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Social work within a congregational context is still a dev eloping field of practice. This analytical essay is derived from some of the results of a research study of 51 congregational social workers working in and with congregations. This article includes discussion, analysis, and implications of this research. We describe the roles and functions of these 51 congregational social workers, with whom we conducted exploratory, in-depth telephone interviews. Additionally, some of our own experiences are shared from our respective congregational social work experiences.
Keywords: church social work, community, congregational social work, congregational social workers, education, faith-based, leadership, missions, worship
CONGREGATIONAL SOCIAL WORK IS A FIELD OF PRACTICE AS DIVERSE as the social work profession itself. Social work history reveals that congregations have been settings for social work practice since the beginning of the profession in the late 19th century. The ongersion's very name "social work" is derived from the religious terminology of "good works" (Specht & Courtney, 1994, p. 21). Congregational social work is not limited to Christian congregations; there are Jewish congregational social workers, including rabbis, and other congregational social workers who serve in other religious traditions as well, such as Imams in Muslim mosques and priests in Buddhist temples (Garland & Yancey, 2014, p. 22).
We define a congregation as the people who come together regularly and voluntarily for worship at a particular location (e.g., Ammerman, 1997, 2005; Chaves, 2004; Warner, 1994; Wind & Lewis, 1994). We define congregational social work as providing social work services in and through a religious congregation, whether the employer is the congregation itself or a social service or denominational agency working in collaboration with congregations (Garland & Yancey, 2014, p. 1).
This article will describe some of the roles, practices, and experiences of 51 congregational social workers with whom we conducted lengthy in- terviews. The congregational social workers we interviewed serve people in poverty and people who are not. They work with young children and pregnant women; they work with older adults and families grieving the death of a member; and they work with individuals and families in all the stages between birth and death. They provide crisis intervention and counseling and prevention services; they lead support and educational groups; they train volunteers; and they...