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Browsing by Author "Wepener, Cas"

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Applying grounded theory to data collected through participatory research on African Independent Churches' liturgical rituals : a comparative study
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2011-10) Muller, B. A.; Wepener, Cas
This article reported on two research projects, the first conducted in the early 1990s and the second, a project currently in progress. In essence, the article was an attempt to compare the theology of African Independent Churches in the two respective periods by making use of a grounded theory approach to their worship services. Significant similarities and differences were identified and reported on.
Die erediens en die lewe : ’n prakties-teologiese verkenning
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2020-08-01) Barnard, Jaco; Wepener, Cas
Worship service and life: a practical-theological exploration “Does the Sunday worship service have an impact on believers', Christian identity and way of life?” is the main question explored in this article. Using the Grounded Theory method of empirical research, this research studied the experiences of worshippers (from three different denominations, in the East of Pretoria), with regards to the worship service and liturgical rituals. The focus was on the impact (or lack thereof) of the Sunday worship service, on the daily lives of believers. The findings of the empirical study were brought into conversation with existing literature, with the aim of realising the potential life shaping impact of the worship service. The research concluded that worshippers experienced that the worship service does indeed have an impact on the daily lives of believers, but only if the message thereof is communicated in a way that is relevant to the everyday lives of believers.
"In herinnering aan die kinders ... wat aan honger en koue moet sterf" : liturgie in 'n konteks van armoede
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2004) Wepener, Cas; Cilliers, Johan
This article asks the question how, if at all, the reality of poverty is currently being reflected in a typical middle class Dutch Reformed liturgy. Using Oscar Kokoschka’s drawing “Solidary Christ” as a locus theologicus, it is argued that two Christian rituals, namely the Lord’s Supper and offerings (and specifically in combination), are two very important rituals which should go through a process of liturgical inculturation with specific regards to poverty. A brief look at Scripture and the history of liturgy confirm this connection. It also brings to the fore the ethical obligation lived out in a life of gratitude with regards to the poor, that participation in these rituals entail. Finally some suggestions are made for the liturgical inculturation of these two rituals within a context of poverty which may firstly help a typical middle class Dutch Reformed liturgy to reflect on the current South African context of poverty, and secondly to assist in the connection between liturgy and life.
Liturgie en versoening, die inkulturasie van rituele van versoening in Suid-Afrika : 'n ondersoeksvoorstel
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000-03) Wepener, Cas; Post, P. G. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology & Missiology.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As a multidisciplinary liturgical scientific research project, all seven existing methods within the field of Liturgy will be used. These seven methods are namely: liturgy as book; a depth approach; the integral approach; primary and secondary sources; designation and appropriation; contextual: anthropological and cultural; as well as present, past, continuity and discontinuity, future. These seven approaches will form the matrix of the research that will be steered/directed by the researcher himself by means of interference, a so-called tamed intuition and the Bible as critical-normative source. As indicated in the title of the research proposal, the dynamic concept of inculturation will play a vital role throughout the course of the research. Since the research will be done with the intention of liturgical inculturation, the dynamic of cult and culture, as well as the time aspect of continuity and discontinuity, must be brought into account. It follows that a number of main parts will have to be opened, of which three parts have already been opened to serve as an example in this research proposal. These main parts are firstly a chapter on inculturation, secondly a chapter on ritual theory and also a chapter on the history of rituals of reconciliation within the Christian tradition. These three main parts will be opened again from a South African perspective in the final research, but will also be supplemented with a part on the theology of reconciliation, and a recent contextual analysis by means of participatory observation! ethnography. Throughout the proposed research the matrix will be applied to each chapter individually, and then on everything as a whole. The whole process will be steered by the concepts interference and quality of ritual in order to see what lines of force or series of qualities can be distilled from the process. As a whole the research will serve the initial question, namely:" How a better inculturated repertoire of rituals of reconciliation can be attained?" On this basis the research aims at making a contribution towards the so-called liturgia condenda (liturgy in process/formation), working towards the goal that the current liturgical formation in South Africa, and specifically within the Dutch Reformed Church, will take place in a theologically and anthropologically justifiable fashion.
