The growth of partnership in mission in global mission history during the twentieth century

Partnership in mission came to be a byword for developing missionary relationships during the twentieth century. During this time its meaning and practice changed, often imperceptibly. This is seen in the regular conferences of the International Missionary  Conference and its successors which had their origin in the International Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh, 1910. A   further problem was making the concept a reality in relationships despite great disparities in resources. This has given rise to the negative critique of the slogan as empty and meaningless

Hated without a reason - Contending with issues of human sexuality in a South African ecclesial context: A case study

The mainline churches in South Africa are in turmoil internally as a result of divisions arising out of issues related to human sexuality. These issues have serious implications for these churches, church families within them, and the relationship of these churches with one another and with the state. There is little open space for debate as discussions are hampered by a variety of theological perspectives on the authority of scripture, some of which are fixed and absolutised. This is a matter of justice for all those involved. This research article seeks to analyse the issues involved theologically and in terms of church polity, with a view of clarifying possibilities and options for a resolution of the distress and pain caused within and between members of the Christian family using the transnational context of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa as a case study. The concepts of critical solidarity and critical distance will be used to clarify relationships within the relevant contexts. This article is interdisciplinary and embraces the fields of Church History or Polity, Practical Theology, Missiology and Systematic Theology. Contribution: This paper seeks to analyse issues of human sexuality within a South African Christian denomination with particular attention to the matter of justice

Turning up the lights - fabrication of brighter SERRS nanotags

Brighter SERRS nanotags ideal for improved SERRS imaging were prepared by the controlled addition of electrolyte producing a dimer enriched solution, which was incubated with a Raman reporter before being stabilised by a polyethylene glycol (PEG) shell

Cretaceous-to-recent record of elevated 3He/4He along the Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic chain

Helium isotopes are a robust geochemical tracer of a primordial mantle component in hot spot volcanism. The high 3He/4He (up to 35 RA, where RA is the atmospheric 3He/4He ratio of 1.39 × 10−6) of some Hawaiian Island volcanism is perhaps the classic example. New results for picrites and basalts from the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain indicate that the hot spot has produced high 3He/4He lavas for at least the last 76 million years. Picrites erupted at 76 Ma have 3He/4He (10–14 RA), which is at the lower end of the range for the Hawaiian Islands but still above the range of modern mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB; 6–10 RA). This was at a time when hot spot volcanism was occurring on thin lithosphere close to a spreading ridge and producing lava compositions otherwise nearly indistinguishable from MORB. After the hot spot and spreading center diverged during the Late Cretaceous, the hot spot produced lavas with significantly higher 3He/4He (up to 24 RA). Although 3He/4He ratios stabilized at relatively high values by 65 Ma, other chemical characteristics such as La/Yb and 87Sr/86Sr did not reach and stabilize at Hawaiian-Island-like values until ~45 Ma. Our limited 3He/4He record for the Hawaiian hot spot shows a poor correlation with plume flux estimates (calculated from bathymetry and residual gravity anomalies [Van Ark and Lin, 2004]). If 3He is a proxy for the quantity of primordial mantle material within the plume, then the lack of correlation between 3He/4He and calculated plume flux suggests that variation in primordial mantle flux is not the primary factor controlling total plume flux

The role of mission councils in the Scottish mission in South Africa: 1864—1923

The role of Mission Councils in the growth and development of the Scottish Mission in South Africa is a confusing and vexing one. Whereas they were conceived and established as a means of facilitating mission, they often hindered this by drawing distinctions between agents of mission and delineating spheres of authority through exercises of power, even in opposition to expressed mission policy derived from Scotland. In essence, they were an integral part of the hegemonic missionary worldview, which frustrated progress towards the formation of the Bantu Presbyterian Church of South Africa in 1923.http://www.unisa.ac.za/sheam2013mn201

Inculturation : adaptation, innovation and reflexivity. An African Christian perspective

Article republished with updated title.The purpose of this article is to examine the changing understandings of processes and terms which have been and are currently in use regarding the outworking of the mission of the church. This historical and missiological approach will evaluate the contribution of a number of African and other theologians during the 20th century and also the opening years of the 21st century. It will cover the missionary period from the end of the 18th century with a special focus on the impact during the ‘high missionary era’ (1880–1920) to the present. The focus will predominantly be on Africa and Pentecostalism, the role of women and the African diaspora as examples of effective inculturation.http://www.hts.org.zaam201

The end of Mission Councils : a case study of the Church of Scotland South Africa Joint Council, 1971–1981

This article will investigate why Mission Councils continued to exist for so long after the so-called autonomous churches were established in South Africa following the upsurge of Ethiopian and other types of African initiated churches at the close of the 19th century in opposition to the European sending churches. It will also examine how the emerging Partnership in Mission policy affected the process of integration of church and mission. Using the closing years of the Church of Scotland South African Joint Council (1971–1981) as a case study, the author examines primary sources to uncover the exercise of power demonstrated through racism manifested in the disposition of personnel, property and finance to control the development of authentic autonomy.http://www.hts.org.zaChurch History and Church Polic

Ethiopianism in Pan-African perspective, 1880-1920

This article surveys the origins, development and extent of Ethiopianism (part of the African Initiated Church Movement [AIC]) in Africa which was widespread throughout Africa during the ‘high’ imperial and missionary era (1880-1920) which is the main focus of this article. However, they appear to have a number of common features – response to colonialism, imperialism and the missionary movement, the response of nationalism in the political sphere and Pan-Africanism linked to Ethiopianism in the religious sphere. This article seeks to explore these sometimes indistinguishable features, through selected examples, in a novel way as a Pan-African movement.http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=19577am2016Church History and Church Polic

The Church of Scotland's historic approach to partnership in mission 1929-1965

Peer reviewedThe Church of Scotland has exercised a long term commitment to mission and its twentieth century expression, partnership in mission. However, its theory and practice have often been at odds with one another. This has raised issues of trust, integrity, responsibility, sensitivity and mutual accountability. A key requisite is consultation also often more honoured in the breach than in its observance. The struggle has been how to make partnership in mission an authentic two-way process. This article examines this development until 1965 when a novel approach, the partner church consultation, was introduced.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

Celtic spirituality and the environment

Celtic spirituality has a long and distinguished ancestry with its origins in pre-Christian times. It was inculturated amongst peoples in the far west of Europe, particularly in Ireland, Scotland and the north and south west of England. It was different from Roman Christianity in distinct ways until the mid-7th century CE when Roman Christianity became the norm in Britain. It has experienced various revivals during the history of Christianity, with two contemporary expressions in New Age spirituality and Christian spirituality. From its inception, it has been closely linked to the environment.http://www.hts.org.zaam201