“They made space for me”

Drawing on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork with young, Anglican social justice activists in Aotearoa New Zealand, this article engages with Romand Coles’s theory of receptive generosity, and the theme of the western church as marginal, to explore why a particular Anglican Diocese was attracting...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Catherine Rivera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Radboud University Press 2023-12-01
Series:Ecclesial Futures
Online Access:https://ecclesialfutures.org/article/view/16368
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author Catherine Rivera
author_facet Catherine Rivera
author_sort Catherine Rivera
collection DOAJ
description Drawing on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork with young, Anglican social justice activists in Aotearoa New Zealand, this article engages with Romand Coles’s theory of receptive generosity, and the theme of the western church as marginal, to explore why a particular Anglican Diocese was attracting new, millennial aged members, most of whom did not grow up Anglican. I consider how spaces of generous reciprocity were formed and enabled through living in intentional communities (ICs) and being able to engage with pluralistic ‘broad table’ spaces of discussion and dissent. These factors were part of what drew the research participants to this Diocese and to Anglicanism in general, as well as enhancing their social justice activism. My research shows the importance of intentionally making spaces of belonging for millennials and Gen Z aged people in a faith community, rather that hoping the status quo of the past will suffice.
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spelling doaj.art-77cafe9e2c4b4acdaa42a6f53e5552dc2024-01-25T11:36:38ZengRadboud University PressEcclesial Futures2770-66562770-66642023-12-014210.54195/ef16368“They made space for me”Catherine Rivera0Massey University Drawing on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork with young, Anglican social justice activists in Aotearoa New Zealand, this article engages with Romand Coles’s theory of receptive generosity, and the theme of the western church as marginal, to explore why a particular Anglican Diocese was attracting new, millennial aged members, most of whom did not grow up Anglican. I consider how spaces of generous reciprocity were formed and enabled through living in intentional communities (ICs) and being able to engage with pluralistic ‘broad table’ spaces of discussion and dissent. These factors were part of what drew the research participants to this Diocese and to Anglicanism in general, as well as enhancing their social justice activism. My research shows the importance of intentionally making spaces of belonging for millennials and Gen Z aged people in a faith community, rather that hoping the status quo of the past will suffice. https://ecclesialfutures.org/article/view/16368
spellingShingle Catherine Rivera
“They made space for me”
Ecclesial Futures
title “They made space for me”
title_full “They made space for me”
title_fullStr “They made space for me”
title_full_unstemmed “They made space for me”
title_short “They made space for me”
title_sort they made space for me
url https://ecclesialfutures.org/article/view/16368
work_keys_str_mv AT catherinerivera theymadespaceforme