RECOMMENDED BOOK, SPRING 2025 DIOCESE OF FLORIDA CLERGY CONFERENCE
This book provides accessible pathways to understanding, shaping, and enriching the parish church. Pastoral or practical theology reflects on and informs the pastoral oversight and functional tasks of the Christian community. As a broad field, it is interested in the functions of leadership, liturgical presiding, and so on. Here we are interested in the theological dimensions that attempt to understand contemporary society and human needs, and to shape parish communities in a manner that will effectively address those needs. What kind of oversight, structure, and spiritual life do we need to effectively form Christians, in our tradition, for this age? What are the spiritual practice that will help us ground the parish in prayer and reflection?
Our starting place is what is organic and real today in the inner life of any parish church. In our pastoral strategy, we want to pay attention to the rhythms and dynamics that already exist. Once we have some understanding of those, we are better able to shape the parish in ways that strengthen and deepen health while mitigating less helpful ways of functioning.
Written from the perspective of Episcopalians who have been trained in the field of organization development, this book explores both traditional and less familiar theological images. It also delves into the importance of culture in shaping healthy and dense spiritual communities, and points to the knowledge and skills needed to undertake this work more successfully.
