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Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613679063662592 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Masango, Maake J.S |
| author_browse | Masango, Maake J.S |
| author_facet | Masango, Maake J.S |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/108918 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:58.654Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/108918 Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge Masango, Maake J.S patricia.nyandoro@mediclinic.co.za Nyandoro, Patricia UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Relocation Clergy Family Pastoral Care Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) Story sharing Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2026. This study explored the impact of clergy relocation on families within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA), with particular focus on the experiences of clergy wives and adult children. Rooted in the Wesleyan tradition of itinerancy, relocation is often framed as an administrative necessity for mission and deployment, yet for clergy households it is also experienced as loss, disruption, and repeated grief. The research aimed to examine these experiences in depth and to propose a pastoral response that acknowledges both the pain and resilience of clergy families. A qualitative design, situated within an interpretivist and phenomenological paradigm, guided the study. Semi-structured interviews with clergy wives and adult children enabled participants to narrate their lived experiences. This approach captured the emotional, vocational, relational, and spiritual dimensions of relocation. Findings revealed themes of vocational disruption, loneliness, and unacknowledged expectations among clergy wives, alongside identity struggles, loss of friendships, and exclusion among clergy children. A common thread was the absence of sustained support from church leadership, leaving families to navigate relocation largely on their own. Theologically, relocation was interpreted as a repeated cycle of grief, drawing on Kübler-Ross’s stages, Worden’s tasks of mourning, and Schlossberg’s transition theory. Building on these frameworks, the research developed a pastoral intervention rooted in Wimberly and Wimberly’s story-sharing model, emphasising healing through communal narration. The study contributes to pastoral theology by highlighting the hidden costs of itinerant ministry in Southern Africa and by offering practical strategies for pastoral accompaniment and institutional reform. UP Postgraduate Bursary Biblical and Religious Studies PhD Practical Theology Unrestricted Faculty of Theology and Religion SDG-03: Good health and well-being 2026-03-12T07:44:21Z 2026-03-12T07:44:21Z 2026-05-26 2025-09-29 Thesis * May 2026 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/108918 en © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Relocation Clergy Family Pastoral Care Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) Story sharing Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge |
| title | Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge |
| title_full | Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge |
| title_fullStr | Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge |
| title_short | Relocation of clergy and its impact on the family: a pastoral challenge |
| title_sort | relocation of clergy and its impact on the family a pastoral challenge |
| topic | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Relocation Clergy Family Pastoral Care Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) Story sharing |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/108918 |