Date of Award
2-24-2025
Document Type
Major Applied Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Department
Practical Theology
First Advisor
David Schmitt
Scripture References in this Resource
Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 7:9-17; Ephesians 2:19-22
Abstract
Clark, Matthew J. “Encouraging Conversation: Sharing the Oral History of Nepalese Refugees through Dialogical Preaching to Inspire Intercultural Collaboration.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. 286 pp.
The project attends to the context of Ascension Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri, where a minority group of church members are refugees from Nepal. As Ascension grows in ethnic diversity, however, much of the congregation has only a shallow multicultural level of engagement, where different cultural groups are only aware of each other as they exist parallel to one another with limited interaction.
The project seeks to answer the question, “How will the gathering of oral histories among Ascension’s refugee population serve the dialogical preaching task in our congregation?” Field research included recording the oral histories of four key Nepali leaders in the congregation. The data of these interviews directly shaped the content and focus of the dialogical sermon series. The project views dialogical preaching as being collaborative by nature, and incorporating voices from another culture makes this project’s sermons collaborative in a distinctly intercultural way. The bibliographic research for this project includes an examination of oral histories as a research tool. It also explores the field of cultural engagement, focusing on three levels of engagement proposed by Dr. Leopoldo Sánchez. Additionally, research explored the horizontal dimension of baptism between those in a multicultural church. Finally, the theological implications of the homiletical practice of dialogical preaching were surveyed from a Confessional Lutheran perspective.
The purpose of this project’s research is to incorporate selections of recorded oral histories of church members who are refugees in a series of dialogical sermons as an act of intercultural collaboration. The aim of this collaborative and conversational sermon series is to inspire people of different cultures to work together.
Recommended Citation
Clark, Matthew, "Encouraging Conversation: Sharing the Oral History of Nepalese Refugees Through Dialogical Preaching to Inspire Intercultural Collaboration" (2025). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 241.
https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/241
Creative Commons License
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