Digital Commons Network^™

Chains Shall He Break: A Vision For Reconciling Worship, Kyle Joseph Harmon

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In the Evangelical church, there is a disparity between the worship of the church and a lack of care for the marginalized and oppressed in American society. Though their worship proclaims freedom, chains being broken, and captives set free, the church does little to advocate for the actual poor and disenfranchised. Because of these and other reasons, the American evangelical church has come to resemble something other than both its heritage and the Body of Christ described in Scripture. Instead, it has become a cloistered, segregated, echo chamber for those who agree on orthodoxy to retreat into and sense the …

The Relational Church: Being For And With Youth, Joseph Brett Wiederhold

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

The mainline church, present with youth, could begin to recognize the presence of youth in our worship services, prayer teams and leadership teams as adding value and depth to the community of believers. Youth outside of the church are hurting and desperate for belonging. Youth need relationships; youth need Jesus! Despite the church’s history of marginalizing youth, declining numbers and seeming irrelevance amongst the current Generation Z youth, the church can fulfill a vital role in seeing youth as people created in the image of God, allowing God’s church to reach our hurting world by way of the young people …

The Healing Body: Recovering The Church's Mission Of Shalom, Heather Long Mcdaniel

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Christianity is an embodied faith. God shaped human beings from the dust of the earth in God’s own image, in relationship with God, each other, and creation, and called us “good”. Our bodies, souls, and relationships are inextricably intertwined, and full health can be defined as a state of shalom, the flourishing of our whole selves in the context of our relationships and environment. Alienation, sickness, injustice, and suffering are experienced as brokenness in our bodies, souls, relationships, institutions, and environment. Restoration of health involves identifying and healing what is broken. God affirmed the goodness and worth of our bodies …

People Require Proximity: What The Church Can Do To Create Wholeness For Adolescents, Carrington Phauve Wilson

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Historically, many have attempted to advocate for equality by centering an earthly dominant power to bring about likeness to the majority. Unfortunately, even the most noble of causes excludes those furthest from the center source. Therefore, reconciliation must not focus on human structures of power and equality, but God’s, centering the One who created all things, to be again returned to their truthful spaces. Thus, for reconciliation to be a realized truth, we must not center the dominant source of human power, but the furthest out, realizing the likeness to God that humanity continuously excludes. For this, womanism gives a …

Shattering Stained Glass: Empowering Christian Women To Lead Equitably In The Church And Society, Kaila Catalina Materne Creamer Alvarez

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In today's American Christian culture, it has been my observation that women are still feeling the repercussions of Christian traditions and theologies that have an elongated history of neglecting their authority and leadership. After having a decade and a half of experience working within different Christian communities, there has been an overwhelming amount of evidence to support that there is a strong disconnect between the theology of women’s leadership and the physical, practical, and systematic action of engaging them as leaders. Among these narratives is my own. After having served in a leadership role within an evangelical mega church for …

Christian Discipleship Through Racial Justice And Reconciliation: A Lenten Reading Of The Hate U Give, Abigail Sham

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Christians are a people immersed in story—the story of God as it is revealed in Scripture and the story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that continues to redeem our personal and systemic stories. As our world is diseased with the story of white supremacy, this project seeks to locate Christian vocation in the performative art of storytelling that actively seeks to dismantle the violent narrative of racial difference through the practice of reading Scripture with a liberating hermeneutic. This curriculum (a Lenten devotional) allows participants to sit with two haunting stories over the course of the Lenten season—the story …

Program Evaluation Plan For The Bridge Care Center: A Plan For Measuring Effectiveness, Efficiency, And Theological Foundations, Janai Wallace

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In this project, a program evaluation plan for The Bridge Care Center—a drop-in center for those experiencing homelessness or housing instability located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle is presented. The program evaluation includes the program theory (based on social psychology and theological theory), a logic model, specific evaluation measures, a data analysis technique, evaluation of threats to validity, as well as an implementation plan.

