Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever' : faith memory, crisis and how reborn members of the redeemed Christian Church of God make home in Ireland

This chapter will examine memory articulated through the lens of Pentecostalism as a means to better comprehend the relationship between faith and the migrant experiences of making home in a post-Celtic Tiger Ireland. The diasporic journeys undertaken by many African Pentecostal migrants are often remembered through the lens of their faith. While there is a theoretically rich body of work concerning Pentecostal memory (van Dijk, 1998; Meyer, 2004; Robbins, 2004; Ugba, 2008), my intent is to extend the literature on memory and Pentecostalism towards a consideration of faith memory as a mechanism of recovery in times of crisis. Memory is the mechanism through which we remember, create and re-create our past. I argue that faith memory is the dynamic way in which memory is influenced by, in this case, Pentecostal faith. Deep spiritual meaning is ascribed to memories, informing how we understand the past, cope with the present and move towards the future. I argue that this faith memory is a particularly significant way to understand the role Pentecostal faith plays during times of crisis and recovery. I use the everyday experiences of making home in Ireland to do this.