God; of themselves as the body of Christ, God's household, a holy temple - reimagined and renamed their understanding of God and their (ordinary) life experiences from the new perspective of the Christ event. In this way metaphor can function as a powerful, reorienting lens towards a renewed self-understanding and ethos, towards making sense of the past, present and future.2 The concept of liminality was introduced by French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep, who uses the term "rites of passage" in connection with the ceremonies and rituals performed at different stages in the life cycle of individuals and groups (Van Gennep 1960:1-13, 15-25). In the fields of cultural anthropology and sociology the notion of liminality has since been developed further by several scholars, in particular by North American anthropologist Victor Turner. It has also been adapted and appropriated by theologians such as Gerald Arbuckle and Leo Perdue, both with reference to Turner, and Mark Kline Taylor, with reference to anthropologist Paul Rabinow. Taylor, systematic theologian in Princeton, develops liminalitytogether with "admiration" - as a Christian reconciliatory strategy for dealing with human differences. He observes: "(L)iminality is the term I reserve for the kind of life known 'betwixt and between' differentiated persons, groups or worlds. This is an experience of the wonder, the disorientation and discomfort that can arise when one is suspended between or among different groups or persons" (Taylor 1990:200, cf 199-208). Taylor describes the liminal space between cultural (including gender) boundaries as a difficult, fragile, risky and trying experience, of which the ambiguities and strains are not easily tolerated. At the same time the liminal encounter represents a dynamic and dialectic process wherein no one remains static. As new alliances are constructed in the interaction between different worlds, people's moral identities and lifestyles are reconstituted by it.3 In a secular, postmodern society no institution, including Christianity with its truth claims and authoritative biblical texts, has any privileged status. For many people this means that all truth claims merely become a matter of opinion, and that morality is a matter of personal preference. Quite often the emphasis is on different rationalities and view points, with little regard for that which binds people together.4 What makes the contributions of the Circle particularly remarkable, is how boldly its members take responsibility for their own destinies, in spite of their disillusionment with how the bible often functions in (mainly patriarchal socio-cultural and church) contexts in Africa, and amid the dire societal needs of the African continent regarding employment (poverty), health (HIV and AIDS, prostitution, neglect of environment), education and safety (violence, human trafficking). A fundamental problem for women (including Christian women) is the polarity between the household and public sphere. Women's roles (in church and society) are defined largely by their domestic roles, leading to unequal power, even when secular laws provide for equality. Recognising how important the bible is for churches in Africa, the Circle approaches the task of deconstructing some old and reconstructing anew the ways in which the bible is being read as a primary challenge. They consistently emphasize the necessity to