The Power Of Story: Toward Dismantling Racism, May Tag Yang

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

The traditional narrative of America is one that upholds Whiteness and reinforces a society built on a system of advantages based on race. The particular blueprint for narration of self and experience that I posit in this project stands in opposition that dominant narrative as I advocate instead for the flourishing of people of color through narration of self. I propose a call to people of color that we counteract and dismantle our racist system by telling our stories. In this project, I explore four theologians from the perspective of storytelling and memory: Father Robert Schreiter, Stephen Crites, Miroslav Volf …

What Does It Mean To Be A Christian Woman? Sustaining And Empowering The Female Christian Faith In Light Of Sexism In Christian Communities, Erin Pauline Rooney

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

What helps young Christian women sustain their faith in the face of sexism within Christian communities? Are there practices or traditions that leaders of these Christian communities need to consider to better support young Christian women? Do young Christian women find value in studying theology, history, and hermeneutics from female perspectives, and if so, why? These are the guiding questions this project seeks to answer. This project involves a qualitative research study with a group of students within a “Women in Christianity” course at Seattle Pacific University. Participants were interviewed twice during the course and also forwarded their written reflections …

Struck Down And Not Destroyed: A New Way To Carry Trauma, Rebecca L. Weygandt

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

There seems to be an assumption in many Christian communities that suggest people should avoid the experience of pain and suffering. This is often communicated by encouraging those who grapple with difficult realities to have a positive perspective or attitude. As a future leader in the Church, I am concerned about the negative impact of this message on the emotional and spiritual health of people. I am specifically concerned about those who engage in the arduous work of reconciliation and peacemaking and how they can survive the inevitable pain and difficulty of this work over an extended period of time, …

The Black Reconciliation: Finding Restoration Through Healing Circles In A Racialized World, Geneva Ree Taylor

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

This thesis will examine the ways in which African American communities can engage in a healing process that will produce personal, relational, communal, societal and global restoration. This project will specifically identify and examine the trauma and brokenness that African Americans experience in a racialized society. To accomplish this, a theological foundation will be established that will help to develop strategies, tools, and skills that can support the process of healing and restoration. In addition, this thesis will explain how current models of reconciliation are not adequate to address the deeply rooted complexities that people of color face in America. …

Hope In Addiction Recovery: Eschatological Foundations In Celebrate Recovery And The Genesis Process, Judith M. Naegeli

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

This project attempts to understand the theological foundations of two nationally known Christian addiction recovery programs currently operating in Seattle, Washington: Celebrate Recovery and The Genesis Process. Of particular focus is the presence or absence of Christianity’s unique sense of hope for the future, using eschatological themes of hope, resurrection, and shalom. The participant materials of each program were analyzed for their use of these themes, using Richard Osmer's framework of the four tasks of practical theology.

Racial-Trauma Informed Ministry: A Process For Dominant Culture Ministries To Effectively Engage With Communities Impacted By Racial Trauma, Teylar Greer

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Though the dominant culture church in the United States exists within the context of racialized society, often the church has not directly addressed its unjust and traumatic effects. It is the theory of this project that with a more accurate understanding of racialized society, trauma, and coping behaviors, dominant culture ministries will engage more fully in the process of reconciliation. Therefore, this thesis seeks to lay out a theologically anchored process of reconciliation by which dominant culture ministries can be equipped to respond to experiences of racial injustice and trauma in ways that lead to and facilitate healing, justice, and …

Reconciling Hospitality: Building The Skills Of Reconciliation Through The Practice Of Hospitality, Sarah D. Henthorn

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the question, “Does the faithful embodiment of Christian hospitality that brings those in a social position of power together with the poor, marginalized and oppressed create a reconciled community where all people flourish and are equally valued?” The author explores theological, historic and ethical arguments for the practice of hospitality in order to develop a procedural guide to assist churches in teaching Christian hospitality.

Fifteen pastors were then surveyed to assess the viability of this tool as a means of leading congregations toward the practice of hospitality and the embodiment of reconciled …

The Multiethnic Church As A Reflection Of God's Image: A Focus On Reconciliation In A Local Congregation, Jodi C. Gatlin

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

This thesis seeks to discover whether or not a focus on reconciliation in a local church can prompt the congregation to engage their multiethnic neighborhood and become a more diverse church. It argues that in the midst of a broken and hurting world the multiethnic congregation offers a reflection of the image of God and a message of hope to the world. Specifically, this project will explore the question, “Can a focus on reconciliation in the local church lead to an increase of social and cultural engagement by its congregants that produces positive change in the surrounding community?” As a …