Under the Radar: AIDS Ministry in the Bible Belt
This is a case study involving a religious congregation affiliated with the Churches of Christ (Campbellite Tradition). A key component of their ministry is a program entitled Outreach. In addition to providing food, clothing, shelter, substance abuse education, and counseling through the church, Ou...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
2006
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 2006, Volume: 47, Issue: 4, Pages: 393-408 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This is a case study involving a religious congregation affiliated with the Churches of Christ (Campbellite Tradition). A key component of their ministry is a program entitled Outreach. In addition to providing food, clothing, shelter, substance abuse education, and counseling through the church, Outreach also includes direct intervention and education to those who are HIV+ or who are suffering from AIDS. This facet of the program includes providing bleach kits for disinfecting needles as well as facilitating condom distribution. The present paper provides a qualitative report of this congregation's work. We have interviewed the congregation's Evangelist/Director and other church leaders; we have reviewed the church's promotional and teaching materials; we have also included several references to sermon transcripts from which we derive a synthesis of this congregation's sense of its mission. We are able to show that, despite its ties to a fundamentalist denomination and its strong adherence to a morally conservative ideology, all of the components of Outreach are consistent with the congregation's central values, and, paradoxically, work to enhance their material and social interests in the community. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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