Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

159This form of analysis requires the pastoral practitioner to be a careful anddisciplined observer and analyst of context. 424 This issue will be considered ingreater detail later in this chapter. However, apart from careful consideration ofcontext and its effect on those who live there, the pastoral observer must carefullyand systematically reflect upon pertinent pastoral, theological issues. Such issueswill include the incarnate presence of God, along with an incarnately-derivedmodel of pastoral relationship that most authentically offers a measure ofliberation. In other words, theological understanding that leads to effective andrelevant pastoral action takes place within the lived context and not separate fromit. This ensures authentic pastoral meaning and conclusions.5.3.3 A Multiplicity of PerspectivesIn contradistinction to more empirical forms of enquiry where a genericmode of understanding is imposed upon a context from without, the constructivistapproach builds reality from within the context under consideration amidst itscomplexity and multiplicity of perspectives. As Rodwell indicates in relation tothe pursuit of situation-based understanding, it “involves coming to anunderstanding of the view of the world held by those people involved in thesituation (an emic perspective) rather than adopting a ‘stranger’ or outsiderperspective (an etic perspective).” 425 Those living and interrelating within thecontext in question provide the narratives that create the reality being sought.Different people fulfilling different roles within that context will, through faithfuldescription and analysis, posit their unique understanding according to theirparticular situational perspective. It is the careful consideration of a multiplicityof perspectives that contributes significantly to the analytical rigor necessary toThe goal of this ethnographically-based research is to discern the meanings and perceptionsthat wheelchair-bound nursing home residents attach to their faith and disability, and therelationship between the two (269). Data collection begins with careful and detaileddescription of the nursing home context in question. Against this primary lived context.phenomenonologically-based interviewing of the participants, along with field notes andrelevant documents, are utilized to gain the relevant data. From the initial perspective ofindividual comments, an inductive process of analysis and pastoral reflection is employed toeventually draw broad-based conclusions concerning the faith and disability of theinstitutionalised people in question.424 Merriam, Sharan. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. 2nd ed.(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 199), 95-99.425 Rodwell, Social Work , 27.Bracketed words are those of author.