An Empirical Look at the Ecumenical Diaconate in the United States

The growth of interest in the escalating phenomenon of the diaconate in a number of denominations- predominantly in the North Atlantic region - has been well-documented in ecumenical dialogues, denominational reports, and scholarly publications. A number of articles have placed the diaconate in the larger context of ecclesiological reflection, but an accurate picture of the practical reality of individual deacons and their perceptions about their ministry has rarely been examined beyond anecdotal evidence? A better picture of the views and experiences of deacons is vital for at least two reasons. First, it is necessary to support ecumenical cooperation in the development of the diaconate as a movement for the renewal of the church\u27s mission and liturgy. Without an honest appraisal of the similarities and differences of deacons\u27 ministries, it is difficult to propose areas for ecumenical cooperation. Second, social scientific analysis of the modern diaconate can contribute valuable insights for ecclesiological reflection. Reflecting on his experience after Vatican II, Joseph A. Komonchak contends that social analysis must accompany theological reflection on the nature of the church

“For the Relief of Human Suffering”: The Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief in the Context of Cold War Initiatives in Development, 1940–1968

The Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief (MCOR) was one of the first and largest denominational relief and development agencies in the nation from 1940 to 1968. Its ecumenical engagement was robust from the start; it was one of the largest donors to United China Relief, Church World Service, and other ecumenical overseas relief organizations during this time. This article provides a decade by decade assessment of MCOR’s work with particular attention to (1) its ecumenical engagement in relief and development efforts; (2) the relationship of MCOR’s work to the wider context of overseas relief and development efforts by nongovernmental, bilateral, and multilateral agencies; (3) the stated theological justification of MCOR’s work as it related to the wider mission of the church and specifically the Methodist Board of Missions and Church Extension. The article concludes with reflections on the implications of this study for the future work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief

Mission: Agnes C. L. Donohugh, early apostle for ethnography

In the spring of 1915, the Kennedy School of Missions at Hartford Theological Seminary, the leading graduate school for missionary training in the United States at this time, offered the first graduate-level course on ethnology ever to be taught in America to missionary candidates.1 The seminary\u27s leadership had identified the need for teaching ethnology to missionariesin- training as early as 1913 - when the school of missions was just two years old. 2 This American curricular innovation followed a practice begun a decade earlier in Britain of teaching ethnology to missionary candidates (Kuklick 1991).3 Hartford Seminary President W. Douglas Mackenzie was also inspired to make this curricular change because he had chaired Commission V on The Training of Teachers at the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910. That Commission sounded a sobering call for more cross-cultural sensitivity in missionary training: Christian missionaries do not always show consummate wisdom in their methods. Christianity is under no inherent compulsion to impose any special form of civilization on its adherents, else we should all be Judaised. It is certainly strange that we should take an Eastern religion, adapt it to Western needs, and then impose those Western adaptations on Eastern races. I can conceive no better way of swamping and stamping out all true individuality in our converts.4 In light of Edinburgh 1910\u27s call for change, it only made sense that Mackenzie would want his own institution to take the lead in improving mission ary training. And so it did

Saving Students: European Student Relief in the Aftermath of World War I

The World’s Student Christian Federation established the European Student Relief (ESR) organization in 1920 in order to respond to the refugee and hunger crises emerging in the wake of World War I in Europe. Although nearly forgotten today, it was the first truly international ecumenical relief agency in the world. This article tells the story of ESR in reference to its efforts at building interorganizational coalitions and as a force for “internationalism.” The ESR’s story is instructive as the world marks the hundredth anniversary of the end of World War I and is once again confronted with refugee crises

“That They All Might Be One”: John R. Mott’s Contributions to Methodism, Interreligious Dialogue, and Racial Reconciliation

