In this thesis, Preaching as Transformative Instrument, Finnish Swedish Worship Services in Torshallaparish, for the degree Doctor of Ministry in Preaching, I have tried to demonstrate how a sermon can be used as a transformative instrument in reaching the Finnish Swedish assemblies in one parish in the diocese of Strangnas. I have proceeded from the notion that the world and even the local Finnish Swedish context is in a state of huge change. With the help of four established theologians I identified aspects to be used in my research. The research question I have endeavored to answer is: How can I encourage change in a given context by preaching so that I use my sermons as a transformative instrument?
My context was a very homogeneous minority group that has already been in Sweden for many decades. These immigrants came during the 1960s and 1970s from Finland to Sweden to work in Swedish industry. Now they are elderly people who still want and need to have their social life in Finnish. That is why once a month the worship service is also held in Finnish in Torshalla parish.
I first studied four different theologians on whose theologies I constructed my theory. I also used two homiletians, in order to visualize how I can use my sermons as a transformative instrument. After my literature studies I came to a conclusion that in my transformative sermons I was to use a theory that consists of these four perspectives: first, to actively make changes in my context; second, always to have a perspective from below; third, to preach in a colloquial manner; and fourth, to communicate that we are everybody’s neighbors. To be a neighbor is something qualitative, not necessarily something spatial.
I have addressed the research question in several stages. I gave two transformative sermons in the church of Torshalla. Both sermons were followed by discussions with a select group of listeners (a parish project group, PPG) and my supervisor, who deliberated about their thoughts and experiences of the sermons. After all the feedback I realized that I still needed to find another perspective in order to answer my research question. I gave my third sermon in the same church and that was followed by the discussion in the PPG and with my supervisor. For this sermon I had progressed in developing my former theory which now included also a new perspective, a perspective to preach in a salutogenic manner.
The conclusions which I have drawn are summarized here. First, with my original preaching theory which was developed out of these four theologies I was not fully able to answer my research question. In this preaching project I was to deliver sermons that were intended to act as transformative instruments. They worked out so, but they were not fully capable to fulfill their tasks to be just that, transformative instruments. Second, my new preaching method which was developed from the first one, now also included perspectives from the salutogenic model of Aaron Antonovsky. With this method I was able to have a sermon that functioned well. This sermon worked as a transformative instrument in my Finnish Swedish context.
