SEEKING THE C IN THE Y Discerning the Meaning of the Christian Basis - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SEEKING THE ‘C’ IN THE ‘Y’ Discerning the Meaning of the Christian Basis in the English YMCA David Sargent

Overview 1. Early thoughts. 2. The proposition and research question. 3. The conceptual framework. 4. The research process. 5. The participants. 6. Theological reflections. 7. The factual conclusions. 8. Implications for the YMCA. 9. Recommendations for the YMCA. 10. Discussion and questions. David Sargent

Early thoughts David Sargent

What is the English YMCA? Faith Based? Faith Legacy? Faith Displaced? David Sargent

The Proposition David Sargent

Research Proposition My proposition was that people working in the YMCA are appointed on the understanding that the YMCA is Christian- based; that the corporate and collective agreed means of association is located primarily in the Christian basis; and that the YMCA attaches significant meaning to its Christian basis, while operating within an inclusive environment. David Sargent

The Research Question David Sargent

Research Question What Meaning Does the YMCA Attribute to its Christian basis? David Sargent

The Conceptual Framework David Sargent

The Conceptual Framework David Sargent

The Research Process David Sargent

Triangulated Dialectic Towards Meaning David Sargent

Participants David Sargent

FACILITATED GROUPS , FIELD VISITS, INTERVIEWS AND EMAIL SURVEYS No. of Senior Sample and Data People Male Female Trustee CEO Staff Volunteer Age Participating Manager YMCAs Focus Group One 19 9 10 3 5 5 4 2 20-70 16 Focus Group Two 12 7 5 3 2 3 2 2 20 -50 7 Focus Group Three 11 7 4 2 1 1 2 1 30-50 7 YMCA Field Study One 4 3 1 0 1 2 0 1 20-50 1 YMCA Field Study Two 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 20-50 1 YMCA Field Study Three 16 10 6 2 1 2 1 10 20-60 1 YMCA Field Study Four 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 30-50 1 YMCA Field Study Five 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 30-50 1 YMCA Telephone 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 30-50 1 Interview YMCA Email Survey 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 30-50 1 TOTALS FOR 70 42 28 10 14 16 10 16 N/A 37 PARTICPANTS WEB SURVEY ACTVITIES Senior Sample and Data People Male Female Trustee CEO Staff Volunteer Age No. of YMCAs Manager Non-Respondent Web 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Survey National Charity 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 126 Commission Web Survey TOTALS FOR WEB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 145 SURVEY ACTIVITIES David Sargent

Theological Reflections A Framework for Understanding Voices in Communication David Sargent

Voices that are Loud, Quiet or Silent • In the research some people spoke confidently, boldly and loudly. • Others spoke and there were uncomfortable pauses and moments of insecurity, representing possible markers for near silence, where a person’s quieter, less confident voice might reside. • And then there were those who felt unable to speak – the silent voices. In research these silent voices are often revealing. David Sargent

Voices that are Loud, Quiet or Silent • In keeping with Mazzei (1997), silence in this research is not conceived of as “as a lack, an absence, or negation, but rather silence is as part of the whole , the relevant speech act spoken beneath the surface.” • These quieter voices and silences were present “not in ways that are deemed absent as silent, but in ways that are meaningful as noiseless.” (Mazzei and Jackson, 2012). David Sargent

David Sargent

Voices in Terms of Affinities Confusion Clarity Corporate Individual Christian Non - Christian Compliant Challenging Church Societal/Secular David Sargent

Voices in Terms of Attitude • Metaphor of ‘YMCA Life building’ – a hundred roomed building, describing the YMCA’s de facto theology. • Berryman’s hundred gated Cathedral describing the de facto theology of children. David Sargent

Voices in Terms of Attitude • In this context, de facto is taken to mean what is actually happening at this time whether authorised or not, and doctrine is taken to be the beliefs held about the Christian basis. • Doctrine in this context follows Berryman’s reference to Lindbeck’s defined distinction between formal and informal doctrine. • Following Lindbeck, I suggest that the YMCA’s doctrine has both a formal and an informal part. • The formal part corresponds with an espoused theological position and the informal part with an operant theology. David Sargent

Voices in Terms of Attitude ATTITUDE MEANING EVIDENCE Ambivalence and Holding mutually Charity Irrelevance conflicting feelings. Commission/ Of no relevance Website Survey Ambiguity Multiple meanings Field Visits which are unclear Indifference A lack of interest or Web based survey enthusiasm Graceful Interaction Faithful maintenance of Facilitated groups relationships through the free gift of affection and mercy David Sargent

The Factual Conclusions David Sargent

The Factual Conclusions I. The majority of participants felt that they had been appointed on the understanding that the YMCA is Christian-based, but very few had actually been given an opportunity, or felt it necessary, to make sense of the implications of this. Once they were in post, the Christian basis faded into the background for most participants. David Sargent

The Factual Conclusions II. The Christian basis does not provide a universally accepted meaning among participants even though it has status attached to it. Among many of the participants, the Christian basis is perceived to have a low contemporary value and meaning. For some it is perceived to be an obstacle to their work; for others it is unnecessary and irrelevant. For a few, it is a reason amongst other more important reasons why they work in the YMCA. For most participants it has more meaning as a historical artefact than as a contemporary motivation. David Sargent

The Factual Conclusions III. Among the participants it was not possible to identify a universally agreed understanding of the Christian basis. The Paris Basis and the overtly Christian registered charitable objects were certainly not considered by most participants to be an acceptable explanation of the Christian basis. The more that the language used focussed on care and the less that it referenced overt Christian language, the more acceptable it became as a representation of the Christian basis. David Sargent

The Factual Conclusions IV. For the majority of participants, the actual corporate and collective agreed means of association is care for young people within an inclusive environment, without reference to the Christian basis. The Christian basis is considered by a significant number of participants to be divisive and damaging to the associative, inclusive nature of the YMCA. David Sargent

The Factual Conclusions V. Among the minority of participants who embrace an overtly Christian-based understanding of the Christian basis, most are in leadership roles and are attempting to make sense of it for their local YMCAs. Nevertheless, the research suggests that the majority of local YMCAs may not have the ability and inclination for this type of sense making. David Sargent

The Implications David Sargent

Implications for the YMCA The research identified three implications for further consideration: (a) ineffective communication between member YMCAs resulting in; (b) the creation of disjointed and remote islands of understanding about the Christian basis; (c) in turn generating informal disassociations as a key factor in diminishing the value of the Christian basis within local member YMCAs. David Sargent

Recommendations David Sargent

Draw the Espoused Theology and Operant Theology Closer Together • YMCA England has a commitment following the World YMCA Centennial Conference held in Paris in 1955, to ensure that the Christian basis is enacted locally in YMCAs. • At the 1955 conference, national representative YMCAs were charged with the task of ensuring that the Christian basis remains central in the work of the organisation. • YMCA England needs to review its role under that 1955 agreement to ensure that YMCA England and local member YMCAs are confident with the current arrangements. David Sargent

Actively Pursue Voices in Communication to Engage Voices on the Edge • The YMCA England sponsored Movement Conversation is in principle a laudable attempt at addressing the issues of relationship and association in terms of the Christian basis. • However, for it to be an effective conversation it has to engage those distant local YMCAs that are no longer in association with the movement and are not maintaining any meaningful relationship with the Christian basis. • If the Movement Conversation is to be maintained successfully, it has to be able to draw in the silent, distant, disassociated voices who are on the edge of the YMCA. These voices offer different perspectives in addition to those which are confident and more vocal. David Sargent