Abstract:
This research intends to contribute to the theme of social practice in the Church and the edification of congregations in an urban context. It is anchored in the area of theology and society, from which stems the approach of the social responsibility of the Church throughout history and in current times. Praxis has to do with conduct or action which corresponds to a theory. In this way, social praxis can be understood in the Christian church as diakonia, since it has to do with the action motivated by a theory of Christian theology. Through this perspective the experience of the Evangelical Congregation of Joinville – União Parish, located in the largest city of Santa Catarina, will be analyzed, being it carries out a great social and religious work. The main theoretical bases are of authors such as Vanderlei Gianastácio, Rodolfo Gaede Neto, Zygmunt Bauman, Arzemiro Hoffmann, José Comblin, Fernando Antônio Figueiredo, Sissi Georg and the IECLB. In this way, the concept and understanding of social responsibility will be developed as well as the quest for the biblical, historical and confessional bases supporting it in the practice of the church, presenting diaconal elements in the stories of the gospels and from the beginnings of Christianity in Jerusalem, Antioch and Ephesus, and also in the valuable contribution of the Mothers and Fathers of the Church. The Christian church was born in an urban context and there found its challenges for evangelizing. Still today it is confronted with the urban scenario which, although it has changed, presents opportunities and challenges for its mission and its reason for existence. Faced with the social inequalities in existence today it is necessary that the Church and State be partners in bringing about justice and equality. For this, it can capacitate volunteer people who work in the different spheres and exercise ecumenism in common causes, in this way broadening the concept of “general priesthood of all believers”. In this direction, another important element to be investigated is the understanding of worship and its social dimensions. Thus, the social praxis of the church and the edification of congregations will take place between taking on the task of evangelizing, announcing the good news of the salvation in Christ, and the responsible commitment to transformation of contexts and situations of suffering and exclusion, seeking to be a welcoming church aiming at holistic care.
