Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Pastoral Care And Support By Providing Opportunities For Spiritual Growth And Transformation To Crisis And Trauma Sufferers, Angela Roberts Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Trauma experiences are becoming more prevalent in today’s society. For example, each day, the media reports the widespread impact of war, gun violence, domestic and international terrorism, violent crimes, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, mass shootings, and natural disasters in the general population. The church has long been considered a place of refuge, hope, and healing for people who suffer from crises and trauma. It is often the first place Christians and the surrounding community turn in times of distress. Because pastors and churches are often the first responders when people experience crises and traumatic events, there …

Improving Spiritual Care By Chaplains For Service Members Who Witness Death, Beth M. Echols

Doctor of Ministry Doctoral Projects

This research studied the experience of military and Veteran Affairs chaplains who work with a spectrum of military veterans. The purpose was to better understand how chaplain training prepared or failed to equip spiritual care providers to minister to service members during and/or after the initial experience that they identified as traumatic.

The researcher asked nine open-ended questions to encourage and facilitate reflective responses. After grouping responses with similar answers, the researcher coded the chaplains’ responses to determine themes that would describe and somehow encompass the phenomenon of serving as a chaplain in a war theater. Throughout the study, the …

A Study Of Bullying In The Catholic Healthcare Workplace, Luann Mary Trutwin

Doctor of Ministry Doctoral Projects

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the impact and understanding of bullying in Catholic, mission-driven healthcare facilities, specifically how leaders respond to and manage bullying in their workplaces. The research is intended to make a positive contribution to Catholic healthcare communities by providing healthcare providers, educators, and policy makers information and tools to prevent and manage bullying in the workplace. The study employed Catholic social teaching and a Benedictine based theological reflection model to guide the two main areas of exploration: leaders’ experiences of hearing complaints about bullying and tools available to them to stop bullying. An anonymous survey was sent …

Jesus: Ancient Architype, Sacrificial Son, Divine Messenger, Liz Hood

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Discipleship In Urban Contexts, Boubakar Sanou

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"With the current state of discipleship, congregations can no longer afford to rely on their church-centered programs as their main means of growing disciples. Programs do not disciple people; people disciple people. Becoming authentic communities who create intentional spaces where believers of all ages and stages in their faith journey can effectively and meaningfully connect with one another and with God, grow spiritually, and reach out to the world around them is of vital importance in urban discipleship. With the imperative to share the gospel in the cities, urban congregations need to objectively do their own discipleship reality assessment in …

Sustaining Lamentation In Traumatic Grief Through The Contemporary Elegy: A Practical Theology Of The Poetics Of Testimony, Patricia Shawn Fawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the problem that sustaining lamentation for particular testimonies of bereaved people is not supported culturally or spiritually by current practices of mourning. In a democracy, religious leaders become public theologians who respect and respond to diverse religious, political, historical, and economic interests without losing focus on the individual, family, and corporate systems and the ongoing elements of traumatic grief. In the context of lamentation and memorialization, when spiritual caregiver fail to acknowledge potentials for particular ways of mourning to contribute to empowerment and healing, mourners' grief can be foreclosed.

In North America, the dominant rhetoric of public …

A Pediatric Spiritual Care Training Model Utilizing Volunteers At Children's Hospital In New Orleans, Louisiana, Allen L. Mitchell

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Children's Hospital—New Orleans is a regional medical center for children with a 247-bed capacity. The hospital is growing in size and scope. However, the number of quality spiritual care providers has not kept up with the growing needs of the institution. As a medical center continues to grow, more spiritual care providers are needed to meet the demand of our increasing patient population. Financial resources are limited and budgets do not favor hiring additional full-time staff chaplains.

