Logo image
The Community of St. Julian: Explorations into a Sacramentally Anglican Online Church in Aotearoa
Graduate Thesis/Dissertation   Open access

The Community of St. Julian: Explorations into a Sacramentally Anglican Online Church in Aotearoa

Hilary Willett
Master of Theology - MTheol, University of Otago
University of Otago
2023
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/10523/15979

Abstract

practical theology action research Anglican Church digital theology online church Eucharist
This thesis explores the question of whether there is space in the Anglican Church of New Zealand, Aotearoa, and Polynesia (ANZAP) for online church from a tikanga Pākehā perspective. It practical theological action research which explores the perspectives of Anglicans regarding online worship. To undertake this research, I recruited eight volunteers to participate in ten weeks of online worship. This group was called “The Community of St. Julian (CSJ).” Participants engaged with a sacramentally designed website and regular gatherings once a week. The technologies used and experiments undertaken were designed to engage with Anglican understandings of sacramentality online. The website was created to sacramentally communicate theological meaning, and the gatherings engaged with sacramental practices. At the end of CSJ, I gathered information from the participants about their experiences of worshipping together online. Then I examined whether there were ecclesial, pastoral, and pragmatic justifications for online church. Based on participant reflections, experiences, and research into the issues presented, this thesis maintains there are convincing justifications for online church. Consequently, this thesis argues that there is space in ANZAP for online church long-term.
pdf
WillettHilaryG2022MTh.pdf4.62 MBDownloadView

Metrics

82 File views/ downloads
187 Record Views

Details

Logo image