A little Bethel and the pledge of God’s presence: worship in the household during and after the pandemic

The COVID pandemic prompted most parishes to provide resources for worship in the household: service programs, websites with the Daily Office, pre-recorded worship, and live-streamed liturgies. Thus, the pandemic has drawn attention to household worship, a long-standing practice among Christians but one that has been frequently overlooked in seminary education and pastoral practice. This essay considers the sources alive in Anglican and Episcopal communities that support such practices and also considers the unfortunate tendency to create a learned dependency on religious professionals and the need to foster practices that cultivate Christian identity in the household.

Theo-Economics in Antiquity

This chapter discusses some of the contexts in which the gods and humans transacted in antiquity. To create an explanatory model, it introduces these contexts through objects: inscriptions, documents, coins, and other material evidence. The chapter first describes some theo-economic contexts that cultic sites provide, including banking, storage, and land management. From job contracts for religious professionals to imperially mediated disputes over sacred property, gods and humans regularly interacted with one another through the financial systems of temples. The chapter then considers examples of non-temple-related transactions. These material comparanda lay the groundwork for the analysis of Philippians throughout the rest of the book. While it would take a book-length project to fully describe the variety of theo-economic possibilities in antiquity, the chapter demonstrates the ubiquity of divine–human transactions and offers a preliminary map of the multiple ways in which theology and economy overlapped.

Introduction

This chapter begins with a narrative of gathering at the Nevertheless, She Preached conference. It offers a more personal connection to those experiencing gendered hurdles associated with the stained-glass ceiling, introduces the research setting, and presents the research questions. It also introduces the notion of sexism without sexists and connects this phenomenon to sexist patterns within progressive religious congregations as well as broader society. The chapter presents current national statistics demonstrating women pastors’ underrepresentation in other predominantly Christian denominations as well as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship specifically, surveys existing research on the stained-glass ceiling, and identifies the gaps in the literature. Finally, this introductory chapter provides a historical overview of the theoretical framework of gender structure. Given that this book is intended for those studying gender as well as religious professionals and churchgoers, time is allowed for dismantling gender essentialism and explaining the concepts of gender, gendered organizations, and gender structure. Additionally, the introduction provides a description of the methodology and the congregations included in the study and concludes with chapter summaries.

The Converging of the Ways?—What Sabbath Practice Can Teach Us about Jewish-Christian and Intra-Religious Relations Today

Given the tenuous relationship Christians have had with Jews over the centuries, not to mention division among Christianity on points of doctrine and practice, a contemporary examination of the Sabbath could be an opportunity to bring Jews and Christians into further dialogue with each other, not on the basis of a shared written text, but rather the living texts of religious experience. However, a review of the literature reveals a scarcity of empirical research on the Sabbath, especially how religious professionals practice Sabbath as exemplars in their spheres of influence. In this study, I, therefore, offer a comparative description of my findings with respect to two practical theological studies I conducted on Shabbat/Sabbath practice, one with American pulpit rabbis and the other Seventh-day Adventist pastors. As a practical theological project, I offer a theological reflection of the data, followed by implications for theological (re)construction and revised praxis for the Church and Jewish-Christian relations.

Introduction: Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities

Since its launch in 2005, the Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University has initiated a range of projects concerned with issues of leadership, pastoral care, and the training of religious professionals working in British Muslim communities (Gilliat-Ray 2006; Gilliat-Ray 2010; Gilliat-Ray 2011; Ali and Gilliat-Ray 2012; Gilliat-Ray et al [...]

Moral and spiritual aspects in counseling: Recent development in the West

<p class="AbstrakAGC"><span lang="NL">This paper aims to explore the moral and spiritual dimensions of counseling. Since professional counseling has developed in the West, the cultural identity and individualistic orientation of identity has entered the counseling profession. Recently a surge of interest in spirituality and religion has been noted with several treatments focused on a new approach to counseling. The new approach shows that spirituality in life is central to individuals, families and communities. Therapists examine the relationship between spirituality and general psychological health. Secular and religious professionals recognize the paradigm shift from illness to health and from individualism to collectivism. Counseling that develops from the premise of such a therapist must be free of value. The emergence of an integrated perspective with religious and spirituality counseling views has resulted in a fundamental conflict with the prevailing professional value system. Counselors still want to avoid the role of a moralist. The controversy also relates to the firmness one wants, the therapist attaching moral and spiritual dimensions while advocating certain values. Psychotherapy, as a moralistic company, requires modification in its training program. Therapists need to change their orientation, namely as scientists with deep moral or spiritual commitment. Clients need and demand reorientation like this. This profession has a claim to respond to the needs of its clients and it cannot ignore the impetus that arises in practice.</span></p>

Work-related Covid-19 transmission

ImportanceOur study helps fill the knowledge gap related to work-related transmission in the emerging coronaviral pandemic.ObjectiveTo demonstrate high-risk occupations for early coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) local transmission.MethodsIn this observational study, we extracted confirmed Covid-19 cases from governmental investigation reports in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. We followed each country/area for 40 days after its first locally transmitted case, and excluded all imported cases. We defined a possible work-related case as a worker with evidence of close contact with another confirmed case due to work, or an unknown contact history but likely to be infected in the working environment (e.g. an airport taxi driver). We calculated the case number for each occupation, and illustrated the temporal distribution of all possible work-related cases and healthcare worker (HCW) cases. The temporal distribution was further defined as early outbreak (the earliest 10 days of the following period) and late outbreak (11th to 40th days of the following period).ResultsWe identified 103 possible work-related cases (14.9%) among a total of 690 local transmissions. The five occupation groups with the most cases were healthcare workers (HCWs) (22%), drivers and transport workers (18%), services and sales workers (18%), cleaning and domestic workers (9%) and public safety workers (7%). Possible work-related transmission played a substantial role in early outbreak (47.7% of early cases).Occupations at risk varied from early outbreak (predominantly services and sales workers, drivers, construction laborers, and religious professionals) to late outbreak (predominantly HCWs, drivers, cleaning and domestic workers, police officers, and religious professionals).ConclusionsWork-related transmission is considerable in early Covid-19 outbreaks, and the elevated risk of infection was not limited to HCW. Implementing preventive/surveillance strategies for high-risk working populations is warranted.

Difficult texts: Matthew 23

Some Gospel verses have been criticized for engaging in hate speech or for being anti-Semitic: for example, the blood libel in Matthew and the categorization of Jews as ‘of the devil’ in John. However, the woes that Jesus declares upon scribes and Pharisees have received less attention. Although Matthew 23 is vulnerable to the accusation that it is anti-Semitic hate speech and should not be used in church, the criticism is misplaced as anachronistic and insensitive to the realities of the times and to the role the woes play in a prophetic critique of religious professionals. Furthermore, criticisms of the rhetoric tend to ignore the direction of the text against self-righteousness, including our own.