In the era of climate change, refugee crises, growing inequality and war – an era in which prior certainties cease to be and new certainties are yet to be discovered – Christa Anbeek lays out the contours of communities with a heart. “I have long argued that we should not avoid life’s all-encompassing fragility but rather embrace it. Fragility, uncertainty, unpredictability, dependence, and porousness, however difficult they often can be, are sources of deep insights. Disruptive experiences bring us into borderlands. They make our vulnerability manifest but also reveal new perspectives and creativity.”
Disruptive experiences knock the ground out from under your feet. Who are you when nothing is as it was before? Who can you become, and who can help you get there?
In the era of climate change, refugee crises, growing inequality and war – an era in which prior certainties cease to be and new certainties are yet to be discovered – Christa Anbeek lays out the contours of communities with a heart. Precisely from our vulnerability, we can seek and discover new connections. Translator’s Notes 7
Author’s preface 11
Introduction 15
part 1 In-Between Places 23
1 Rumbling in the distance 25
2 Remonstrant turmoil 35
3 Borderlands 41
4 Motherland 53
part 2 Theological Reversal 65
5 Fieldwork 67
6 Places of promise 73
7 Living and thinking 85
part 3 Beckoning Vistas 93
8 Women’s Voices 95
9 Religion inside and outside of us 101
10 Rainbow Experiences 119
part 4 Breathing Space 133
11 Being silent and speaking 135
12 Dark and light 143
13 Friendships 155
Epilogue 171
References 187
Endnotes 195
