Dissertation no. 26 Gyrid Gunnes Towards a diaconia of displacements: An empirical theological inquiry Towards a diaconia of displacements: An empirical theological inquiry Gyrid Gunnes Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D) VID Specialized University 2020 i © Gyrid Gunnes, 2020 ISBN: 978-82-93490-80-7 ISSN: 2535-3071 Dissertation Series for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) at VID Specialized University, Volume no. 26 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Cover: Dinamo Printed in Norway: Totaltrykk, Oslo, 2020 VID Specialized University [email protected] www.vid.no Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Aim of the study and structure of the text .................................................................................. 2 1.3 Conceptual frameworks ............................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Scientific location of the study ..................................................................................................... 8 1.4.1 The discourse of diaconia ...................................................................................................... 8 1.4.2 Ecclesiologies of liberation and empirical ecclesiology ...................................................... 11 1.5. The Church City Mission and the Church of Our Lady: historical, ecclesiological and liturgical perspectives. .................................................................................................................. 15 1.5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 15 1.5.2 The history of the CCM ........................................................................................................ 16 1.5.3 Liturgy in the context of the CCM ....................................................................................... 19 1.5.4 The first parish of the CCM: The church of Tøyen (Tøyekirken) and street services ........ 22 1.5.5 The CCM Trondheim and the formation of Our Lady ......................................................... 25 1.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2: Methodology, epistemology and research ethics ......................................................... 34 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 34 2.2. Description of methodology ...................................................................................................... 34 2.2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 34 2.2.2 Interview material ................................................................................................................... 34 2.2.3 Participant observation ........................................................................................................... 37 2.2.4 Are informants considered co-researchers or informants? ............................................... 38 2.3 Research ethics ........................................................................................................................... 40 2.3.1 Doing research among people in marginalized life situations ........................................... 40 2.3.2 Questions of anonymity ...................................................................................................... 42 2.3.3 Doing fieldwork in a context where the researcher is already known .............................. 43 2.3.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 45 2.4 Doing theology by using empirical material as a research strategy: Epistemology ................. 45 2.4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 45 2.4.2 Epistemology and empirical research in theological scholarship ...................................... 46 2.4.3 The question of theological normativity: Conceptualizing theology as conversation ...... 49 2.4.4 Critique of empirically informed theology from anthropology ......................................... 51 2.5 Practising what I preach as an empirical theologian: Describing and discussing the analytic process .......................................................................................................................................... 52 2.5.1 Presentation of articles ....................................................................................................... 52 ii Article I .............................................................................................................................................. 52 Article II ............................................................................................................................................. 53 Article III ............................................................................................................................................ 56 2.5.2 The analytic process ............................................................................................................ 57 2.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 63 3: Discussion: Analysis and discussion ................................................................................................. 65 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 65 3.2.1 Our Lady as a space of justice ............................................................................................. 65 3.2.2 Our Lady as ecclesial spatial justice .................................................................................... 66 3.2.3 Our Lady as liturgical justice ................................................................................................ 68 3.2.4 Our Lady as facultative justice ............................................................................................ 69 3.2.5 Our Lady as material justice ................................................................................................ 71 3.2.6 Our Lady as epistemological justice .................................................................................... 73 3.2.7 Towards a diaconia of displacements ................................................................................. 74 3.2.8 A diaconia of displacements as a diaconal liturgical representational practice ............... 77 3.2.9 Dilemmas and conundrums of a diaconia of displacements ............................................. 80 3.2.10 A diaconia of displacements and the question of instrumentalization ........................... 84 3.2.11. Instrumentalization and Our Lady ................................................................................... 88 3.2.12 Is “epistemological justice” an asset in diaconal practices? ............................................ 91 3.2.13 Is epistemological justice an instrumentalization of guests? .......................................... 92 3.2.14 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 93 3.3. Towards an ecclesiology of diaconal displacements. ............................................................... 94 3.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 94 3.3.2 A diaconia of displacements in critical dialogue with the ecclesiologies of Trygve Wyller and Marcella Althaus-Reid ...................................................................................................................... 95 3.3.3. Is heterotopic ecclesiology the implicit ecclesiology of Our Lady? ................................... 95 3.3.4 What if Our Lady really were to become a kenotic ecclesial space? ................................. 96 3.3.5 Towards an ecclesiology of a diaconia of displacement .................................................... 98 3.3.6 Towards an implicit ecclesiology of Our Lady................................................................... 101 3.3.7 “Venture church” as an ecclesiological model of the implicit ecclesiology of Our Lady . 102 3.3.8 Re-imagining folk church ecclesiology in light of a diaconia of displacement ................ 104 3.3.9. The hybrid liturgical practice of Our Lady is not only liturgical justice, but a performative constructive re-imagination of the folk church ......................................................................... 106 3.3.11 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................