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Issue no.141 - The Diversity and Unity of Practical Theology

Bodies: perfect or broken? Eucharist, ecumenism and eating disorders

Claire Carson

Abstract: This article explores the ideal of the 'perfect body' for women within Western society and also as an image for the Church. It looks at various social factors which can contribute to 'eating disorders', both human and ecclesial, and explores some possible forms of 'therapy' for them.

Searching for an Impotent God

Kevin Ellis

Abstract: The inability to procreate is perhaps one of the most galling malfunctions in the human condition in the earliest days of the 21st century. This article suggests that infertility and impotence are made worse by the negative correlation of words that surround them such as barren and inadequate. The author goes on to argue that this will always be the case as long as humans see themselves as created in the image of a deity who is always potent. By reflecting on the dead Christ and on the Eastern Orthodox concept of divinisation (theosis), questions are begun to be asked that might pave the way for a theology of impotence and infertility, which would of necessity include an impotent Giod.

A Safari in Africa: palliative care in a cross-cultural perspective

Elizabeth Grant

Abstract: We talk of being materially rich but spiritually poor in developed countries, but what does this mean? This case study describes the experiences of Muka, a woman dying of cancer on the Eastern slopes of Mount Kenya. She lacks analgesia, she is often hungry, her home is empty of luxuries and basics - no pillows, sheets o rclean blankets, no indoor toilet. She represents thousands who die daily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Muka's faith provides her with strength not only to survive each day but to find meaning within it. While faith is not a substitute for analgesia, and there can be no excuse for not responding to the needs of those crying in pain, we can learn much about spiritual coping from communities who still retain the capacity to face death, rather than avoid it.

Rural Clergy's response to foot-and-mouth disease: the different worlds of Methodism and Anglicanism

Lewis Burton

Abstract:  The Church of England and the Methodist Church are currently coming to a decision on the proposed Covenant relationship which has been under discussion for some time. The question of the integration of the ordained ministries of the two churches is not part of that decision but some consideration of the difference between Anglican clergy and Methodist ministers is timely. This article suggests that there are differences in the mindset of clergy and ministers, created by the theology and institutional structure of the two churches, by their denominational socialisation and training, and by their experience in the pastoral task. Three theoretical factors can be identified: the Belief System; the Nature of the Church from a sociological viewpoint; and the Institutional Structure and Organisation. In a re-working of data from a small survey carried out in the Craven District of North Yorkshire, of clergy response to the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic of 2001, which orginally suggested these differences, operational factors were identified as - the Scope of Pastoral Ministry; Structural Inhibition; Status;and the Gathered Church Mentality. The evidence which comes from this data gives credence to the supposition that between Anglican clergy and Methodist ministers there are divergent unconscious attitudes which deserve further investigation.