Ethnography in the church! A pastoral practice in action!
For my final paper, I decided on going with a book review, rather than a research topic. The decision was personal for me and the reason may be laughable. Ever since I enrolled at UMBC, I can count on one hand the number of book reviews I’ve done… NONE. With that being said, I obviously had to choose a book that seemed interesting enough to want to read and review. In all honesty I was fortunate that it didn’t take me too long to find and decide on a book.
The book I decided to review is, “Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice: An Introduction” by Mary Clark Moschella. The reason I choose this specific book is because my father is a pastor, and I myself hope to follow in his footsteps and also become one in the future. Being able to see ethnology, which is a new topic altogether for me, be applied in an area that holds great interest and meaning to me, is incredible. What makes the book even more appealing is how ethnology is used in it. As some may know, pastors counsel the people in their church communities. So being able to used ethnographic tactics to better be able to understand others stories and struggles is an invaluable skill that is not just limited to the church, but into the rest of the world as well. I am really looking forward to reading and reviewing this book!
