments and outpatient clinics in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Patients filled out validated questionnaires, such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Resilience Scale (RS-11), the Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness (SpREUK), and the 12-item Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp-12).Results: More than 60% (CI95%: 55.5–67.9%) of the patients wanted to address spiritual aspects in their treatment. These patients were significantly younger, had higher levels of education, and suffered from more frequent and more severe pain than patients who did not wish to address spiritual aspects. Furthermore, there were high correlations with existing spiritual resources and higher scores of spirituality.Conclusions: These results confirm that the majority of chronic pain patients wish spiritual aspects to be considered in their treatment. Additionally, the finding that these patients had more spiritual resources underlines the importance of integrating spiritual aspects in a resource-oriented, patient-centered care approach for this condition.

PELATIHAN PEMBUATAN SARANA UPAKARA PABERSIHAN DALAM PENGABDIAN MASYARAKAT PINANDITA SANGGRAHA NUSANTARA KOORDINATOR WILAYAH NUSA TENGGARA BARAT

ABSTRAKAgama Hindu memiliki aneka budaya yang patut dilestarikan, dan dikembangkan keberadaannnya demi ajeg dan kuatnya budaya tersebut seperti misalnya dalam pembuatan sarana upacara upakara yang tujuannya sebagai sarana persembahan yang tulus ikhlas kehadapan Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa sebagai bentuk sradha bhakti memantapkan diri. Dalam sloka Bhagawadgita IX.26 menyatakan bahwa ‘’ Patrram Puspham Phalam Toyam, Yo Baktya Prayacchati, Tad Aham Bhakya Upahrtam, Asname prayatat manah’’ artinya Siapapun yang dengan kesujudan mempersembahkan padaku, sehelai daun sekuntum bunga, sebiji buah-buahan, seteguk air aku terima sebagai persembahan bagi orang yang berhati suci. Memaknai arti dari sloka tersebut diperlukan suatu upaya untuk memberikan pemahaman kepada masyarakat Hindu agar memiliki pemahaman konsep sehingga tidak terjadi salah tafsir dalam mengaplikasikan dalam tatanan kehidupan bermasyarakat. Hal tersebut yang berperan penting dalam memberikan informasi terkait sarana upakara yakni para rohaniwan yang telah di Dwijati dan Ekajati, Sulinggih dan Pinandita. Pinandita Sanggraha Nusantara Koordinator Wilayah Nusa Tenggara Barat sebagai organisasi kerohaniwan memiliki pogram kerja yang mengarah pada peningkatan sumber daya spiritual umat Hindu. Tujuan dilaksanakannya kegiatan “Pelatihan Pembuatan Upakara Pabersihan” ini ialah untuk mengoptimalkan peran dan tugas secara sosial, agar kreativitas seni metetuasan dapat dibangkitkan dan dilestarikan sebagai warisan budaya leluhur yang sangat mulia. Kata kunci: pelatihan; sarana upakara; pabersihan. ABSTRACTHinduism has a variety of cultures that should be preserved and developed its existence for the sake of ajeg and the strength of the culture, such as in the making of upakara ceremony facilities whose purpose as a means of offering sincerely before Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa as a form of sraddha bhakti established itself. In the sloka Bhagawadgita IX.26 states that '' Patrram Puspham Phalam Toyam, Yo Baktya Prayacchati, Tad Aham Bhakya Upahrtam, Asname prayatat manah'' means Anyone who intended to present to me, a leaf of a flower, a piece of fruit, a sip of water I received as an offering to a saintly person. Interpreting the meaning of the sloka is necessary to understand the Hindu community understand the concept so that there is no misinterpretation in applying it in public life. It plays an important role in providing information related to upakara facilities, namely the clergy who have been in Dwijati and Ekajati, Sulinggih and Pinandita. Pinandita Sanggraha Nusantara, Coordinator of West Nusa Tenggara Region as a spiritual organization, has a working program that leads to the increase of spiritual resources of Hindus. The purpose of the activity "Training on Making Upakara Pabersihan" is to optimize the role and tasks socially so that the creativity of the art of metetuasan can be raised and preserved as a very noble ancestral cultural heritage. . Keywords: training; upakara facilities; cleaning.

Partners, Not Providers: A Collaboration Typology for Congregations and Community

Scholars have long been interested in nonprofits, religious congregations, and their collaborative activity. This research builds upon past large-scale studies of congregations to suggest a nuanced understanding of how clergy approach congregational partnerships and make decisions about collaborating with community organizations. Using qualitative data from a geographically bounded sample of 30 Protestant congregations and grounded theory methodology, we suggest that clergy view their congregations as serving a different purpose from nonprofit partners and navigate numerous tensions inherent in congregational life in their pursuit of collaborative activity. We introduce a new typology of congregational collaboration that posits collaboration as a strategy for providing material and spiritual resources, in and outside of their congregations.

The Great Flood in Genesis 6–9: An Ecological Reading of the J and P Traditions

One of the not so obvious but deeply relevant factors in addressing climate change is religion and the interpretation of sacred texts, especially problematic ones. An example of problematic texts is the story of Noah and the great flood in Genesis 6–9. I will reread the Yahwist and Priestly versions of the story using a modified ecological triangle. This methodology looks at the dynamic relation between the divine and human, between the divine and non-human creatures, between humans and non-humans, and the inner dynamics of these three in the J and P narratives. The various insights gleaned from the investigation impact our rethinking of sacred texts in the age of the Anthropocene (the period during which human activity has been a dominant influence on climate and the environment), respecting boundaries in the context of the Capitalocene way of organizing the relations between humans and the rest of nature. The article provides additional spiritual resources in responding to the climate crisis, and grappling with disturbing images of God, humans, and non-humans in sacred texts in times of disasters.

Pentekostal spiritualitet, økoteologi og miljøengasjement

Pentecostal spirituality, eco-theology and environmental engagement: A contrition to the development of a Pentecostal spirituality that integrates eco-theology and environmental ethics. This article identifies resources and problems in the Pentecostal-Charismatic tradition concerning environmental action and engagement. The purpose is to motivate Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to reflect on how they should respond as the world faces the prospect of an ecological crisis. The study begins by identifying a core narrative in the Pentecostal-Charismatic tradition. This core narrative is used as a hermeneutical key to interpret eco-theological elements in the biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and final consummation. The study also discusses common objections towards eco-theology among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. These objections include the fear of an alternative or eco-centric spirituality, the implications of different forms of eschatology, and how Pentecostal and charismatic Christians understand their being in the world with regard to both evangelism and politics. The article argues that Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have spiritual resources that may empower them to transcend an anthropocentric worldview and develop a visionary virtue-ethic that may guide and enable a sustainable lifestyle and constructive environmental engagement. The article concludes by identifying seven themes that may encourage constructive action-reflection and stimulate further research.

Habad Contemplation in Context

Habad teachings on prayer give a personal, individualistic dimension to the life of the hasid, as do Bratslav teachings on hitbodedut. Further, Habad teachings on contemplation, particularly in the twentieth century, constitute an interesting form of response to modernity: a reaching into the deep spiritual resources of hasidism in order to confront a changing world. However, would spiritually demanding systems of contemplation be relevant to the average member of the hasidic community? Does Habad contemplation lead away from the world or towards it? Such issues are discussed in this chapter together with consideration of examples of the contemplative individual, who, rather than being a lone mystic, fulfils a significant role in Habad society as a mashpia, spiritual guide, seeking to bond people together and maintain awareness of spiritual values.