Abstract
This chapter engages the stories of African immigrants, whose migration journey brought them to the United States of America (USA). Their presence is hardly visible due to the manner in which society in the USA relates to racial categories. This invisibility hinders both pastoral outreach to African immigrants and theological reflection on their experience of migration and settlement. This research project among African immigrants makes their experiences visible as a source of theology. The experiences of African migrants to the USA are considered as contemporary experiences of liminality and St. John of the Cross’ poem and commentary on The Dark Night is considered as a source from the theological-mystical tradition that addresses experiences of liminality “as experiences of God” and of spiritual development. The results of the correlation between narratives of African migrants to the USA and the narrative of The Dark Night offers insights in God’s transformative presence during the liminal stage between the experiences of loss of what was known while a new life is still developing. This leads to a theological understanding of both experiences as a transformation of identity and faith.
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Notes
- 1.
Office of Management and Budget, “1997 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,” Federal Register 62, n.210 (October 1997).
- 2.
Sonya Rastogi, Tallese D. Johnson, Elizabeth M. Hoeffel and Malcolm P. Drewery, Jr., The Black Population 2010: Census Briefs 2010 (Washington D.C: U.S. Department of Commerce, 2011), 2.
- 3.
“Metro East Survey Results,” Be Missionary Disciples: Pastoral Planning Tools, Archdiocese of Baltimore (19 May 2016), https://bemissionarydisciples.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SurveyResults-Metro-East-Region-05-19-16.pdf, accessed 12 Feb. 2020.
- 4.
Peter C. Phan, “The Experience of Migration as Source of Intercultural Theology,” in Contemporary Issues of Migration and Theology, eds. Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 180–181 and 195. Phan only describes Hispanic and Asian immigration and only mentions “the resources that Latino/a, Asian, and black theologies … to construct a US inter-multi-cultural theology.” Phan does not seem to distinguish African immigrant cultures, faith and theology as a separate resource.
- 5.
Daniel G. Groody, “The Spirituality of Migrants: Mapping an Inner Geography,” in Contemporary Issues of Migration and Theology, eds. Elaine Padilla and Peter C. Phan (New York; Oxford: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 139–156; Gemma Tulud Cruz, Toward a Theology of Migration: Social Justice and Religious Experience (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
- 6.
Daniel G. Groody, Border of Death, Valley of Life: An Immigrant Journey of Heart and Spirit (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002).
- 7.
Gemma T. Cruz, Into the Deep: A Theological Exploration of the Struggle of Filipina Domestic Workers in Hong Kong (Manila: UST, 2006), 127–151.
- 8.
Cruz, Toward a Theology of Migration, 53, 91, 102 and 106.
- 9.
Gioacchino Campese, “Theologies of Migration: Present and Future Perspectives,” in Migration als Ort der Theologie, ed. Tobias Keβler (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 2014), 182.
- 10.
The Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 1965), n.11.
- 11.
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People, The Love of Christ Towards Migrants – Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi (Vatican City, 2004), 14.
- 12.
Regina Polak, “Migration as a Sign of the Times: Questions and Remarks from a Practical-Theological Perspective,” in Migration as a Sign of the Times: Towards a Theology of Migration, eds. Judith Gruber and Sigrid Rettenbacher (Leiden; Boston: Brill; Rodopi, 2015), 47–78.
- 13.
Campese, “Present and Future Perspectives,” 175–176; Jorge E. Castillo Guerra, “From the Faith and Life of a Migrant to a Theology of Migration and Intercultural Convivencia,” in Gruber and Rettenbacher, Sign of the Times, 107–129.
- 14.
Campese, “Present and Future Perspective,” 183.
- 15.
Castillo Guerra, “Migration and Intercultural Convivencia,” 115.
- 16.
Castillo Guerra, “Migration and Intercultural Convivencia,” 115 and 123–125. Castillo Guerra remarks, “this theoretical space is not limited to the reflection on migrants.” Nor is the emphasis on engaging with the narratives of subjects for theological reflection as a “primary reality.” I would like to point to the method of theology developed by the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians: Isabel Apawo Phiri and Sarojini Nadar, eds., African Women, Religion and Health: Essays in Honor of Mercy Amba Ewudziw Oduyoye (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2006).
- 17.
Hennie Boeije, Analysis in Qualitative Research (Los Angeles: Sage, 2010); Juliet Corbin and Anselm Strauss, Basics of Qualitative Research, 3rd edition (Los Angeles: Sage, 2008); Kathy Charmaz, Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis (Los Angeles: Sage, 2006).
- 18.
Kees Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundation, Methods (Leuven: Peeters, 2002), 34; Stephen Castles, Hein de Haas and Mark J. Miller, The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, 5th ed. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 25–26. The cited phrase is coined by Kees Waaijman when he explains that spirituality sees “life as a phased process marked by changes,” in which each of these changes is an invitation to encounter God in a new way and to transform one’s faith and understanding of God.
- 19.
Castillo Guerra, “Theologie der Migration: Menschliche Mobilität und theologische Transformation,” in Keβler, Migration als Ort der Theologie, 118–122.
- 20.
