Representations of Roman Catholic religious sisters’ responses to COVID-19 in the Zambian media

Despite the growing visibility of religious women’s responses to COVID-19 in the media, the discourses of religion and the pandemic in emerging scholarship were preoccupied with the responses of churches to COVID-19, and neglected the contributions of religious women to the pandemic in Zambia. This article, therefore, explores the interface between religion and COVID-19 through the representations of the responses of Roman Catholic religious sisters to the pandemic, in the media in Zambia, from a religious health asset (RHA) perspective. The study drew on two objectives, namely, to describe the representations of Roman Catholic religious sisters’ responses to COVID-19 in the media; and to explain the nature of the Roman Catholic religious sisters’ responses to the pandemic as represented in the media with a focus on the utilisation of RHAs. It drew on an interpretive case study in which data were collected through content analysis. It shows that the responses of the religious sisters were covered more in Catholic related media. These responses ranged from providing key COVID-19 messages, integrating COVID-19 in the existing programmes to providing basic equipment and food to the needy communities as shaped by the utilisation of RHAs at their disposal, and as informed by their prophetic mission. The article argues that the Roman Catholic religious sisters’ responses to the pandemic affirmed women’s active roles in combating the pandemic.Contribution: The article’s contribution lies in adding the narratives of women’s contributions to the pandemic in the early stages of the outbreak of COVID-19 to women theologies scholarship in Africa. And also, extending the utilisation of RHAs to the new pandemic and the implications it draws on the need for engendering religious responses to the pandemic by capturing women’s narratives during a pandemic as part of constructing women theologies in the face of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Deaconesses in Byzantium and Projects for Its Reconstruction at the Pre-Council Conference in Russia 1906

Introduction. The order of deaconesses in Byzantium was formed by the time of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The idea of the institutionalization of the women’s ministry was revived in the new conditions in Russia of the 19th – early 20th century because of the need for Church reforms. Materials and methods. A comparative analysis of the ancient order of deaconesses and the project of its reconstruction in Russia allows us to determine characteristics of the ministry and status of deaconesses that depended on the specific living conditions of the Church. The deaconesses in the Byzantine Empire were ministers of the Church: the bishop ordained widows or virgins between the ages of 40 and 60. Deaconesses kept chastity, had property rights, were assigned to a parish, helped priests at the baptism of women, and were subordinate to clergymen. By the 12th century, the female order in Byzantium disappeared, however the honorary title of deaconess could later be worn by the prioress of female monasteries. The Russian Church has never had deaconesses, but in the 19th – early 20th century projects were discussed for the reconstruction of this women’s ministry which was actively developing in the protestant tradition. The Pre-Council Conference in 1906 developed a draft of Church reforms, including the rules for orthodox deaconesses, who could be elected from active parishioners, not nuns. It was assumed that these women were supposed to keep order in the Church, help the priest in the parish, at the baptism and catechumenate of women, help the sick and the needy, in the so called “inner mission”. However, the undeveloped status of deaconesses as new ministers of the Church did not allow this project to be implemented. Results. The order of the deaconesses that disappeared in Byzantium and the attempt to restore it in Russia show that a stable institutionalization of women’s ministry took place only at a certain period in the history of the Church which needed it.

CHARITABLE ACTIVITY OF LYUBOVE IVANOVNA KURIS (1852-1935)

The article examines the life and charitable activities of the famous Kuris family representative in the South of Ukraine – Lyubov Ivanovna Kuris. Based on the primary sources study, archival documentation and publications of the Lyubov I. Kuris' life period, Lybov Ivanivna's activity in Odesa region charitable societies, in her own noble estate in her homeland and in Kurisovo-Pokrovsky is covered.Particular attention is paid to Kuris family charity tracing and continuing charitable work from generation to generation. Research of the charitable activity basis and types in the south of Ukraine.It is established that Lyubov I. Kuris continued to carry out charitable activities after her husband's mother, Lyubov Stanislavivna Kuris, who worked fruitfully for the benefit of the Odessa Women's Charitable Society until her death.Among the Lyubov Ivanovna main merits is the construction and maintenance of educational institutions, churches, patronage, assistance to sick children and the needy. Lyubov Ivanivna Kuris was fascinated by the idea of public education spreading. As a trustee of Kurisovo-Pokrovsky, she did a lot for the village school and school garden. In 1862, her father Ivan Alexandrovich Gizhitsky founded the first local school in Ryasnopil, which he maintained at his own expense until 1869. Later, Lyubov I. Kuris tried to continue his work.However, the greatest cause in the field of charity Lyubov I. Kuris was her participation in the work of the Odessa Society for the Sick Children Care. She devoted almost 30 years of her life to this activity, having done many good deeds and invested in it her Christian love, charity and unquenchable energy.Lyubov I. Kuris' activity as the chairman of the society allowed to establish contacts and involve many famous and influential people of the city. The main achievement of the Society was the medical station for children and a children's kitchen "Drop of Milk" construction. By 1901, more than 1,500 children had undergone a treatment full course at the sanitary station. Lyubov I. Kuris was also a member of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities, was a philanthropist, passing part of her husband's collection, antique exhibits, the museum for the benefit of society.

