Digital Commons Network^™

Diam's: The Politics Of Autobiography And Avatarhood In The French Republic, Taryn Marcelino

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

Diam’s is a French female rapper otherwise known as Mélanie Georgiades who was prominent in France’s music scene from 1999 up until 2010 when she retreated to a small village in the French countryside. Her claim to fame was her anti-racist lyrics but what grabbed the media’s attention was her reappearance in the public sphere wearing a veil. In this article, I trace her career from her lyrics, music videos, and finally to her autobiographies which she published during her retirement from music. By following her work, I analyze the avatars of Diam’s and Mélanie to portray her journey from …

Women In Bujuur Society: Marriage, Imah-Itu And Ethnic Lineage, Elija Chara

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

The role of women in Bujuur social identity is often overlooked by emphasizing the general patrilocal and patrilineal customs. Traditional Bujuur society was characterized by ambilineage as well as matrilocality whereby women contributed to the making and remaking of Bujuur identity. This paper explores two spaces within the theme of marriage: i) Imah-Itu (the residence of a husband at his wife’s house) and ii) children of mixed marriages identifying with the mother’s Bujuur ethnicity. The objective is to critique the everyday emphasis on patriarchy, patrilineality and patrilocalism among the Bujuur, all of which are in contrast to historical traditions. A …

“Baby Donato” In Abruzzo (Italy): From A Mother’S Veneration To Popular Devotion, Lia Giancristofaro

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

The article considers a cult that developed and still thrives in a small Abruzzo town in the years between the two world wars. During these decades, the mummified body of a baby became the object of worship and devotional practices. The epileptic Baby Donato died and after few months his body was given to the Sanctuary of St Donatus in Celenza sul Trigno. St Donatus is the saint who protects epileptics and in Italian Catholicism is therefore the master of disease. The name Donato means ‘given’ and the ailment (epilepsy) is given by the saint to his subjects in exchange …

Tell Me Your Story: Evaluating Health And Human Flourishing In Congregations In Disadvantaged Neighborhoods, Isaac Voss

Essays

No abstract provided.

The Dance Of Ādi Śakti: The Goddess In The Songs Of Bharati And Nazrul, Achintya Prahlad

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

C Subramania Bharati (1882-1921) and Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) were significant poet-songwriters of the Indian freedom struggle. Their works explore a wide range of themes – political, philosophical, romantic and devotional. Both poets were educated in rāga music, which is prominent in many of their songs. Bharati wrote in Tamil, while Nazrul wrote in Bangla. It is highly unlikely that they read or were influenced by each other’s works. However, one finds several similarities in their poetry, especially the importance given to the goddess Ādi Śakti in her various forms, Kālī in particular. The goddess plays a major role in …

Liturgy And Musical Inculturation In A Post-Apartheid South African Catholicism, Austin Chinagorom Okigbo

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

There is a developing trend within mainstream South African Churches to incorporate styles of traditional African music and cultural elements in liturgical functions. This is happening in places where such ideas were hitherto unwelcome because mission churches witnessed the denigration of indigenous African cultures by Europeans during the eras of both colonialism and apartheid. Inculturation Theology underscores the current drive for liturgical transformation. It comprises a part of Black Theology in South Africa, which developed as an intellectual framework for liberation during the time of the anti-apartheid struggles. Using the ethnographic study of the cultural mass at Emmanuel Cathedral in …

Sixth Sunday Of Easter - 22 May 2022, Joe Tedesco

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Pathology, Identity, Or Both?: Making Meaning From Early Christian Martyrdom, Matthew J. Recla

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2022

Partly in response to an earlier ‘pathological approach’ that seemingly stigmatised early Christian martyrdom, recent scholarship has adopted an ‘identity approach’ that explains martyrdom as a normative discourse of self-construction. This explanation of martyrdom as Christian identity-making, not willing death, is insufficient for three reasons. First, this approach implicitly reaffirms the theological claim that religious identity alone makes martyrs. In doing so it reduces the complexity of the individual martyr to ‘Christian’. Second, this approach excises the existential phenomenon of the martyr from martyrdom. Third, the term ‘identity’ has become ubiquitous, and its use to mark both sameness and difference …

The Inevitable Church, Min Choi

Doctor of Ministry

The Inevitable Church is a YouTube channel about the semiotics of digital technological forces and how they are shaping the future of church and culture. Its aim is to be a repository of resources and videos that models and teaches the unique principles and strategies required to navigate our modern mediums of communication and connection.

