Building community in the Church between insiders and outsiders
In many churches, a group of people with a particular identity may often feel like “outsiders” and battle to fit into the community; yet “insiders” rarely recognise their difficulties. One such group in South Africa are refugees, particularly those coming from francophone Africa. This empirical stud...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2020]
|
| In: |
Acta theologica
Year: 2020, Volume: 40, Issue: 1, Pages: 50-68 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Church
/ Community
/ Refugee
/ Member
/ Rituale
|
| RelBib Classification: | CH Christianity and Society ZB Sociology |
| Further subjects: | B
Outsider
B Insider B Refugees |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In many churches, a group of people with a particular identity may often feel like “outsiders” and battle to fit into the community; yet “insiders” rarely recognise their difficulties. One such group in South Africa are refugees, particularly those coming from francophone Africa. This empirical study attempts to waken South African members of a local church to the heavy concerns carried by fellow Christians who have had to flee their homelands. The study intends to not only highlight refugees, but also any group within a church that may feel “excluded”. The aim is to show that a more supportive community can be fostered through an application of principles from many disciplines (studies relating to community-building, lament, empathy, and rituals). It is hoped that other churches can benefit from this example, thus promoting unity and incorporating the “excluded”, and enabling the establishment of healthier communities. |
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| ISSN: | 2309-9089 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Acta theologica
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.18820/23099089/actat.v40i1.4 |



