Author: Diana S. Richmond Garland
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780971531888
Category : Church and social problems
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description

Author: Diana S. Richmond Garland
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780989758109
Category : Social service
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
"'Why I am a social worker' describes the rich diversity and nature of the profession of social work through the 25 stories of daily lives and professional journeys chosen to represent the different people, groups and human situations where social workers serve. Many social workers of faith express that they feel 'called' to help people--sometimes a specific population of people such as abused children or people who live in poverty. Often they describe this calling as a way of living out their faith. 'Why I am a social worker' serves as a resource for Christians in social work as they reflect on their sense of calling, and provides direction to guide them in this process. 'Why I am a social worker' employs a narrative, descriptive approach, allowing the relationship between faith and practice to emerge through the professional life stories of social workers who are Christians. As such, it provides a way to explore integration on personal, emotional and practical levels."--Back cover.

Author: Scales Laine
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780989758161
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Christianity and Social Work is written for social workers whose motivations to enter the profession are informed by their Christian faith, and who desire to develop faithfully Christian approaches to helping.

Author: Mark Chaves
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674029445
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
More Americans belong to religious congregations than to any other kind of voluntary association. What these vast numbers amount to--what people are doing in the over 300,000 churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples in the United States--is a question that resonates through every quarter of American society, particularly in these times of "faith-based initiatives," "moral majorities," and militant fundamentalism. And it is a question answered in depth and in detail in Congregations in America. Drawing on the 1998 National Congregations Study--the first systematic study of its kind--as well as a broad range of quantitative, qualitative, and historical evidence, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the most significant form of collective religious expression in American society: local congregations. Among its more surprising findings, Congregations in America reveals that, despite the media focus on the political and social activities of religious groups, the arts are actually far more central to the workings of congregations. Here we see how, far from emphasizing the pursuit of charity or justice through social services or politics, congregations mainly traffic in ritual, knowledge, and beauty through the cultural activities of worship, religious education, and the arts. Along with clarifying--and debunking--arguments on both sides of the debate over faith-based initiatives, the information presented here comprises a unique and invaluable resource, answering previously unanswerable questions about the size, nature, make-up, finances, activities, and proclivities of these organizations at the very center of American life.

Author: Ram A. Cnaan
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812239492
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
For people living in U.S. cities, social services come not only from the government but increasingly also from local religious communities. Ever since the Clinton administration's welfare reform, faith-based institutions, and especially congregations, have been allowed to bid for federal funds for their programs. In The Other Philadelphia Story, drawing on the first-ever census of congregations in any American city, Ram Cnaan and his colleagues provide an authoritative account of the functioning of congregations, their involvement in social services, and their support of other charitable organizations. An in-depth study of 1,392 congregations in Philadelphia, the book illuminates how these groups function as community hubs where members and neighbors alike gather throughout the week. Cnaan's findings show that almost every assembly of parishioners emphasizes caring for others, even if the help is modest. Thus American congregations uphold an implicit but strong norm of social responsibility and work to improve the quality of life for members and nonmembers alike. Many of the problems associated with urban life persist in the face of governmental inaction, and the burden of responsibility cannot be shouldered entirely by congregations. However, in a city such as Philadelphia, where half the residents are regular attenders of religious congregations, hopes for urban improvement are largely to be found in these local groups. Special focus is given in the book to kinds of care that often go unnoticed: volunteerism, provision of refuge, and informal assistance to community members in need. All told, Cnaan asserts, congregations are an essential component of Philadelphia's civil society. Without them, the quality of life would deteriorate immeasurably.

Author: Ram A. Cnaan
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814716180
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Based on in-depth interviews with clergy and lay leaders in 251 congregations nationwide, this groundbreaking volume provides empirical data to social scientists, religious study scholars, and those involved in the debates over the role of faith-based organizations in social services.

Author: R. Robert Creech
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1493416952
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Experienced pastor and seminary teacher R. Robert Creech helps pastoral leaders increase their effectiveness by applying family systems theory to congregational life and ministry. Creech introduces readers to the basic concepts of Bowen Family Systems Theory, applies family theory to the work of ministry in church settings, and connects systems thinking to the everyday aspects of congregational ministry, such as preaching, pastoral care, leadership, spiritual formation, and interpreting biblical texts. Each chapter contains discussion questions, and there are five helpful appendixes with supplemental information about Bowen theory.

Author: Diana S. Richmond Garland
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
The social work profession has grown in many directions since its beginnings in the settlement houses and the missions of churches, denominational agencies, and the voluntary services of individual Christians. However social workers continue to serve as the hands and heart of the church in outreach to oppressed and hurting persons. The church was the first and has continued to be a prominent context for social work practice. Joined more recently by government programs, schools, hospitals and clinics, mental health agencies, industry, and most recently the pro-profit, private service sector. This book provides an introduction to church social work, describing and illustrating practice principles that are particularly applicable in the varying contexts of church social work.

Author: Heidi Rolland Unruh
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195161556
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
As public funding for social services has been slashed, there has arisen an unprecedented interest in the potential (and dangers) of faith-based institutions as agents of social change. This text seeks to answer pressing questions surrounding this important and controversial issue.

Author: Monique M. Ingalls
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190499656
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Contemporary worship music shapes the way evangelical Christians understand worship itself. Author Monique M. Ingalls argues that participatory worship music performances have brought into being new religious social constellations, or "modes of congregating". Through exploration of five of these modes--concert, conference, church, public, and networked congregations--Singing the Congregation reinvigorates the analytic categories of "congregation" and "congregational music." Drawing from theoretical models in ethnomusicology and congregational studies, Singing the Congregation reconceives the congregation as a fluid, contingent social constellation that is actively performed into being through communal practice--in this case, the musically-structured participatory activity known as "worship." "Congregational music-making" is thereby recast as a practice capable of weaving together a religious community both inside and outside local institutional churches. Congregational music-making is not only a means of expressing local concerns and constituting the local religious community; it is also a powerful way to identify with far-flung individuals, institutions, and networks that comprise this global religious community. The interactions among the congregations reveal widespread conflicts over religious authority, carrying far-ranging implications for how evangelicals position themselves relative to other groups in North America and beyond.