CITATION AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
Cite as: Strimer, P. M. (1994). A Sense-Making study of the praxis of the Third Avenue community: Toward a procedural understanding. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
© Peter McCoy Strimer (1994).
You may be able to order a full copy of this dissertation through the author, or through ProQuest Dissertation Express.

ADVISOR:
Brenda Dervin

ABSTRACT:
This dissertation explores the communicative procedures used by the Third Avenue Community Church, an alternative congregation founded by the United Methodist and Episcopal Churches in Columbus, Ohio. This alternative model adopted many of the principles developed by Latin American Liberation Theologians in their work with the Base Community Movement in Central and South America. The central tenet of this new model was the use of PRAXIS as a means of doing theology and as a guide for community development.

The literature base for this study is reviewed in Chapters One and Two. In Chapter One four core concepts of Liberation Theology are derived from an extensive analysis of primary and secondary sources. Also, the background on Base Communities is offered. In chapter two, Critical Theory and Sense-Making are investigated as the communication background for this study. Chapter Three presents the site, sample, interview protocol, and a priori categories for analysis. The primary data for the study was collected in 15 long interviews and one focus group using a Sense-Making interview strategy designed specifically for the Third Avenue Community Church setting. Chapters Four through Seven present the findings of this study.

Chapter Four arranges and analyses interview responses under a priori categories of Action/Reflection, Conscientization, and Announcing and Denouncing. Chapter Five explores the topic of Inclusiveness within the community. Chapter Six begins an inquiry into the communicative procedural moves used by members of the community in their personal PRAXIS. Chapter Seven presents a description of a new model for community development while discussing the relationship between sponsoring bodies and the grassroots community. Conclusions reached in this study identify the need for continued engagement in the face of certain tension in a community building strategy that honors difference and denies hierarchical power.

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