Method

A spiritual care training manual was developed to increase the number of trained volunteers to provide spiritual care coverage. A 12-hour …

“Do You See What I See?”, Nancy Vernon Kelly

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Teaching For A Multifaith World; From Bubble To Bridge: Educating Christians For A Multifaith World, Debra S. Espinor

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Similar but different is the metaphor to describe both multifaith books reviewed here—similar in that both are exploring the many facets of how to live in our multifaith world today, and different because the books are written for different audiences and ages. Teaching for a Multifaith World, edited by Eleazar S Fernandez, is written for an audience of seminarians. The language is pastoral and the book is a compilation from writers from many well-respected seminaries across the United States. The title of the book implies that this might be a textbook in a course within a religious studies program. From …

Belong, Become, Believe: A New Model For Children's Ministry Building Toward A Holistic Vision Of Discipleship And Diversity In Multi-Ethnic Children's Ministry, Katey Hage

Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses

As the Church in the United States grapples with challenging issues of race and racism that permeate our world, children’s ministry is also impacted by these very same issues and lived experiences for a diverse community of people. This thesis seeks to help the church acknowledge that all children have particular racial and cultural identity that is formed within family and social system contexts; and it seeks to affirm the belief that children are God’s good creation and made in the image of God. With these truths in place, connections can be drawn between a child’s cultural and racial identity …

Shame In The Presence Or Absence Of God In Stephen Ministry, Richard Tamas

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This hermeneutical phenomenological study explores the lived experience of shame in relation to the presence or absence of God in the caregiving process of Stephen Ministry. Stephen Ministers are trained Christian caregivers who walk side-by-side with those who are struggling in a congregation. Stephen Ministers are trained by Stephen Leaders who have completed the Stephen Ministry Leadership training program. A concern for an assurance of quality of care led to the research question: what is the lived experience of unacknowledged or unprocessed shame in the presence or absence of God experienced by Stephen Ministers who offer Christian care? The foundations …

Narratives Of Baby Boomers: Envisioning Late Life Spiritual Resources, Jane A. Kuepfer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT:

In this narrative inquiry, first-wave baby boomers (six males and six females born between 1946 and 1955) reflected on their lives and envisioned living into old age. While literature has focused on trends in baby boomer spirituality, issues of aging, and spiritual needs and tasks among elders, this study listened for “spiritual resources.” Initially defined broadly as that which has sustained a person throughout their life and will sustain them in the future, spiritual resources came to be understood as those things, both internal and external, that address deep human need for such spiritual values as love, hope, peace, …

Closing Worship, Mark W. Harris

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Impact Of Key Phrases And Caring Behaviors© On Nursing Students’ Perception Of Competence And Confidence In Providing Spiritual Care, Joan Marie Connors

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Spirituality in nursing involves caring holistically for patients. Attention to the mind, body, and spirit, is a professional standard of care for nurses. Regulating agencies in the healthcare industry as well as professional code of conduct mandate that spiritual care will be addressed. While this in not a new concept to nursing, research revealed that lack of education was one obstacle nurses identified that limited their ability to provide spiritual care. There is a lack of teaching resources to educate nurses on spiritual care. A previous study conducted by Connors, Good, and Gollery (2017), introduced the instrument Key Phrases and …

"Maybe Jesus Was Suicidal Too": A Qualitative Inquiry Into Religion And Spirituality In Suicide Attempts, Elizabeth Ryan Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among the current trends in suicidology that hold promise for suicide prevention are a focus on new areas for empirical exploration and the employment of creative methodologies to ascertain these phenomena. One such area is religion, along with its more enigmatic counterpart, spirituality. Suicidological research has long demonstrated that people who are religiously involved tend to be more protected from suicide than those who are not, yet it has been less attentive to the conditions under which religion or spirituality fails to inhibit suicidality. In the decades since Durkheim's renowned 1897 study, the majority of the related research has taken …

A Training Program For Non-Chaplain And Volunteer Chaplains Conducting Spiritual Care At Feather River Hospital In Paradise, California, Brad B. Brown

