Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism

Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Edwards, Graham M. Citation Edwards, G. M. (2018). Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, United Kingdom. Publisher University of Chester Rights Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Download date 28/09/2021 05:58:45 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/621795 Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Chester for the degree of Doctor of Professional Studies in Practical Theology By Graham Michael Edwards May 2018 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work is my own, but I am indebted to the encouragement, wisdom and support of others, especially: The Methodist Church of Great Britain who contributed funding towards my research. The members of my group interviews for generously giving their time and energy to engage in conversation about the life of their churches. My supervisors, Professor Elaine Graham and Dr Dawn Llewellyn, for their endless patience, advice and support. The community of the Dprof programme, who challenged, critiqued, and questioned me along the way. Most of all, my family and friends, Sue, Helen, Simon, and Richard who listened to me over the years, read my work, and encouraged me to complete it. Thank you. 2 CONTENTS Abstract 5 Summary of Portfolio 6 Chapter One. Introduction: Methodism, a New Narrative? 7 1.1 Experiencing Methodism 7 1.2 Narrative and Identity 10 1.3 A Local Focus 16 1.4 Overview of Thesis 17 Chapter Two. Lived Religion 19 2.1 The Methodist Movement 20 2.2 The Reflexive Turn 26 2.3 Methodists and Methodism 35 2.3(i) Connexionalism 40 2.4 Listening for a Lived Methodism 41 Chapter Three. Listening to Stories; Hearing the Narratives 46 3.1 Narrative Research 46 3.2 Defining Context 48 3.3 Methods 50 3.4 Sampling 54 3.5 Analysis 61 3.6 Ethical Issues 62 3.7 Summary 65 Chapter Four. Discovering Place 66 4.1 Space and Place 67 4.2 The Narrative of Place 75 3 Chapter Five. Place and Community 77 5.1 Habitus and the ‘Rules of the Game’ 77 5.2 Community and Boundaries 82 5.3 Community and Interpretation 87 5.4 Community and Relationship 95 5.5 Summary 100 Chapter Six. Place and Memory 102 6.1 The Importance of Memory in Community 102 6.2 Memory and Validation 107 6.3 Memory and Values 114 6.4 Summary 121 Chapter Seven. Place and Tradition 122 7.1 Continuing ‘A Work in Progress’ 123 7.2 A Local Tradition 129 7.3 A Received Tradition 134 7.4 A Contextual Methodist Tradition 141 7.5 Summary 144 Chapter Eight. Conclusion: Exploring Lived Methodism 146 8.1 Summary 147 8.2 Lived Methodism 149 8.3 Direction for Future Research 152 8.4 Closing Comments 152 Appendix A – Participant Information Sheet 154 Appendix B – Consent Form 157 Bibliography 158 4 Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Graham Edwards Abstract This thesis argues that a thorough understanding of Methodism must attend to the lived experience of Methodist people, expressed within Methodist church communities. I use narrative research methods to show the nature of local Methodist identity. This research was conducted using group interviews with participants from three Methodist churches in West Yorkshire. In analysis of these interviews, a ‘narrative of place’ is revealed: this is how participants talk about the experience of their church’s ‘space’ and make sense of their belonging. It communicates a shared sense of identity in each context. Through the narrative of place, I identify the shared experience of ‘lived Methodism’ that reflects my participants’ belonging within a Methodist church and within that tradition. In 1932, three independent Methodist church groups, each with their own practical and theological emphases, united to form The Methodist Church of Great Britain. The contemporary Methodist Church claims and cherishes its place as a ‘wide’ church, accepts a diversity of practice. Therefore, attempting to define Methodist identity can be problematic. This thesis argues that Methodist identity is not merely given to the church by the Methodist Connexion, or as a function of meeting in a Methodist building, instead it is appropriated and lived locally. A series of two group interviews in three Methodist communities generates the data recorded in the form of transcripts. Using a narrative research methodology to interrogate this data, I expose the narrative of place and its three core emphases, these show how lived Methodism is revealed in my work. Initially, place and community demonstrates how community is formed locally. