More Information
ISBN: 9781839738401
Imprint: Langham Academic
Format: Paperback
Dimensions (mm): 229 x 152 x 18
Publication Date: 31/03/2024
Pages: 330
Series: Studies in Theology
Language: English

Compassionate Intercultural Care Practices for Coping with Grief

Biblical Theology in Conversation with Pastoral Theology

£24.99

As humans, we all express our grief differently. Acknowledging this truth, Dr. James Harrichand examines Old Testament accounts of grief and mourning alongside the experiences of marginalized Guyanese and Vietnamese immigrant communities in Canada. He explores both biblical and pastoral theology through an anthropological lens, bridging the horizons of Scripture and culture in a hermeneutically and pastorally sensitive manner. Dr. Harrichand’s focus on prosaic prayers in the Old Testament fills a significant gap in the scholarship, but this book is also significant for its immense practicality, sensitizing readers to grief’s varied expressions and equipping culturally intelligent pastoral caregivers. He presents five compassionate intercultural care practices for coping with grief, grounding each in the living hope of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the one who bore our griefs and carries our sorrows.

Author Bios

James Japheth Sudarshan Harrichand
(By)

JAMES JAPHETH SUDARSHAN HARRICHAND has a PhD in Christian Theology from McMaster Divinity College, Canada. A Guyanese-born Canadian of Chinese and East Indian heritage, he has been involved in pastoral and teaching ministry for almost twenty years, serving congregations in both Guyana and Canada. He has also taught in the Christian ministry program at Tyndale University, Canada, and has written extensively on the diverse prayer languages of disorientation. He currently serves as a pastor at the Brampton Community Baptist Church, Canada.

Endorsements

“Disorientation” is one of the most insidious forces we face today, an unseen sense of anomie unsettling our people and driving them to react blindly in often spiritually hurtful ways. This important work by James Harrichand should be seen as a mustread guide for those seeking to address this sense of disorientation. The lessons this work presents have broad application, giving Christian clergy not just a framework but also fine-tuned strategies to care for their people.

Derek Chong, PhD
Associate Pastor of Discipleship,
Morningstar Christian Fellowship, Toronto, Canada


In this welcomed interdisciplinary study, Harrichand does a wonderful job integrating biblical and pastoral theology with the worthy goal of fostering compassionate pastoral care practices among those coping with grief within Canadian immigrant communities. I highly recommend this study to biblical scholars, pastoral theologians, and care practitioners alike.

Rebecca G. S. Idestrom, PhD
Professor of Old Testament,
Chair, Biblical Studies Department,
Tyndale University, Canada


Although the church is blessed with plenty of scholarly and popular literature on lament prayers in the Psalter, little has been written on Old Testament prose prayers and non-verbal communication in situations of disorientation. Harrichand analyzes these texts embedded in Israel’s narratives and allowsthem to shed light on ministry to grieving believers in our own day. I hope that this careful, wide-ranging, well-written work will not only fill some surprising gaps in theological scholarship, but that those who engage with it will become more effective “wounded healers.”

Kenneth Langley, DMin
Adjunct Professor of Homiletics,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Illinois, USA


As an exercise of an interdisciplinary nature – Old Testament and pastoral theology – Harrichand’s monograph bridges the chasm between biblical texts and cultural sensibilities. Readers – scholars, pastors, and lay leaders – would reap from this book practical ways of coping with laments.

Dennis Ngien, PhD
Research Professor and Former Alister E. McGrath Chair of Christian Thought and Spirituality,
Tyndale University, Canada


James Harrichand invites us to a compassionate intercultural conversation between Hebrew Bible prayers, Western expressions of grief, and the mourning practices among Guyanese and Vietnamese Christians. This thoughtful and liberative exchange takes place through the modes of renewed form criticism,ritual theory, and post-colonial pastoral theology.

Rodney A. Werline, PhD
Dean of Howard Chapel,
Leman and Marie Barnhill Endowed Chair in Religious Studies,
Barton College, North Carolina, USA

Table of Contents

  1. Foreword
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. List of Abbreviations
  5. Chapter 1 Description of Topic and Its Importance
  6. Chapter 2 Research Framework and Methodologies
  7. Chapter 3 Anthropological Expressions of Disorientation in Pastoral Theology
  8. Chapter 4 Anthropological Expressions of Disorientation in Biblical Theology
  9. Chapter 5 Dialectic Correlation of Anthropological Expressions of Disorientation: Biblical and Pastoral Theology
  10. Chapter 6 Compassionate Intercultural Pastoral Care Practices for Coping with Grief
  11. Chapter 7 Conclusion
  12. Bibliography
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