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Responsibilities of chaplain services at Feather River Hospital (FRH) primarily include completing its mission of whole-person care by providing spiritual and emotional support to the patients and staff. However, the challenge of meeting this goal historically is due to insufficient funding to hire adequate staff chaplains to provide this service. Per conversation with fellow chaplains of other hospitals, this same staffing challenge in meeting the spiritual and emotional component of whole-person care is consistent. However, there is a potential solution. Staff and community volunteers with a spiritual bent have shown interest in filling this gap of spiritual and emotional …

Dasaran: A Medium For Grief In Bali, Anna Spencer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coming to Bali, I knew that I wanted to understand a sliver of the experiences that people have after a loved-one dies. Of course, there is no one way that people in Bali or anywhere process the loss of a loved-one, yet I am continually fascinated by how people understand and cope with the many feelings that occur after someone dies.

My interest in this topic started out of necessity my junior year of high school when I attended three funerals in ten days. The first was for an elderly friend, then one for my teammate’s father, and the last …

“Comfort, Comfort My People”: A Qualitative Study Examining Dying Persons’ And Their Caregivers’ Experience Of Spiritual Care As An Aid To Having A Good Death In Grey And Bruce Counties, Ontario, Dwight Biggs

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Dying persons and their caregivers encounter several needs as part of the dying journey. Spiritual care, when offered effectively, can help address many of those needs. When people’s needs are fulfilled, their suffering is lessened and there is an increased possibility of them experiencing a good death. However, when spiritual care is not offered effectively, dying persons and their caregivers often continue to face unalleviated suffering which limits their ability to experience a good death. This research project explores how dying persons and their caregivers experience spiritual care in their homes as an aid to dying well and having a …

Epic Families: Equipping Parents To Reclaim Their Biblical Mandate While Inspiring Children To Know And Love The God Who Made Them, Marybeth Meltzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature demonstrates that there is a fundamental problem in the church today: the church has taken on the primary role of discipling children, while many parents have abrogated their biblical mandate as outlined in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Surveys of parents as well as practical ministry experience confirm that great confusion exists among parents as to the scope of their biblical responsibilities. This project reviews historical perspectives and the present situation in the church and offers guidance to both parents and ministry professionals to help parents reclaim their God-given responsibilities.

The Role Of Faith And Spirituality In The Work Of End-Of-Life Caregivers, Edward P. Stannard

Master of Arts in Religious Studies (M.A.R.S. Theses)

Nurses, certified nursing assistants and other healthcare workers who care for those who are terminally ill face issues of mortality and even existential questions every day on the job. These professionals, who have intimate contact with their patients daily, must find an inner source of strength and perseverance in order to face people who are at the end of their lives, who may be in pain, and who frequently are alone in their rooms aside from the institution’s staff. This study asks whether an inner sense of religious faith or spirituality helps end-of-life healthcare workers conduct their daily tasks and …

Avoiding The Debilitating Effects Of Compassion Fatigue, James S. Caruso

Doctor of Ministry

Many clergy experience a debilitating stress condition called compassion fatigue (CF). Church leaders leave ministry for many reasons such as moral failure, financial stresses, marital problems, burnout, and CF. CF is not easily recognized, but its effects on ministry leaders are very visible. Preventive measures include observing the Sabbath observance, reliance on the Holy Spirit and other self-care techniques. This projects thesis is that CF can be avoided through Sabbath observance reliance on the Holy Spirit and proper self-care practices. Church leaders are vulnerable to CF in their care-giving role. They should understand the signs and symptoms of CF and …

Spiritual Direction With Women Who Have Autoimmune Diseases: A Model Of Psychospiritual Care, Kelly Renee Arora

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) are incurable autoimmune diseases affecting a growing number of people in the U.S. Women typically receive medical care for the physical effects of these diseases, but psychospiritual dimensions of illness experiences are often neglected. Common autoimmune illness experiences include delayed diagnosis; chronic pain, fatigue, depression; and liminality (being neither healthy nor sick). Women with RA, MS, and lupus also experience ongoing losses (which may be disenfranchised), such as losses of identity, relationships, self-agency, and spiritual beliefs and practices. As a result of ongoing experiences of suffering and loss, women …