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, I argue that the language of place and community functions in setting the boundaries of that particular group in both conscious and unconscious ways. The community thus governs its practice and ecclesial identity. Secondly, place and memory is outlined. In the three church narratives, memory is used to claim validity for the current expression of the community, and to articulate the values the community wishes to highlight. These two areas highlight how the local churches own and understand their identity, leading finally to an analysis of place and tradition. This demonstrates an understanding of what it means to be a Methodist church. There exists a local tradition focussed on 'being the church here and now’, which is fed by a received tradition mediated by those who are part of a broader Methodist narrative. The interface of these two modes of tradition creates a contextual Methodist tradition in each setting. I argue that it is here that a rich understanding of Methodism exists. Methodism is not a gift offered to a community, but a lived reality, claimed and valued by those who tell its story. The local narrative of place allows the lived experience of Methodism, in local church communities, to be heard and understood. 5 Summary of Portfolio The portfolio preceding this thesis demonstrates how my research developed throughout the Professional Doctorate programme. I began with questions about the nature of the church which emerged from my personal experience and professional context as a Methodist minister. Specifically, given the plurality of the church, I questioned whether an objective understanding of ‘church’ was possible, or if the context of a church shaped its understanding and articulation of its identity. In my literature review, I began by examining the nature of ‘normativity’ in practical theology, considering the cycle suggested by Rick Osmer (2008), in which he argues that a practitioner seeks a ‘normative perspective’ when considering their response to theological and practical questions. Other scholars (Green, 2009; Lartey, 2000; Leach, 2007) suggest different models for seeking new practice or ‘norms’. However, these are informed by the context rather than attempting to present objective certainties. These contributions led me to consider differing understandings of the nature and purpose of the church. In this section, I argued that any understanding of ‘church’ is partial and provisional. Through their lived experience, Christian people reflect on and review their understanding of church, enabling contextual ecclesiologies to be constructed and narrated. In my publishable article, I continued to explore questions about the nature of the church. I suggested that an understanding of the church as a ‘liminal community’ illuminates the way in which the practice of two or more churches can differ significantly, while both claim to be part of ‘the church’. I argued that, at its heart, the church is a liminal community (in the world, yet not of the world); the way a church describes itself and its practices are the outworkings of that liminal experience in the concrete reality of its local context. In my research proposal, I focussed specifically on the context in which I was working as a Methodist minister, asking how three different churches claimed a shared Methodism. I developed a methodology to allow members of these church communities to construct narratives together, with the aim of interrogating these. My research question developed as I recognised that the narratives formed revealed an account of my participants’ lived experience in community, and furthermore, their lived Methodism. This led me to explore how lived Methodism could be conceptualised, and articulated from these narratives. 6 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: METHODISM, A NEW NARRATIVE? In this thesis, I argue that a careful understanding of Methodism must pay attention to the lived experience of Methodist people, articulated in local Methodist narratives. I suggest that Methodism does not exist primarily in shared doctrinal statements, or a collection of common practices, rather Methodist identity is revealed in the experience of lived Methodism. I argue that the narrative of place signifies the shared experience of lived Methodism. By listening to the stories from members of three Methodist churches in Yorkshire, I expose the narratives in which their identity is held and expressed, to articulate a shared way of communicating in each context; I refer to this as the narrative of place. The Methodist movement, which became the Methodist church, began in the work of John Wesley (1703 – 1791), yet, from that point, defining the nature of Methodism has proved somewhat complicated. Since its beginnings in Wesley and his work, Methodist theology and practice has evolved as a response to the changing culture around it, and therefore understanding its place and form within a particular context is necessary in any attempt to define it, as David Carter (2002, p. 150) notes. In this thesis, I contend that ‘Methodism’ exists in the lived experience of Methodist people: what I would term ‘lived Methodism’.

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