Participatory consciousness that knows with the other

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THE ‘I’ IN THE RESEARCH TEXT

In the research text the voice of the researcher, my voice, speaks in the first person singular to reveal an ‘I’ that not only argues, but also experiences and feels, as described by Jones (1990:4). The inclusion of the ‘I’ is important, because of the postmodern feminist nature of this research inquiry, which therefore also values the visibility of the author (Jones 1990:4). Like Dudley-Marling (1996:36), I believe that hiding the ‘I’ is a pretence that forces me to ‘hide my passion, to deny who I am, and to pretend that my words are separated from me’. My preference for including the ‘I’ in the text also relates to my choice of a style of writing (Jones 1990:6) in which I acknowledge myself as a participant in the writing of this research text on training participatory pastoral caregivers.

Red shoes as a metaphor

The red shoes that Vianne wears became a leading theme and metaphor in our research groups’ conversations after we had watched the film together. In the film Chocolat, the red shoes that the main character, Vianne, wears stand out against the background of the dreary, gloomy and grey time of Lent, just before the coming of spring, in the little town she wins over by opening her chocolatérie. Most of the women in the town wear black shoes, but Vianne’s red shoes and lifestyle bring colour and life back into relationships and into the lives of people for whom the town did not hold out any hope. The titles of the chapters of this research journey originated in the conversations I had with the Red Shoe Co-Researchers. The Red Shoe CoResearchers believe that our caring practices should be like Vianne’s red shoes, standing out and challenging the predictability of life and of care in our societies.

An experiential approach to training laity for pastoral care (Shires 1983)

An experiential approach to training laity for pastoral care is the title of the research project on which Shires (1983) embarked when he trained a group of five members of his congregation in pastoral care over a period of six weeks. Shires provided the participants in the training with reading material and biblical texts pertaining to pastoral care on which they reflected in the sessions. The training also consisted of real life pastoral conversations where the participants needed to reflect on the pastor’s conversation with a candidate by doing what he called ‘write-ups’ of the conversations. These write-ups were then discussed in his next session with the participants.

Social construction discourse

Social construction discourse is a ‘page from the postmodern text’ (Gergen 2001:2), a lens for knowledge that I employed throughout the research journey, in the PPC training, as well as in exploring participatory approaches to practical theology and pastoral care. Social construction discourse (Kotzé & Kotzé 1997) is therefore one of the lenses that I believe make the red shoes of care possible and helpful in the postmodern times we live in. First, social constructionists have no difficulty with ‘locally claimed realities; these may be anticipated and honored’ (Gergen & Gergen 2003f:228). The locally claimed realities of the 33 participants who shared the act of documenting the research journey in various capacities were therefore honoured by giving them a chance to speak as theologians in the academic discourse. Section 2.5.3 explains this process in detail.

Practical theology as mediation

In his ‘bi-polar’ approach to practical theology, Heitink (1999b:265) sees the task of practical theology as wider than technical training of members of the clergy to take on the role of mediation: Practical theology is an empirically oriented theological theory of the mediation of the Christian tradition in the praxis of modern society….This mediation between the Christian tradition and modern society is at the core of practical theology and has its effects in three directions, the individual, the church, and the society. This mediation requires a continual critical interrelation between theological theory and the context of modern society.

The need for new mediation

In an article entitled ‘Practical theology and postmodern life: Do we need a new paradigm?’, Schweitzer (2001:176) challenges the field of practical theology to reconsider its mediating task and to act as a midwife for the religious potential of postmodern times. He calls for the same mediation that Heitink (1999b:265) called for. We may well ask how this mediation process will develop within the practical theological field when different constructions of the individual, church and society are being negotiated in the red shoe times in which we live.

CONTENTS :

• DECLARATION
• SUMMARY
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• CHAPTER ONE: FOREWARNINGS OF RED SHOES
  • 1.1 INTRODUCTION
  • 1.2 THE ‘I’ IN THE RESEARCH TEXT
  • 1.3 MY STORY
  • 1.4 THE STORY OF PPC TRAINING
    • 1.4.1 The title of the research journey
    • 1.4.2 The contents of the PPC training
  • 1.5 MY RE-SEARCH CURIOSITY
  • 1.6 THE AIMS OF THIS RESEARCH JOURNEY
    • 1.6.1 Constructing knowledges
    • 1.6.2 What knowledges were collected?
    • 1.6.3 Contributing to the practical theological field
  • 1.7 INVITING PARTICIPANTS TO JOIN THE RESEARCH JOURNEY
    • 1.7.1 Multiple reflexive conversations
    • 1.7.2 Semi-structured interviews
    • 1.7.3 A listening team as co-researchers
  • 1.8 INCLUDING THE VOICES OF THE PARTICIPANTS
    • 1.8.1 Capturing the stories
    • 1.8.2 Telling stories
    • 1.8.3 Participatory ethics in research
• CHAPTER TWO: TIMES FOR RED SHOES
  • 2.1 INTRODUCTION
  • 2.2 WHAT IS A POSTMODERN PARADIGM?
    • 2.2.1 Social construction discourse
    • 2.2.2 Poststructuralism
  • 2.3 PRACTICAL THEOLOGY AS A CHILD OF MODERNITY
    • 2.3.1 A subject of modernity
    • 2.3.2 Practical theology as mediation
    • 2.3.3 The need for new mediation
  • 2.4 A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO PRACTICAL THEOLOGY
    • 2.4.1 Origins from below
    • 2.4.2 Knowing is contextual
    • 2.4.3 Voicing change
    • 2.4.4 Doing theology with
    • 2.4.5 Feminist theology
  • 2.5 A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO PRACTICAL THEOLOGY
• CHAPTER THREE: PARTICIPATING IN RED SHOE CARE
  • 3.1 INTRODUCTION
  • 3.2 A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO PASTORAL CARE
    • 3.2.1 Doing spirituality
    • 3.2.1.1 What is spirituality?
    • 3.2.1.2 Doing spirituality in community
    • 3.2.1.3 Respect for difference
    • 3.2.1.4 Awareness of God in spirituality
    • 3.2.2 A journey of caring with
    • 3.2.2.1 Care as social practice
  • 3.2.3 Participatory consciousness that knows with the other
• CHAPTER FOUR: RED SHOES FOR TIRED FEET
• 4.1 INTRODUCTION
• 4.2 STORY
  • 4.3 A NARRATIVE APPROACH
  • 4.3.1 A respectful and non-blaming approach
  • 4.3.2 People as experts
  • 4.3.3 The problem is the problem
  • 4.3.3.1 A reflexive perspective
  • 4.3.3.2 Deconstructing the discourses that assist the problem
  • 4.3.3.3 Take action against the problem
• CHAPTER FIVE: TRAINING RED SHOE CAREGIVERS
• CHAPTER SIX: NARRATIVES OF RED SHOE TRANSFORMATIONS
• CHAPTER SEVEN: RED SHOE PRACTICES OF TRANSFORMATION
• CHAPTER EIGHT: TAKING RED SHOES TO THE WORLD

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PARTICIPATORY PASTORAL CARE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY