Following the Yellow Brick Road: Exploring Communal Meal as a Spiritual Practice, a Critical Participatory Action Research Study

Morton, Lauren

Etd

Following the Yellow Brick Road: Exploring Communal Meal as a Spiritual Practice, a Critical Participatory Action Research Study

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Morton, Lauren. Following the Yellow Brick Road: Exploring Communal Meal As a Spiritual Practice, a Critical Participatory Action Research Study. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/b38c0ba0-877e-4944-9331-4e2ee840aaad.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

M. Lauren. Following the Yellow Brick Road: Exploring Communal Meal as a Spiritual Practice, a Critical Participatory Action Research Study. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/b38c0ba0-877e-4944-9331-4e2ee840aaad

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Morton, Lauren. Following the Yellow Brick Road: Exploring Communal Meal As a Spiritual Practice, a Critical Participatory Action Research Study. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/b38c0ba0-877e-4944-9331-4e2ee840aaad.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Morton, Lauren

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Abstract

This study examines how structured communal meals serve as a spiritual practice in higher education. Addressing concerns about spiritual fragmentation and relational isolation among college students, the research employed a qualitative case study with nine participants engaged in recurring, facilitated communal meals over one academic semester. Data collection involved participant observation and semi-structured interviews, analyzed thematically. Findings indicate that communal meals fostered (1) shared identity formation, (2) embodied belonging, and (3) collective meaning-making around purpose and vocation. The study advances practical theology by reinterpreting communal ritual as a formative, relational practice that nurtures spiritual depth outside traditional doctrinal structures.

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