ABSTRACT
The church needs to rediscover itself as a virtuous community if it is to regain its self-confidence and a renewed integrity in its life and mission. Alistair Macintyre's assertion in After Virtue is that this is easier said than done due to complete fragmentation of moral philosophy in contemporary society. Central to MacIntyre's understanding of practices is the notion of goods. Goods are internal to an activity and are realised by trying to achieve excellence in that activity through a practice. Wenger and his collaborator Jean Lave have stimulated significant interest in the concept of practice in organisational and educational circles. In analysing workplace habits and trying to develop a social theory of learning from them, they have articulated the concept of communities of practice. Participation simply means engaging with and taking part in social communities. Wenger identifies two modes of non-participation: peripherality and marginality. This chapter seeks to survey the relationship between practices and the formation of virtuous character.