Robert Schreiter, “Partizipation und Liminalität: Liturgie mit Migranten,” Theologie der Gegenwart 57/2 (2014): 82–94.
- 21.
Waaijman, Spirituality, 261.
- 22.
Ibid., 213–214. Waaijman bases his theory regarding spiritual development on the theories of Arnold van Gennip and Victor Turner.
- 23.
John of the Cross, The Collected Works of John of the Cross, trans. Kiernan Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez (Washington: ICS, 1991); Hein Blommestijn, Jos Huls and Kees Waaijman, The Footprints of Love: John of the Cross as Guide in the Wilderness (Leuven: Peeters, 2000).
- 24.
Constance FitzGerald, “Impasse and Dark Night,” in Living with Apocalypse, ed. Tilden H. Edwards (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984), 94–95.
- 25.
Ibid., 93.
- 26.
Ibid., 93–94.
- 27.
Edward Schillebeeckx, Geloofsverstaan: Interpretatie and Kritiek. Theologische Peilingen. Part 5 (Bloemendaal: H. Nelissen, 1972), 9–54; Edward Schillebeeckx, Theologisch Geloofsverstaan Anno 1983 (Bloemendaal: H. Nelissen, 1983).
- 28.
The reflections below are based on the analysis of the 16 stories gathered by the author. All quotations of participants are taken from these interviews. Transcripts of the interviews are in the author’s research files. The participants quoted in the research will be referred to by pseudonyms (derived from their ethnic language) to preserve anonymity.
- 29.
Kasala, interview by author, 27 May 2015.
- 30.
Hildegund Keul, “The Venture of Vulnerability: Christological Engravings on Disturbing Questions about Migration,” in Gruber and Rettenbacher, Sign of the Times, 182–183. This article provided the descriptions for the four sub-categories of the “experience of external loss.”
- 31.
Wirigiro, interview by author, 2 June 2015.
- 32.
Kūohera, interview by author, 2 June 2015. Codes between quotation marks refer to “in-vivo codes,” these are codes that are literal statements from the participants.
- 33.
Kasala, interview by author, 27 May 2015.
- 34.
Ibid., 27 May 2015.
- 35.
Kuriōka, interview by author, 2 June 2015.
- 36.
Ibid., 2 June 2015.
- 37.
Kasala, interview by author, 27 May 2015.
- 38.
Gerrie Ter Haar, “The Religious Dimension in Migration and its Relation to Development: The Case of Ghanaians in the Netherlands,” in At Home in the World? International Migration and Development in Contemporary Ghana and West Africa, ed. Takyiwaa Manuh (Legon; Accra: Sub-Saharan, 2005), 325. The reference Ter Haar makes to the concept of “the good life” or “life in abundance” has been helpful in developing my thoughts on the loss of “Joie de Vivre” and the role of faith therein.
- 39.
Kuriōka, interview by author, 2 June 2015.
- 40.
Hatiri-na-thina, interview by author, 9 February 2015.
- 41.
Hatiri-na-thina, interview by author, 9 February 2015.
- 42.
Trees Versteegen, Geleefde Genade: Een bijdrage aan de theologie van genade vanuit ervaringen van katholieke vrouwen (Gorinchem: Theologische Uitgeverij Narratio, 2013), 184–198. Versteegen describes moments of transformation that indicate the presence of God’s Grace in life stories of Dutch women. This relates to my category “God’s Presence.” The categories and characteristics she describes helped me to distinguish moments of transformation in the stories of my participants.
- 43.
Kūohera, interview by author, 2 June 2015.
- 44.
Fda, interview by author, 12 May 2015.
- 45.
Waaijman, Spirituality, 424–426.
- 46.
John of the Cross, The Collected Works, N. 2.13.11. Meaning: Dark Night, Book 2, Chapter 13, paragraph 11. Following Kavanaugh and Rodriguez, quotes from the commentary the “Dark Night” will be referenced as such.
- 47.
FitzGerald, “Impasse,” 97. FitzGerald explains that the poems and prose writings “begin and end with love and desire.” John of the Cross “is intent on showing what kind of affective education is carried on by the Holy Spirit over a lifetime.”
- 48.
N. 2.13.11.
- 49.
N. 2.6.1.
- 50.
N. 2.7.2.
- 51.
N. 2.6.3.
- 52.
N. 2.7.3.
- 53.
N. 2.7.3.
- 54.
N. 2.7.3.
- 55.
N. 2.9.1.
- 56.
N. 1.13.12.
- 57.
N. 2.19.2–3.
- 58.
All quotes in this paragraph are taken from Kuriōka, interview by author, 2 June 2015.
- 59.
Immigrants escape from various negative circumstances, John of the Cross escapes from jail: John of the Cross, Collected Works, 18–19.
- 60.
N. 2.16.8.
- 61.
N. 2.10.2–1.
- 62.
Versteegen, Geleefde Genade, 184.
- 63.
N. 1.13.12; N. 2.9.1.
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van Gaal, T.J.M.(. (2021). Stories of Transformation: African Immigrants to the USA and the Dark Night of John of the Cross. In: Dias, D.J., Skira, J.Z., Attridge, M.S., Mannion, G. (eds) The Church, Migration, and Global (In)Difference. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54226-9_17
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