Holy Fun: A Path to Church Consolidation

Holy Fun: A Path to Church Consolidation

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Ministry. Anabel Proffitt, advisor. Electronic PDF document. 138 pages.

Holy Fun is a playful, lighthearted, not-take-yourself-too-seriously approach to ministry that expresses itself in a rainbow of experiences which bring people together and closer to God. Drawing from Johan Huizinga, James Evans, Henri Nouwen, and Harvey Cox, the element of play is defined and placed firmly within the soul of the church and its people. Hugo Rahner, Edwin Friedman, Martin Marty and Michael Koppel laid the groundwork for the element, to 'not-take-yourself-too-seriously.' This embodied theology is further elucidated by Plato, Jurgen Moltmann, Julia Cameron and Mary Hess. The term Holy Fun seems oxymoronic. How can one have fun in the pursuit of the Holy or conversely, How can one be holy while having fun. But the idea of Holy Fun is counter-intuitive for most folks. Holy Fun does include a Theology of Fun. Although Holy Fun can be applied to all aspects of ministry including conflict management, educational approaches, outreach ministry, staffing, leadership training, mission life, and worship, its potential employment is only limited by the imagination. I have helped to consolidate four United Church of Christ congregations with Holy Fun as the vehicle of change. This path to church consolidation is presented as a case study in Holy Fun. This is not a "how to" program that can be completed step by step, but a philosophy of playful and lighthearted approach to all aspects of ministry that can be learned by pastors, church leaders and pew sitters and will aide congregations in their futuring together. For current information, please visit my website: www.holyfun.org.

Hess, M. Jane

Lancaster, PA: Lancaster Theological Seminary

2012

(c) M. Jane Hess; posted by permission

Play--Religious aspects

Church work

Dissertation

electronic document (PDF)

https://library.lancasterseminary.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=120045

English