The NPO statement for this project is: The modern network revolution is shifting our primary medium for social interdependence from print to digital, which is reforming our social and cultural structures and creating a critical need for innovation in ministry strategies, recontextualization of orthodox Biblical …

“A New Face Of Loreto”: Mission And Transformation In The Post-Vatican Ii Church, Sudha Arul

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

This dissertation documents the transformation of mission and ministry undertaken by the Sisters of Loreto in Kolkata, India, over the past 180 years. This IBVM congregation, self-defined as a dynamic community of women dedicated to social justice and empowering the poor and marginalized, has embraced a radical new focus on direct service to unhoused children who live on the streets. The renewal is rooted in the charism and spirituality of Mary Ward (1585-1645), foundress of the Loreto community, who, at a time when women religious were required to live in monastic enclosure, sought a new apostolic form of religious life …

Discovering Life Through Loss And Grief, Darcy L. Hansen

Doctor of Ministry

In times of loss, communities of faith come alongside bereaved individuals to offer support. That support is often short lived. When the casseroles stop, grieving people feel isolated and underserved in communities of faith when pastors and community members are ill-equipped and unprepared to care for them.(2)

The reason pastors and community members are ill-prepared to care for those grieving is historically, culturally, and theologically complex. Tackling such complexity is beyond the scope of this project. Implementing Occam’s Razor, where the simplest solution, with the least moving parts, suffices, enables me to address my NPO in a creative way.(3)

For …

The Battle Against Human Sex Trafficking: A Faith-Focused Approach Toward Making A Difference, Nancy Vanderroest

Doctor of Ministry

The lack of Christian involvement in the fight against human sex trafficking is evident when researching the various causes faith-based organizations focus on. The causes have often been denomination or single-entity driven. Yet, the focal point should be cause-driven and compassion-led. For Christians, the key is to uncover the will of God to find where God is at work—and then to join Him there.

This dissertation reviews how Christian entities have often shied away from the battle against human sex trafficking because of the scope of the problem and because of the sexual stigma attached to it. Yet, Christ embodied …

Return To Me: Lenten Reflections From Holy Cross (2022), Office Of Mission

Office of Mission Publications

This reflection booklet was prepared by the Office of Mission at the College of the Holy Cross to serve as a prayer aid throughout the liturgical season of Lent. Within these pages are the unique voices of many people from the Holy Cross community: faculty, staff, students, alumni, administrators, Trustees, benefactors, and Jesuits. Each contributor reflects on the readings prescribed for the Mass of the day. This year, four artists have been invited to offer visual reflections on the readings. We hope that these prayerful reflections--written and visual--will help you to pray more deply during this Lenten season, and to …

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, February 2022

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

Parenting As Spiritual Practice And Source For Theology: Mothering Matters., Angela Mccarthy

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

5th Sunday Of Lent - 3 April 20225 Lent, Gerard Moore

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Second Sunday Of Easter / Divine Mercy Sunday - 24 April 2022, Joe Tedesco

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Ascension - 29 May 2022, Anthony Doran

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Centered On Jesus: A Lenten Devotional From The Faculty Of Bethel University, Christopher Gehrz, Esther Shull, Carl Albing, Rebekah Bain, Andy Bramsen, Susan Leigh Brooks, Jeannine K. Brown, Michael Crawford, Julie Anne De Haan, Joy Doan, Dale Durie, Julie Finnern, Barrett Fisher, Joel Frederickson, Laura Gilbertson, Rhonda Gilbraith, Ann Holland, Stephen Hunt, Rachel Jorgensen, Patricia Kelly, Denise Muir Kjesbo, Marion H. Larson, Erik Leafblad, Elisabeth E. Lefebvre, Jim Lewis, Joyce Lemay, Alison Lo, Gary A. Long, Christopher Moore, Katherine Nevins, Pauline E. Nichols, Meredith Nyberg, Chad Osgood, Jeanine Parolini, Richard Peterson, Dan Ritchie, Matt Runion, Robin Rylaarsdam, Kristin E. Sandau, Sara L. H. Shady, Angela Shannon, Marta Shaw, Paula A.G. Soneral, Peter T. Vogt, Laura Wennstrom, Gloria Wiese, Brandon Winters, Yu-Li Chang Zacher, Nick Zeimet

Faculty Books

For the 2022 season of Lent, Bethel faculty and staff members collaborated to pen Centered on Jesus: A Lenten Devotional from the Faculty of Bethel University. The daily devotionals in Centered on Jesus are intended to help the Bethel community and anyone interested recenter before the cross during Lent. And the devotionals show how faculty across Bethel—each from his or her unique discipline—approach what it means to be a university centered on Jesus.

This collection of 47 devotionals written by 48 Bethel faculty and staff members span from Ash Wednesday through Holy Week and Easter. These contributions represent over …

Kingdom Millennials Infiltrating Culture: Reaching In Toward Generation Y To Reach Out To The World, Daniel Clark Iv

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As protestant Christianity meanders through time from its roots as a light post of religious ritualism to a contemporary beacon of Christ-centered worship, there has been a noticeable scattering of a critical portion of its congregants commonly known as the Millennial generation. While their absence is obvious across the entire Christian landscape, the evidence of their displacement is most definite in the small inner-city Black Church context. The writer attributes the cause of the Millennial diaspora to the unconscious loss of humanity’s God-given purpose: to exclusively worship Him forever. It is apparent that an absent generation will garner a ripple …

The Shimmering Cathedral: Extraordinary Spiritual Experiences And The Meaning We Make Of Them, Seth Daniel Jones