Effective Islamic Spiritual Care: Foundations And Practices Of Imams And Other Muslim Spiritual Caregivers, Nazila Isgandarova

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Canada, Muslim communities turn to Muslim spiritual caregivers, especially to imams, for help with various problems. Research has shown that many Muslim spiritual caregivers are familiar with the Arabic language and Islamic values but have limited practice in Islamic counseling and psychotherapy. This study is intended to examine the effectiveness of Muslim spiritual caregivers in the context of Canadian Muslims’ health care. Cross-sectional ethnographic research with fifteen Muslim spiritual caregivers and interviews with them were conducted.

Our results show that even though the majority of Muslim spiritual caregivers have no formal training in Western psychotherapy intervention, they nonetheless play …

The Art Of Dying: Living Fully Into The Life To Come, Rob Moll

Alumni Book Gallery

How now shall we die? Death will come to us all, but most of us live our lives as if death does not exist. People are living longer than ever, and medicine has made dying more complicated, more drawn out and more removed from the experience of most people. Death is partitioned off to hospital rooms, separated from our daily lives. Most of us find ourselves at a loss when death approaches. We don't know how to die well. Rob Moll recovers the deeply Christian practice of dying well. For centuries Christians have prepared for the "good death" with particular …

Ivy League Adventism, Alex España

180 Symposium Publications

My role as a college administrator at an Ivy League university provides a unique perspective regarding the experience of Adventist students on campus and the role the Adventist Church can assume at such universities. Data, survey results, and strategies are considered for the Adventist Church to establish itself as a relevant, Christ-centered organization to better target one of the largest spiritually questioning population groups in North America.

Living On Breath And Spirit: Spiritual Intelligence And Spiritual Journey In The Christian Faith Tradition, Maria Zinsstag

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the last decade, one observes an increased interest in applied spirituality that takes into account the fact that spirituality has left the boundaries of religion. Psychologists and neuroscientists postulate a spiritual intelligence. As a scientific concept it adopts an etic perspective on spirituality. It is used in healthcare, management and education. It is interested in spirituality but not in religion. Christian spirituality on the other hand is rooted in a particular religion. Lytta Basset offers guidance for spiritual growth in the Christian faith tradition. Because spiritual growth is very personal, Basset adopts an emic perspective on spiritual experiences. This …

We Cannot Give If We Do Not Have, Peggy Kelley

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

A Contemplative Youth Ministry Retreat Model, Russell H. Freeman

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Spiritual Formation: An Emerging Narrative In Clinical Supervision Of Counseling And Family Therapy, Evangeline Willms Thiessen

Doctor of Ministry

Clinical professionals in the disciplines of counseling and family therapy, despite the many decades of separation between spirituality and science, currently face the challenge to attend to the spiritual realities and resources of clients' stories. As spirituality, an aspect of therapeutic diversity, moves increasingly to the forefront of counseling and family therapy literature, many clinicians still find it uncomfortable or difficult to negotiate the experiential path of addressing spirituality in practice. Although the need to address spirituality and religion is recognized, there continues to be a lack of conceptualization and methodology to guide the training experiences and preparation of clinicians. …

Congregational Caring For Those Experiencing Pain And Suffering, Nanette Dost

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Often people feel inadequate both in handling their own pain and in helping others who are in pain. It is easier to walk away and refuse to see the pain we know is there. In a world where self-help books and medical treatments abound, how can the Christian congregation offer its unique contribution of the Gospel? Christian community can help to remove pain, teach skills in coping with pain, and integrate pain meaningfully into life. A benefit of Christian community for individuals is in giving meaning to the pain they experience through Jesus' presence.

Chapter 1will explore the history and …