Images of Homelessness: The Home of the Needy Aged

Homelessness in 1880s New Zealand, as reported in the press, appears to be more intimate and less melodramatic than overseas examples. House fires, such as that of William Beals' eight-roomed house in Epsom, the destruction by fire of Mr Keogh's seven-roomed dwelling on the north-west side of Mount Pukekaroro, and the 1884 fire which broke out "on the grounds of St. Mary's Orphanage, Ponsonby" are examples. Chronic homelessness, when it appears, occurs via the reporting of institutional and architectural support structures. The paper will examine a specific example of an architecture for the homeless: the Home for the Needy Aged in Newtown, Wellington.

LIVELIHOOD EMPOWERMENT AGAINST POVERTY IN THE UPPER WEST REGION, GHANA: THE DEFIES AND GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM

Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) is a social assistance initiative that aims to help people living in poverty and the needy change their condition. However, few studies have focused exclusively on defies and the grievance redress mechanism (GRM) associated with LEAP’s activity. GRM and LEAP defies are essential because they have the potential to reduce LEAP programme impacts. To this end, concurrent mixed methods was applied to study defies and GRM of LEAP. A total of 302 LEAP beneficiaries took part in the study. Data were gathered using a questionnaire and an interview guide. Chi-square, descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. The major defies of LEAP were discovered to be related to beneficiary and administrative problems. Although GRM existed, it proved to be ineffective. Appropriate support and supportive programmes must be assured to ensure full benefits for beneficiaries, while defies under recourse must be dealt with quickly.

Denis Papin's digester and its eighteenth-century European circulation

The digester, invented by Denis Papin in the 1680s, was a rudimentary pressure cooker used to soften hard bodies by boiling them at high pressure. In this paper, I propose a reassessment of Papin's work on the digester, arguing that his research was located at the intersection of the chemical laboratory and cooking practice. I then examine cases from the eighteenth-century European circulation of the instrument in Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands in order to showcase the different practices in which the digester was embedded, including chemical research, philanthropic projects to feed the destitute, and proposals for the improvement of home cooking. The digester's history represents a key episode for demonstrating the intertwined nature of natural-philosophical research and the practice of economy or ‘thrift’. All users of the digester engaged in a rationalization of its functions through quantification, not only to fulfil a concern for precision but also to display the device's potential to reform practical daily life. The digester could save time and fuel, reduce material waste, make cooking easier and foster collective meal preparation for the needy.

THE ROLE OF THE MAHALLA INSTITUTION IN DEEPENING DEMOCRATIC REFORMS

The article tells that the makhalla has always been a place of national values, good deeds, kindness, harmony and harmony, awareness of the needy, people in need of help, weddings, celebrations, and sharing in good and bad times. Scientifically analyzed that certain customs and traditions are formed in the environment. It was also criticized that during the years of the formerSoviet ideology, that is, before Uzbekistan gained independence, the mahalla was not officially recognized and included in the system of state administration. The activities of makhallas were not focused on respecting and promoting national values, but on the ideas of the former dictatorial regime, the structure of which was determined by the characteristics of the administrative-command system.

Formation of the Housing Services Affordability Mechanism in Russia in the Context of Digitalization and Digital Transformation

The article presents the results of a long-term study of the housing services affordability mechanism to the needy. As a result of this research, the concept of socially significant categories of citizens was introduced into scientific circulation, as well as the mechanism of state and entrepreneurial (innovative) activity formation was revealed. This activity was formed during the last few years in the context of digitalization and digital transformation and has received a steady development vector.

Religion, Migration and Political Economy in the USA: from Open-Doors to Raids & Sanctuaries

This is a study of Political Economy on religion and migration management in the United States of America (USA). This paper offers a review of migrants-citizens relations in the USA, with attention to the pendulum effect, moving from integration policies (open doors and melting pot agenda) to official persecution (raids and deportations), with a high social opportunity cost. There has been a split between the State and civil society, causing civil disobedience and sanctuary network across the country. Also, it is paid attention to the American post-modern paradox, as a result of culture wars and identity politics that imply a violation of American constitutional principles (i.e. religious liberty, freedom of movement, to pursuit the happiness). Special attention is paid to the development of the Sanctuary Movement, as an ongoing example of the sociocultural upheaval bringing grassroots society into confrontation with powerful elites by promoting resistance and offering help to the needy, even if this results in sanctions. This movement was revitalized after the values crisis of 2008, but it has also been polarized between those who follow the traditional approach to socio-religious action in the form of peaceful civil disobedience, and those who follow the ideological anti-system and communitarian approach, which causes greater tension for the immigrants themselves