Section

  • 2020 Lancaster Theological Seminary DMin Symposium

    Monday, March 30, 2020

    Symposium presentations will be conducted online using Zoom.

    Schedule of Events
    Time Presenter Topic
    9:00‑9:55 a.m.   Ronnette Comfort‑Butler  "How to Develop a Practice of Radical Hospitality for People with Cognitive Processing Disorders"
    10:00‑10:55 a.m.   Colie Bettivia  "Hello, We're Here!: Active Participation in Traditional Church Congregations By Those in the Millennial Generation"
    11:00‑11:55 a.m.   Faith Dickens Fitzgerald  "Renewing the Spirit of Hospice: A Spiritual Response to Compassion Fatigue in Hospice Workers"
    12:00‑12:55 p.m.  Will Hagenbuch  "'Won’t You Be My Neighbor?': Creating an Interconnected Onsite and Online Christian Community"
    1:00‑1:55 p.m.   Karin Pejack  "'Where Two or Three Are Gathered…': A Study of Multiple Christian Congregations under One Steeple"
    2:00‑2:55 p.m.   Kim Stryjak  "The Holy Week of Our Lives:  How to Help Faith Leaders have Conversations around Death and Dying in our Faith Communities"
    3:00‑3:55 p.m.  Marjory Roth  "'Is it a Savior?': Finding Salvation in Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Batman"
    All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4:00)

    Presentation Details for Current DMin Students and Guests

    • Presenters are listed below in schedule order
    • Expand the presenter's section to find:
      • Link to join Zoom session or recording (as available)
      • Supporting documents provided by presenter (if applicable)
      • Online evaluation form (made available at the time of presentation)

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  • How to Develop a Practice of Radical Hospitality for People with Cognitive Processing Disorders

    Time: 9:00-9:55 a.m.

    Abstract

        The purpose of this project is to give importance to the development and implication of a practice of radical hospitality within the worship setting for people with Cognitive Processing Disorders.  This project will demonstrate how using the framework of strategies that have been developed and utilized by the educational system and adapting them in the worship setting can have a significant impact on people who struggle with cognitive processing issues and disorders. 

        A survey was created and sent to all of the churches within the Lancaster Association of the United Church of Christ to see if these churches had developed a practice of radical hospitality for people with CPD and how they implement their practice. According to the results of this survey it was determined that these particular churches were struggling with the right strategies to develop their own practice of radical hospitality and as a result, people with CPD were not benefitting fully from what they were offering.

        By following the framework of strategies that have already been tested, evaluated and reevaluated within the educational system, churches can progress from people with CPD simply being tolerated or included, to being valued and embraced.


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  • Hello, We're Here!: Active Participation in Traditional Church Congregations By Those in the Millennial Generation

    Time: 10:00-10:55 a.m.

    Abstract

    This project seeks to shed light on persons who are of the Millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996) who are actively engaged in a traditional Christian church congregation. Focusing on congregations of the United Church of Christ in Wisconsin, I used surveys and interviews to study pairs of siblings where one sibling is active in a congregation and the other is not. By analyzing the differences between siblings in life situations, personal experiences, and spiritual engagement, the wider church can achieve a better understanding of the Millennial generation and why some of them have chosen to participate in the church while others have not. Differences between siblings found to be significant include the religious level of spouses, self-identity as a person of faith, and LGBTQ+ identity. Surprisingly, my data suggests that Millennial siblings who identify as LGBTQ+ are more likely to be actively involved in a church than their straight-identifying sibling. Discussion also includes the ways that Millennials are engaging with spirituality and community outside of the institutional church. Hearing the voices of these Millennials directly provides perspective and understanding that the church is often missing in the conversations about this generation. Millennials who are participating in congregations are not doing so by accident, happenstance, or outside pressure - they are making active, intentional decisions to participate in church community because they care about the church. 

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  • Renewing the Spirit of Hospice: A Spiritual Response to Compassion Fatigue in Hospice Workers

    Time: 11:00-11:55 a.m.