Minder is meer . Die polisemantiese waarde van simbole
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2003) Wepener, Cas
As a whole this article explores the question whether a symbol may/must be explained or not. Therefore the Dutch liturgist Gerard Lukken’s distinction between sign and symbol, as well as his distinction between presentative and discursive symbolism, is firstly described. This is done in order to show that the meaning and functioning of a symbol should not be explained because of its unique nature as a symbol. A symbol is a poly-semantic and poly-active phenomenon, and any attempt at explanation limits and ultimately invalidates the functioning of a symbol. This position on the functioning of symbols is often criticised, and some Protestant theologians’ critique of this view is highlighted. If the meaning of a symbol may not be explained, how will it then be possible to establish whether a particular symbol is a Christian symbol or not? On the one hand this is a vital question for the specific way in which officiators use symbols and rituals in the liturgy, and on the other hand for the necessity/possibility of a criterion for the use of symbols and rituals in the Christian liturgy. In conclusion some guidelines in this regard is offered.
The object and aim of multi-disciplinary liturgical research
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 2006) Wepener, Cas
Set against the backdrop of the current hiatus concerning an anthropological approach in the study of Liturg within Protestant (Reformed) liturgical research, this article firstly argues for a very specific object (rituals) as well as aim (liturgia condenda) for liturgical research. Thereafter it is shown how such an object and aim call for a multi-disciplinary research design. The research design of Paul Post is then presented and applied to the authors' proposed research. The article argues that such an approach towards the study of Liturgy is not only attainable, but also important for theologically and anthropologically justifiable liturgical renewal.
Preaching : an initial theoretical exploration
(AOSIS, 2021) Pieterse, Hendrik; Wepener, Cas
In this article, the event of preaching was explored by making use of both older and newer sources. Whilst taking cognisance of continuous contextual changes and developments within the discipline of homiletics, core hermeneutical, theological and homiletical aspects of preaching are revisited. The aim of this exploration was to formulate a preliminary theory of preaching that can be revisited and revised as part of a larger empirical homiletical investigation, which makes use of Grounded Theory. Contribution: This article adhered to the journal’s scope and vision by its focus on a theoretical reflection on the practice of preaching at the intersection of theology, hermeneutics and homiletics.
Researching preaching beyond the (transcribed) text in (South) Africa: Methodological considerations
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2020) Wepener, Cas
In (South) Africa, preaching should in addition to textual studies of recorded and transcribed sermon texts, also be studied as an enacted performance and thus beyond the transcribed text. This article develops an argument regarding the need for the field of Homiletics in (South) Africa to firstly broaden the object of empirical homiletical research and study preaching as an enacted or performed liturgical ritual and secondly, augment its existing research methodologies accordingly. Such a methodology will take African epistemologies and ontologies more seriously than traditional methodologies that only study transcribed texts and to a large extent ignore the significance of the performance of the sermon. Recent methodological developments in Liturgical Studies can be helpful in this regard and a discussion between the two disciplines are encouraged, as well as insights gained from other fields such as Ritual -and Performance Studies. The article ends with some implications that the broadening of the research object may have for homiletical research methods in Africa.
Sewe heerlike homiletiese doodsondes : sondige insigte uit die kreatiewe skryfkuns en (Afrikaanse) letterkunde
(Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2019) Wepener, Cas
Homiletics can learn much from Literature. Poets, novelists and short story writers are all masters of the written word. While they practise their art form, they very specifically keep their readers in mind. The same holds true for preachers with regard to both the spoken and written word. Through the ages writers of works of literature have employed a vast amount of rhetorical wisdom, insights they have gained from both language and literature, which they use in their stories, dramas and poems. In this chapter seven of these insights will be explored as insights from which preachers can benefit. This exploration is done by making use of the seven deadly sins, but in this article, they are deadly sins that preachers should commit week after week. This chapter is in that sense a plea for a harmatological Homiletics. Pride is the first step needed to a create hit. Greed with regard to the attention of the hearers should be committed boldly. A preacher who makes use of lust will unleash desire in the hearers and an angry preacher meets many hearers in the situation they currently find themselves. Preachers who are gluttons, swallow their hearers in their total being and an envious preacher inculturate the pulpit by means of meaningful intertextuality. And the best preachers are the lazy ones, because the show their rather than tell.