An extraordinary organizer and leader, Methodist layman John R. Mott (1865–1955) was influential in the establishment and growth of many different world-wide Christian organizations in the early twentieth century. He was even asked to serve as ambassador to China by President Woodrow Wilson—a position he declined. For his work in organizing people and resources for world peace Mott was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. This article focuses on Mott’s efforts at ecumenism for the sake of Christian mission by analyzing three dimensions of Mott’s work: Mott’s Methodism, his efforts in global interreligious dialogue, and work in racial reconciliation efforts at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. His work in relation to these three themes is traced through out his life in order to highlight the development of his ideas and activism as he inter acted with many different ecumenical organizations and world Christian leaders. The article illustrates the tensions and inconsistencies that emerged in Mott’s thinking and ecumenical practice as he sought to emphasize unity for the sake of mission in the many different facets of his work

Leadership Development in Nongovernmental Organizations: Applying Theory to Developing Country Contexts

Leadership development in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) is becoming increasingly important as many developing country leaders retire from their positions in these organizations. The growing number, size, and political influence of NGOs also indicate a need for closer analysis of NGO leaders and leadership. Built on a thorough review of three different approaches to leadership and case study analysis of leadership development programs, this paper presents a preliminary leadership development framework which addresses the challenges of accountability, leader transitions, and external environment leadership - three issues particularly salient in the NGO context. Ideas about how leadership development programs may be constructed are offered in addition to specific recommendations for future research endeavors

Diakonia and Mission: Charting the Ambiguity

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A Country Strange and Far: The Methodist Church in the Pacific Northwest, 1834–1918

The Methodist mission to the Pacific Northwest that began in 1834 was a defining venture for the Methodist Episcopal Church’s new mission society, which had been established in 1820. No missionary destination in the first generation of the Mission Society received more attention – in terms of both financial support and personnel – than the Oregon mission. This fact alone makes Michael McKenzie’s book a welcome addition to the historical literature concerning Christianity in the Pacific Northwest. The book’s analysis is not limited to the first generation of Methodist work in the region. McKenzie’s aims are more ambitious. He examines the challenges Methodists faced in the Pacific Northwest through almost a full century of activity in both rural and urban spaces. The book is primarily a narrative of failure and decline. Unfortunately, this reviewer found that emphasis on decline to be so dominant as to sometimes cause a few successes and experiences of growth – or at least survival – among Native American peoples and others to be downplayed or ignored

Spirality: A Novel Way to Measure Spiral Arm Pitch Angle

We present the MATLAB code Spirality, a novel method for measuring spiral arm pitch angles by fitting galaxy images to spiral templates of known pitch. Computation time is typically on the order of 2 minutes per galaxy, assuming at least 8 GB of working memory. We tested the code using 117 synthetic spiral images with known pitches, varying both the spiral properties and the input parameters. The code yielded correct results for all synthetic spirals with galaxy-like properties. We also compared the code's results to two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform (2DFFT) measurements for the sample of nearby galaxies defined by DMS PPak. Spirality's error bars overlapped 2DFFT's error bars for 26 of the 30 galaxies. The two methods' agreement correlates strongly with galaxy radius in pixels and also with i-band magnitude, but not with redshift, a result that is consistent with at least some galaxies' spiral structure being fully formed by z=1.2, beyond which there are few galaxies in our sample. The Spirality code package also includes GenSpiral, which produces FITS images of synthetic spirals, and SpiralArmCount, which uses a one-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform to count the spiral arms of a galaxy after its pitch is determined. The code package is freely available online; see Comments for URL.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. The code package is available at http://dafix.uark.edu/~doug/SpiralityCode

Perspectives on the Missiological Legacy of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation

Upon the occasion of the 500th anniversary Martin Luther’s publication of his 95 theses, this composite article brings together five perspectives on the missiological legacy of the reformer and the subsequent Protestant Reformation. The blend of voices makes clear that Luther and the subsequent Protestant Reformation do not have a simple missiological legacy but rather various legacies: theological, ecclesiological, political, and practical; some of which co-exist, and even collide, in the same ecclesiastical community. The scandalous legacy of a splintered and splintering church remains. Yet, demonstrations of mutual recognition, reciprocal respect, and genuine fellowship can be found in certain missiological circles