Written in a theopoetic key, this book challenges Christian reliance on the motif of promise, especially where promise is regarded as a prerequisite for the experience of hope. It pursues instead an unpromising hope available to the agnostic or belief-fluid members and leaders of faith communities. The book rejects any theological judgement about doubt and hopelessness being sinful. It also rejects any hope which is grounded in a sense of Christian supremacy. Chapter 1 focuses on Ernst Bloch's antifascist concept of utopian surplus, putting Bloch in conversation with queer theorist Jose Esteban Munoz and womanist theologian M. Shawn Copeland. Chapter 2 explores the saudadic and theopoetic hope of Rubem Alves. Chapter 3 turns to the womanist theologies of Delores Williams, Emilie Townes, and A. Elaine Brown Crawford. Finally, chapter 4 engages the post-colonial eschatology of Vitor Westhelle, framing hope as nearby in space, rather than nearby in time. Each chapter offers an unpromising hope that may be tapped into by those who wish to affirm belief-fluidity in their own communities, and by those who wish to speak of hope honestly, whether or not, at any given moment, they believe in God or in the promises of a god.

Stirring novel of 17th-century New England features spirited female characters who defy Puritanical society, engaging in cross-cultural friendships, challenging bigotry, and providing a captivating portrait of women's roles in the new republic.

Finding Home, Hope, and a Future: Achieving Integrated Social Services at Harbor Care tells the story of a trail blazing nonprofit in Nashua, New Hampshire. Originally named Harbor Homes, in July 1982 the newly incorporated organization began work in its remodeled group home supporting nine clients with persistent mental illnesses. Forty years later, the nonprofit, now named Harbor Care, owns twenty-eight facilities and is supporting over five thousand individuals and families, 93 percent of whom are low-income. Currently Harbor Care’s clients, in a wide variety of groups needing assistance, access safe housing, medical/dental/mental health care, substance misuse treatment, and other critical supports such as food, transportation, and employment services. All are provided within an integrated system of social services. With the goal of helping clients become more independent, the nonprofit’s policies and practices have significantly reduced homelessness in the city and assisted clients to live self-directed, productive lives. Finding Home, Hope, and a Future explains how such an extensive network of clients and services came to be by highlighting personal stories of individuals who helped build the pioneering organization.