Church from the future

Subproject: Developing an ecclesiology from the margins

This project focuses on faith communities that have deliberately chosen to form reciprocal relationships with people in socially vulnerable positions. Their diaconal work is thus marked by encounter and mutuality. Those involved are convinced that it is essential for the church to walk alongside people in vulnerable circumstances. In practice, however, it often proves difficult to articulate why this is so—the available theological vocabulary is insufficient.

Following the principles of diaconal presence, this study employs a Theological Action Research approach. People from both socially vulnerable and more stable positions together explore what language best expresses the practice of diaconal presence. The research examines what this means for the initiative itself and what perspectives it offers for shaping a twenty-first-century ecclesiology.