    Abstract

    This project explores the impact of spiritual practices on the experience of compassion fatigue in hospice nurses, social workers and chaplains.  Quantitative data was gathered by comparing scores on the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) survey before and after participation in six weeks of spiritual practices.  Spiritual practice guides were accessed through a website, Spirit of Hospice, which was designed by the researcher.  Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with participants, resulting in the identification of four key themes. Implications of this research suggest methods for addressing the spiritual effects of compassion fatigue in hospice workers and the utilization of hospice chaplains for spiritual support to hospice workers.

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  • "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?": Creating an Interconnected Onsite and Online Christian Community

    Time: 12:00-12:55 p.m.

    Abstract

    “All are welcome” suggests churches both welcome and include all, yet those who choose to “worship” remotely using the internet are often marginalized in an increasingly technological world where more and more Americans spend more and more time online. This qualitative project addresses this disconnect by evaluating the obstacles of bringing an onsite and online church community together in one “space”—where the virtual and the physical become one, which is particularly important as the COVID-19 virus continues its impact on how American church communities gather. This project proposes that dynamic church websites with ongoing connections reach further into the communities around existing churches thus enabling the church to be a people more than a place.

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  • “Where Two or Three Are Gathered…”: A Study of Multiple Christian Congregations under One Steeple

    Time: 1:00-1:55 p.m.

    Abstract

    This project explores how the practice of two or more Christian congregations sharing a single facility impacts the participating congregations’ understanding of mission and ministry in the Christian tradition. How has the sharing experience, perhaps in surprising ways, affected the faith journeys of the congregations involved in facility-sharing?  Through interviews, pastors and lay leaders of congregations involved in facility-sharing outline mission priorities of the participating congregations before and after beginning facility-sharing.  Other data, such as details of preliminary agreements, interaction between/among groups, shared events and/or outreach, as well as financial benefits and liabilities for congregations sharing a facility, are collected and analyzed with an eye toward how this information reflects mission priorities and shifts in understanding of mission and ministry. This study is a qualitative accounting of congregations involved in facility-sharing based on a compilation of stories about the current experiences with facility-sharing.

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  • The Holy Week of Our Lives: How to Help Faith Leaders have Conversations around Death and Dying in our Faith Communities

    Time: 2:00-2:55 p.m.

    Abstract

    This project seeks to demonstrate the critical need for general conversations on death and dying in our faith communities. Using theologies on death and dying, Christian practices, as well as current books, literature in journals, and first hand experiences, the project presents ways in which conversations on end-of-life are happening in society and in our faith communities.  It also presents the deep need for these conversations to continue to take place and how we can support our faith leaders in having these conversations in our faith communities. I then propose a workshop as a resource to help faith leaders and faith communities have general conversations on death and dying, using Jesus as an example in our faith lives.  The workshop is designed based on specific responses to surveys given to faith leaders in the Pennsylvania Southeast and Pennsylvania Northeast conferences of the United Church of Christ; interviews with 10 of these faith leaders and surveys to 5 congregations in this region. In those surveys, faith leaders identified what conversations on death and dying they have within their faith communities and also their desired resources and elements for a workshop for education in end-of-life issues and death and dying.  The faith community members identified what conversations they have had in faith communities on death and dying and what information would be beneficial in future conversations on this topic.  The end result of this project is the demonstrated need for additional resources to support faith leaders in having conversations on end-of-life planning in their faith communities.  The additional resources proposed in this project are an annotated bibliography of resources on death and dying and a workshop for further education and real life simulation for faith leaders to increase comfort in having end-of-life conversations in their faith communities.  

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  • "Is it a Savior?": Finding Salvation in Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Batman

    Time: 3:00-3:55 p.m.

    Abstract

    This paper explores how the theological idea of salvation takes shape in pop culture, specifically through the superhero films, Aquaman (2018), Wonder Woman (2017) and the Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, and 2012). I analyze how the films’ main characters embody the role of savior and what their narratives might contribute to the Presbyterian understanding of salvation. I am not simply looking at where or how pop culture uses theological or Biblical parallels, but instead asking what these characters contribute to the broader conversation about salvation. The paper asks three questions of each film: what in the film’s world needs saving; what about these superheroes or their actions make them a savior; and what, if anything, is changed within that fictional world, as a result of their actions? In asking these questions, we explore how an understanding of salvation emerges from within the film and later compare that to the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s teaching on Jesus as Savior.

    View only 'Topic 7'