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When the Extraordinary Hits Home
interview work in the lower echelons of the health care system (e.g.,
as home caregivers or massage therapists), in service jobs (e.g., sales
clerk), or in skilled occupations (e.g., mechanics). Most have been di-
vorced at least once, and most are in a stable couple relationship.
The present study marks a departure from my previous work in sev-
eral ways. First, it concerns religion, whereas all my previous work
was focused on migration and ethnicity; second, unlike my other proj-
ects, it does not involve a team and several assistants. Rather, it has
been primarily an individual project, with minimal funding so far. This
has made it feasible to carry out the study in real time, rather than in
the artificially compressed time frame in which most research must be
done, with no pressure to produce results prematurely. Thus, I have
been able to let relationships with participants in the study evolve nat-
urally and to allow myself the time needed (impossible to program) to
become acquainted with Spiritualism in a direct, personal way.
Until this project, my research had always been defined in terms of
institutions (clinics, for example), or bounded groups (Cape Verdeans,
Portuguese), however hypothetical such frontiers may be in the case
of ethnic groups. Early on, it became clear that the Spiritual Church
of Healing was made up of several networks, each centered around
a minister–medium. The core of the networks comprises individuals
who frequented the groups directed by that minister and went to his
services. It soon became clear that some of these networks overlapped,
but others did not. A few people go to several of Michel’s groups, but
church rules prohibit going to more than one minister’s closed circle
at a time, as each teacher works in her or his own way. It can happen
that a minister leaves one church to go to another, or to form his own
church, in which case the network tends to follow. At one point, I re-
alized that if Michel ever changed churches, his network, and my proj-
ect, would move with him.^13 Moreover, the sch itself moved (although
not far), because of a fire some years ago and could do so again. Spiri-
tualist churches like this one are not the permanent site of a bounded
group but rather the spatial focus, often temporary, for several net-
works (Meintel 2003 ).
Following Fonseca ( 1991 ), I wanted to see how the religious prac-
tice and beliefs of my interlocutors wove into their daily life, so that,
