Preaching Hope to Survivors of Hurricane Trauma: Crafting Need-Based Sermons

Canice Chukwuemeka Njoku, CSSp., DMin.

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Preaching Hope to Survivors of Hurricane Trauma: Crafting Need-Based Sermons

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Canice Chukwuemeka Njoku, CSSp., DMin. Preaching Hope to Survivors of Hurricane Trauma: Crafting Need-based Sermons. Canice Chukwuemeka Njoku, CSSp., HND (FST), B.A., M.Div., M.BTh, D.Min. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/d05a5efe-bf09-490c-af14-4600f7395d07.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

C. C. N. C. Dmin. Preaching Hope to Survivors of Hurricane Trauma: Crafting Need-Based Sermons. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/d05a5efe-bf09-490c-af14-4600f7395d07

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Canice Chukwuemeka Njoku, CSSp., DMin. Preaching Hope to Survivors of Hurricane Trauma: Crafting Need-Based Sermons. Canice Chukwuemeka Njoku, CSSp., HND (FST), B.A., M.Div., M.BTh, D.Min. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/d05a5efe-bf09-490c-af14-4600f7395d07.

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

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Canice Chukwuemeka Njoku, CSSp., DMin.

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Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 International

Abstract

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, many members of the La Resurrection parish community lost their homes, means of livelihood, and health. Due to a hurricane’s social and psychological impact, many find it difficult to return to normal life. Unfortunately, most priests are unaware of this problem that affects our parishioners. While some may scratch it on the surface, others avoid preaching about trauma because they do not know how to address it in their preaching. I developed and tested a program that could help priests in the Diocese of Fajardo Humacao, Puerto Rico, craft and deliver trauma and hope-informed sermons using the narrative preaching approach. The narrative approach affords preachers a wonderful opportunity to communicate the gospel in exciting, new, and unexpected ways. Chapter 1 outlines the project’s ministerial context, problem, purpose, hypothesis, assumptions, and definition of terms. Chapter 2 explores the project’s interdisciplinary framework. It shows how other fields of knowledge, especially sociology and psychology, collaborate with theology to help hurricane trauma survivors. Chapter 3 presents the thesis project’s biblical and theological foundations. It explores “traumatic suffering” and Christian hope. It anchors on the New Testament perspective, which speaks of suffering redeemed by Christ and invites Christians to come to the life of faith in our suffering. It also explores The Apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II, Salvifici doloris, and the Encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI, Spe salvi, which, respectively, provide a lens into the Church’s teaching on suffering and the nature of Christian hope. Chapter 4 presents the project’s homiletic framework. It defines and discusses trauma and hope-informed preaching and highlights why a trauma and hope-informed sermon is essential to helping hurricane trauma survivors on the path to recovery and healing. It also sets the homiletical structure for crafting and delivering trauma and a hope-informed sermon using the narrative approach. During the Winter (16 February to 13 April) of 2024, three preachers—Priests of the Diocese of Fajardo Humacao and seventeen (focus group) members of the La Resurreccion Parish community—participated in a seven-week trauma and hope-informed seminar and sermon series. Hence, Chapter 5 sets out the project intervention events. Chapter 6 discusses the findings of data analysis and evaluations, presenting an overview of this project’s impact on hurricane trauma survivors of the La Resurreccion Parish Community, the effectiveness of the intervention events, and its prospects.

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