Doctor of Ministry

This project portfolio presents the formational work for a book about Extraordinary Spiritual Experiences (ESEs). The project seeks to create a spiritual cartography which helps guide clergy, professionals, interested persons, and experiencers as they navigate ESEs and the subsequent process of making meaning from such experiences, particularly in the context of Christian faith, but by no means limited to it. By way of a novel exploration of the structure of an ESE event and stories from scripture, it is hoped that pathways for creating a safe space to share ESEs in group settings will blossom. In the context of the …

Discovering & Raising The "Trafficking Awareness Level" (Tal) In Avalon, Ron L. Eroen

Doctor of Ministry

“Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will make you aware.” Eph. 5:14

Earlier this year I stopped at a table under a sign reading “January Is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.” The table’s material did awaken me to the scope of human trafficking (global), the amount of money traffickers are making (billions), and where to send money to help fight the problem – but there was little information on being more aware of human trafficking within MY town. A lifetime focus on community safety helped me realize that a high level of awareness of the signs of trafficking …

Contextualized Marketplace Ministry, Jamilah Merrick

Doctor of Ministry

The United States has conducted genocide and weaponized its institutions by the perpetuation of structural racism against African Americans both historically and contemporarily. These methods have been co-opted covertly and overtly by governmental entities, institutions, and Americans themselves. Though the Federal government and individual states have initiated potential policies on reparations, the United States has failed to implement systematic reforms. To address these disparities, my NPO states: The historical persistence of structural racism and genocide against African Americans nullifies fiduciary reparations until comprehensive reforms are adopted.

Based on the research methodology and iteration processing, my NPO concentrates on African Americans …

Overcoming Obstacles To Dna Group Engagement, Charles Edward Kelly

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Discipleship is the primary command given by Jesus to his disciples. The elements of discipleship growth are best carried out in smaller cell groups of ten to twenty people. In the model used by the researcher, these cell groups (called missional communities) are subdivided into groups of three comprised of the same gender. These subdivided groups are called DNA groups. It is within DNA groups that a more intimate environment is created for transparency, biblical learning, and accountability. The researcher found three primary obstacles to engagement in a previous iteration of DNA groups. Those three obstacles are overscheduling / busyness, …

A Contemporary Model Of An Outreach Training Manual For The New Light Church, Antonio Orlando Beckford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The life of a Christian church goes through cycles. New Light Church has experienced a few of them. The thesis project reveals the growth cycles and declines in membership of NL. The researcher believes that the church’s steady membership growth dropped because of the abstaining of regular and deliberate practice of New Testament church growth methods. Church growth is grounded in the work of God. The church engaged in hearing and obeying God will see his fruit manifested through in their local assembly. The researcher created a manual for evangelism as a training template for the Christian church to follow. …

A Quantitative Validation Study Evaluating A Proposed Three-Step Practical Model For Discerning God's Ordained Individual Vocational Will, Keith Allen Oglesby

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Discerning God's vocational will for one's life is a question that most people have faced. Many books, publications, and sermons have been written on this subject. The problem examined in this study is whether or not a proposed biblically-based, practical, three-step model utilizing the intersection point of one's passion, spiritual gift, and need for helping college students discern God's vocational will for their lives is empirically valid. There is a gap in the literature in this regard. The research reveals that a few authors mention one or perhaps even two critical elements for determining God's vocational will, but no current …

Using Intentional Relationship Building And Community Presence To Minister To An Addicted Population In Cookeville, Tennessee, James Bailey Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Addiction and substance abuse are banes in American society as they destroy lives, families, hopes and dreams. Individuals with potential for productive lives and societal contributions are reduced to hollow shells and find themselves laser-focused on their next fix. Cookeville, Tennessee, is no different than any other rural American town as addiction and substance abuse are prevalent, especially within the northwestern areas of the city. West View Baptist Church was planted in this area in 1950 and has actively attempted to minister to the community's residents for the last 71 years. Recently, internal issues in the congregation and increasing disconnections …

Religious Beliefs Of World Boxing Champions As A Factor Of Influence On Ukrainian Society In The Context Of Social Responsibility, Bogdan Synchak, Petro Livak, Olga Kuvaldina

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The issue regarding the influence of mass media on the public consciousness is one of the priorities in the times of the digitalization of the information space. Great sports such as professional boxing are world-famous and have a wide resonance in the media. As a result, scientists are paying attention to the study of factors of influence that arise during the information coverage of sporting events. Religious beliefs are a conditional plane of differentiation of different worldview systems, but in the 21st century, they are harmoniously integrated into the colors of different cultures, nationalities, and states. Celebrities’ religious beliefs can …

The Marks Of A Diaconal Church, Maylanne Maybee

Consensus

No abstract provided.

St. Francis Borgia Deaf Center Church Bulletin, January 16, 2022

Saint Francis Borgia Deaf Center Church Bulletin

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Chicago, IL

Saint Francis Brogia Deaf Center Church Bulletin Finding Aid