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

David Sargent

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.

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Early thoughts

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What is the English YMCA?

Faith Based? Faith Legacy? Faith Displaced?

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The Proposition

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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.

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The Research Question

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Research Question

What Meaning Does the YMCA Attribute to its Christian basis?

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The Conceptual Framework

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The Conceptual Framework

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The Research Process

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Triangulated Dialectic Towards Meaning

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Participants

David Sargent FACILITATED GROUPS , FIELD VISITS, INTERVIEWS AND EMAIL SURVEYS Sample and Data People Male Female Trustee CEO Senior Manager Staff Volunteer Age

• No. of

Participating 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 1 2 1 20-50 1 YMCA Field Study Two 2 2 1 1 20-50 1 YMCA Field Study Three 16 10 6 2 1 2 1 10 20-60 1 YMCA Field Study Four 2 2 1 1 30-50 1 YMCA Field Study Five 2 2 1 1 30-50 1 YMCA Telephone Interview 1 1 1 30-50 1 YMCA Email Survey 1 1 1 30-50 1 TOTALS FOR PARTICPANTS 70 42 28 10 14 16 10 16 N/A 37 WEB SURVEY ACTVITIES Sample and Data People Male Female Trustee CEO Senior Manager Staff Volunteer Age

• No. of YMCAs

Non-Respondent Web Survey 19 National Charity Commission Web Survey 126 TOTALS FOR WEB SURVEY ACTIVITIES N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 145

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Theological Reflections

A Framework for Understanding Voices in Communication

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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.

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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).

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Voices in Terms of Affinities

Confusion Clarity Corporate Individual Christian Non - Christian Compliant Challenging Church Societal/Secular

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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.

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• 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

• perant theology.

Voices in Terms of Attitude

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Voices in Terms of Attitude

ATTITUDE MEANING EVIDENCE

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

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The Factual Conclusions

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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.

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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

• thers 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.

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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.

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The Factual Conclusions

IV. For the majority of participants, the actual corporate and collective agreed means

• f 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.

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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.

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The Implications

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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.

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Recommendations

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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.

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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.

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Create Overt Means of Testing Enactment

• f the Christian basis
• The quality assurance arrangements in the English

YMCA, as robust as they are, are in deficit as far as the Christian basis is concerned.

• The decision not to dedicate a standard to the

Christian basis and instead to seek a Christian golden thread throughout the set of standards is an attractive, but unworkable position because it may diminish the importance and value of the Christian emphasis in the daily work of a local member association.

• The movement should pursue overt identification of

the Christian Basis within the standards.