Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

186an Anglican hospital chaplain, a Uniting Church aged care chaplain, and aUniting Church hospital chaplain.Despite the emphasis in this extended reflection on the pastoralpractitioner’s internal and creative frame-of-reference the act of collaborationadds essential rigor to the process of observation and analysis, which has beenpreviously highlighted in reference to Rodwell’s constructivist approach toqualitative research. New meanings and greater understanding of narrative canemerge that may not be apparent to this pastoral practitioner. As social researcherErnest Stringer asserts, “new meanings emerge as divergent views are comparedand contrasted. The major purpose of the process is to achieve a higher levelsynthesis ... and to build an agenda for negotiating actions to be taken." 509Similarly, Moustakas refers to the act of peer analysis as leading to a “mutualunveiling” 510 of insight.A subsidiary role of such collaboration is to take account of anynegatively-impacting prejudices by this pastoral practitioner in his narrativereflection. Such personal bias needs to be challenged in order that authenticpastoral outcomes can be achieved for those who live in the institutionalenvironment. As social researcher Theodore Kisiel asserts, “true hermeneuticexperience does not begin until we are sufficiently open to permit the text toquestion us, that is, to 'unhinge' our prejudices and to suggest its own." 511 It isargued that whilst self-reflection can assist with identifying and challengingnegatively-impacting pastoral prejudices it is the act of collaboration with skilledand objectively-located others from outside the pastoral context in question thatcan most effectively unhinge such biases and replace them with more positivelyweightedattitudes and practices.5.6.2.3 The Process of Discernment and AnalysisThe process of discernment and analysis will be based around two layersof questioning that will both be applied to the sourced narratives. Firstly, there isthe discernment and analysis that will improve understanding for pastoralpractitioners from a pastoral, theological perspective and contribute to improved509 Stringer, Action Research., 41-42.510 Moustakas, Heuristic Research, 48.511 Kisiel, Theodore. "The Happening of Tradition: The Hermeneutics of Gadamer andHeidegger." In Hermeneutics and Praxis, edited by Robert Hollinger, 3-31. (Notre Dame:University of Notre Dame Press, 1985), 9.