Suchergebnisse

Lindley reviews God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life by Paul Kengor.

Front Matter -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Content -- Beginnings -- Beginning Again -- The Necessity of Poetry in My Life -- Report from the Trenches -- Passion -- Yizkor -- Israel -- Repairing the World: The Work of Tikkun Olam -- Daily Prayer -- We All Stood Together -- Brigadoon, A Place for Dreams to Grow -- Readers' and Writers' Guide -- Back Matter -- Glossary -- Index of Poems -- Literary Sources -- About the Author -- Back Cover.

Political observers have long sought to understand the complex relationship between Hillary Clinton's faith and her politics. Now, in this first spiritual biography of the former first lady, historian Paul Kengor details how her lifelong religious beliefs have intertwined with her personal history to make her the politician that she is today. Born into a strict Methodist family and raised on private prayer and self-reliance, Hillary used the Methodist Church's emphasis on community service to catalyze her involvement in the changing world. The chaos of 1960s and 1970s America challenged Hillary's religious underpinnings, and Kengor examines the motivations that eventually led Hillary back to church as first lady of Arkansas. Her days in the White House tested her faith like no other time, and Kengor investigates how she relied on God for the power to save her marriage and survive the most difficult chapter of her political career.--From publisher description

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to describe a series of surveys undertaken for The Abbeyfield Society to assess the nature of spiritual needs and care in its homes, and outlines their findings in relation to practical and policy implications.


Design/methodology/approach
– Over the course of ten months, 35 homes representing a variety of sizes and locations were visited, and 100 interviews of approximately one hour each were undertaken with residents, managers, care workers and volunteers. These were guided by a semi-structured questionnaire, and included observations on the accommodation and facilities. An analysis of the transcriptions resulted in four reports with consolidated recommendations.


Findings
– The analyses indicated that the factors contributing to spiritual wellbeing can be described in "clusters" relating to family, friendship, memory, time, listening, resilience and sense of self and place; but the common factor underlying all is the nature of the relationships formed in the home. It is almost impossible to separate out spiritual flourishing from physical or mental welfare, and therefore important to observe the interplay between them.


Practical implications
– An environment in which the key contributing factors are nurtured, can be defined and described in concrete terms, and these can then be taken into account when forward planning.


Social implications
– While national policy on care of the elderly is subject to a range of drivers, of which holistic health is only one, this study does challenge some assumptions on which current policy is based.


Originality/value
– The purpose and methodology of the surveys enabled a very wide range of views and experiences to be synthesised, providing information and insights firmly located in the voices of people who are directly affected by practice and policy.