Still because of the weakness of some? : a descriptive exploration of the Lord’s Supper in South Africa, 1948-2002
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2005-02) Wepener, Cas
This article is a preliminary descriptive exploration of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in selected Reformed churches in South Africa over a period of 54 years. Methodologically, it employs a broad anthropological approach towards liturgy, thereby trying to reconstruct parts of the enacted ritual of the Lord’s Supper from its historical debris. By making use of the comparative method, significant differences have been highlighted and interpreted. Throughout the article it becomes apparent how this Christian ritual was used to serve various political agendas, how cult and culture influence(d) one another. Finally, some tendencies have been extracted to be used in developing a criterion for the liturgical inculturation of the Lord’s Supper as a ritual of reconciliation within the South African context.
Van vas tot fees : 'n ritueel-liturgiese ondersoek na versoening binne Suid-Afrikaanse kultuurkontekste
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-04) Wepener, Cas; Cilliers, Johan; Post, P. G. J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need of reconciliation in South Africa is still voiced by many. Along with this need, the absence of church unity between the DRChurch and URChurch, churches which are still divided along racial lines, remains a sad reality. A division which has its origin partially in a reconciliation-ritual of commensality which was inculturated in Africa on wrong unscriptural grounds. Within this South African and Reformed reality the question of this research was born, namely: “Which rituals can be inculturated in South Africa in general, and in the liturgy of the DRC and URC in particular, to assist with the processes of reconciliation and church unity?”. This question is subsequently approached in a multi-disciplinary fashion with a ritualliturgical exploration. The methodological starting points in the research process entail firstly that Post’s liturgical-scientific research methodology of intereference and intuition is used as an overarching approach, and secondly along with this in the initial phase of the research the method of ethnography or participatory observation for the collection of the ritual data. Within this methodology the theoretical starting points centre around the concepts of ritual, reconciliation and liturgical inculturation. And within the field of Practical Theology this research process moves with a spiral movement between practice and theory. The basic theoretical starting point is that within the field of Liturgy a ritual approach is used, and for this reason partners were found within the domain of Ritual Studies to examine the phenomenon of reconciliation-rituals. The ritual theory of some experts on the topic is presented with which the collected data was later evaluated. Along with this ritual theory, liturgical inculturation is used as a critical reciprocal steering concept which also involves both the tradition and theology in a criterium for the evaluation and formation of rituals. With this methodological and theoretical basis five ritual probes were conducted with regards to reconciliation, namely a cultural anthropological, a Biblical, a liturgicalhistorical, an actual descriptive and a South African ethnographic probe. These probes brought several findings to the fore which can, within an African and Reformed context,be systematised within the context of the process from fast to feast as an overarching metaphor. Drinking and eating together, or the absence thereof, coupled with reconciliation, is present throughout all the probes like a leitmotiv and is also the central finding of this research. More findings concerning reconciliation rituals however came to the fore in each probe. These findings are summarised at the end of each probe and will help to stimulate the ritual imagination concerning reconciliation. However, such imagination must remain within a critical-normative Practical Theological liturgical scientific framework. The finding of this research basically attempts to show that a variety of rituals can be inculturated within the processes of reconciliation and church unity in the DRC, URC and South Africa. The process from fast to feast gives insight into the ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ concerning the inculturation of reconciliation rituals within an African and Christian context. Fast and feast, which amongst other things also entails eating and drinking together or the absence thereof, runs like a golden thread throughout all the probes. Rituals showing these qualities of commensality are pre-eminently fit to serve as reconciliation rituals, although they have sometimes in the past had the power to do exactly the opposite. Therefor the finding of this research is that this feature of commensality can be developed within South African and Reformed reconciliation rituals, but in such a way that it serves reconciliation and church unity. And for this purpose some ritual-liturgical guidelines are presented.
Water rituals as a source of (Christian) life in an African Independent Church : to be healed and (re)connected
(Stellenbosch University, 2013) Wepener, Cas; Muller, B. A.
African Independent Churches (AICs) are to a large extent paperless churches. This means that for the biggest part liturgical documents do not exist and that a study of their worship must entail a study of their enacted rites which will include recordings and transcriptions of verbal expressions such as sermons. This article focuses on AIC worship in South africa, with special attention to the role of so-called water rituals. In this article the main aim is an attempt to discern what the role of these water rituals are in the worship of this AIC and in the generation of social capital. Thus, after a description of the ritual data, the water rituals are analysed by making use of both anthropological and theological theory, especially the work of Mary Douglas and Gerhardus van der Leeuw.

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