Sacred Migrations: Borderlands of Community & Faith, Essays in Honor of Philip J. Anderson

Edited by Hauna Ondrey and Mark Safstrom, this Festschrift is a tribute for Philip. J. Anderson, longtime professor of church history at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, and president of the Swedish-American Historical Society for thirty years. The essays touch on three of Professor Anderson’s primary areas of research: the cultural and religious life of Swedish immigrants in America, wilderness and faith, and Lutheran Pietist and Covenant Church history. Each of these themes involves movement between distinct spheres: between an “old country” and a “new” one; between things considered sacred and secular; between human-built environments and “wild,” natural spaces; and between different denominational and theological contexts.

The liminal areas between two communities of overlapping influence are sometimes referred to as “borderlands,” inviting exploration of how one context, group, or entity influences and is influenced by another. The borderlands explored here include those between geographies, cultures, identities, and enduring values. The overarching questions raised in these essays include, “How does faith influence how we define community?” and “How does community influence how we define faith?”

We thank Professor Anderson for inviting us to probe these borderlands throughout his career, and for his work at North Park and with the Swedish-American Historical Society.