Witnessing, saving, serving?: A relational approach to community development in the suburbs of a global city

Richard Howitt; Kath McLachlan; Matalena Tofa; Iqbal Barkat; Garima Misra; Nathan Moulds; Johana Susanto; Philip Osborne; Dominic Grenot; Nitin Rajan; Joanne Yates

doi:10.1080/15426432.2019.1700870

Witnessing, saving, serving? A relational approach to community development in the suburbs of a global city

Richard Howitt^*, Kath McLachlan, Matalena Tofa, Iqbal Barkat, Garima Misra, Nathan Moulds, Johana Susanto, Philip Osborne, Dominic Grenot, Nitin Rajan, Joanne Yates

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper considers the community development practice of The Salvation Army in a public housing estate in Sydney, Australia. Drawing on interviews with community members, officers, staff, and volunteers from The Salvation Army, we explore the transformative potential of relational, rather than transactional, community development practices. In accepting the theological principle of imago Dei as the foundation for its practice, The Salvation Army prioritized listening, witnessing and simply loving people and place, and generated a profound sense of belonging and connectedness. This relational approach to community development offers valuable lessons for faith-based communities of social work practice.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	90-110
Number of pages	21
Journal	Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work
Volume	39
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/15426432.2019.1700870
Publication status	Published - 2 Jan 2020

Keywords

advocacy
community organizing
engaged witnessing
imago Dei
public housing
relational community development
religion
The Salvation Army

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10.1080/15426432.2019.1700870

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abstract = "This paper considers the community development practice of The Salvation Army in a public housing estate in Sydney, Australia. Drawing on interviews with community members, officers, staff, and volunteers from The Salvation Army, we explore the transformative potential of relational, rather than transactional, community development practices. In accepting the theological principle of imago Dei as the foundation for its practice, The Salvation Army prioritized listening, witnessing and simply loving people and place, and generated a profound sense of belonging and connectedness. This relational approach to community development offers valuable lessons for faith-based communities of social work practice.",

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Witnessing, saving, serving? A relational approach to community development in the suburbs of a global city

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