Narratives of Exclusion: Toward a Pastoral Theology of Community

Abstract

<p>This thesis investigates the perception of 'difference' which results in the stratification of people within the North American evangelical church. In order to develop this understanding, the experiences of excluded persons are explored carefully by attending to narratives of the elderly, those living with disability, the divorced, widows, the homeless, and others who have endured the pain of rejection. Such persons are made to feel as if they have no voice. By articulating the felt experience of the excluded this thesis gives voice to the hidden dimensions of alienation which occur even in the church. Alienation is explored as a core theological motif with the aim of developing a pastoral theology of community which enables a reorientation of ministry to the excluded. In the course of argument the thesis explores a theology of alienation. This provides the theological context for the narratives of exclusion which illuminate the reality of loneliness-a core dimension of exclusion. Employing the revised critical correlation method the thesis concludes by offering a pastoral theology of community which calls for effective approaches to the ministry of inclusion.</p>