Redeeming Singleness: Postmodern Pastoral Care and Counseling for Never-Married Single Women

by HyoJu Lee Ph.D

Overview

Have you made a New Year's resolution to get married out of nowhere? Did it work? When the author turned thirty, she put getting married on her New Year's resolution list, not because she wanted to get married or had a boyfriend but because of social pressure in which she lived. Social pressure made her think that if she wanted to ever get married, it was better to do so sooner than later. For three consecutive years, she prayed about it and made efforts to form relationships. After three years passed by, she was still single and unhappy. As she reflected on her unhappiness, she finally realized that she was not happy because she was not able to accomplish a goal that was ultimately out of her control. "How absurd it was to put 'get married' on my New Year's resolution!?" As she eliminated marriage from her New Year's resolutions and focused on what she really wanted to do with her life, her energy level was boosted. Although she did not have any tool to frame her singleness, she happened to choose the best course for her. Only if she knew the socially constructed characteristics of marriage, the first three years of her thirties would have been different. The author hopes ministers and never-married single women can learn what we think is normal is a very contextual product. The author invites never-married single women to own their own stories instead of being owned by metanarratives in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532613265
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	02/16/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	166
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

HyoJu Lee is an adjunct professor at Mokwon University in Daejeon, South Korea. She is ordained by Korean Methodist Church. She obtained her MDiv from Drew University and PhD from Claremont School of Theology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Discussion of the Issue

1.3 The Audience of the Study

Chapter 2 From Modernity to Post modernity 11

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Incredulity toward Big Stories

2.3 A Description of Postmodern

2.4 The Confidence of Modernity

2.5 Guarantor of Modern Confidence: The Ethos of Objectivity

2.6 Erosion of the Ethos of Objectivity

Chapter 3 The Influence of Postmodernity on the Field of Pastoral Care and Counseling 35

3.1 Shifts within the Field of Pastoral Care and Counseling

3.2 Literatures on Singleness

Chapter 4 Research Methods 45

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Qualitative Research and Practical Theology

4.3 Construction of Data

4.4 Coding and Analysis

4.5 Emergent Themes

4.6 Credibility

4.7 Co-Constructors of the Data

4.8 Confidentiality

4.9 Limitations and Contributions

Chapter 5 Pastoral Care and Counseling and Postmodernism 58

5.1 Introduction

5.2 The Issue of Oppression and Marginalization in Light of Pastoral Practices

5.3 Invisible Oppression

5.4 Dominant Discourse vs. Subordinate Discourse

5.5 Social Constructionism

5.6 Social Construction of the Concept of Marriage and Family

5.7 Social Constructivist Influence on the Concept of Therapy

Chapter 6 Narratives: Powerful Instruments for Pastoral Practices 89

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Why Metaphors?

6.3 Why the Metaphors of Narratives?

6.4 Finding the Concealed Stars

6.5 Re-Constellations

Chapter 7 A Vision for Churches 115

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Ecclesiology and Pastoral Practices

7.3 Lived Experiences of My Research Partners

7.4 Church as an A Cappella Choir

7.5 Counter-Communities as a Source of Resistance

7.6 The Notions of Divine Hospitality and Alterity

7.7 Conclusion

Appendix A Email to send to my acquaintances 141

Appendix B Email to send out to churches in the Los Angeles area 143

Appendix C Interview Consent Form 145

Appendix D Emergent Themes with Master Codes 149

Bibliography 151