African Pentecostalism and Ecological Spirituality: Liturgy and Supplication from a Pneumatology Perspective

The article substantiates to highlight the importance of Pentecostal hermeneutic reference to liturgy, pneumatology, and ecclesiology. African Pentecostals worship in a manner that embodies the Holy Spirit in all aspect of worship, bearing in mind interactive acts which connects the worshipping community together with the living God and not a faraway saviour of humanity, but God all of creation. All of creation responds to the creator in worship and adoration. This brings to the fore the pervasiveness of the Spirit as the spring of life, on which the interrelated, interconnectedness and full participation of all of creation hinges. Communities are bound together by their charismatic Pentecostal experiences and common acquaintance particularly with alienation and biased judgement based on ecclesiological views and radical spirituality. While Pentecostal hermeneutics fueled by works of the Holy Spirit is distinct from other hermeneutics, the danger is when Scriptures are mis-interpreted and used out of context. Spirituality conveys an amalgamated integral or component analysis regarding its historical background, interpretation, and practice. African spirituality is therefore, understood ‘as a collective entity’ It is expressed within the connectedness of individuals, groups of people which forms the community. Therefore, individual spirituality within an African context is practised in a way that ensures the wellbeing of the entire community. In practicality it involves one’s immersion into the livelihoods within the shared space through participation in one’s community (Magesa, 2010:71). African spirituality is basically a moral obligation related to African lifeworlds and religiosity within the community at large. Ecological spirituality from the African context becomes the unifying power between humanity and the natural world by enhancing relations and accountability towards the earth community. Ecological spiritually brings forth the depth of ethics exhibiting highlighting environmental concerns intrinsically and inextricably are intertwined (Ngwena, 2021:56).