CONTACT: Thomas McAnally (Release # 416) Aug. 15, 1996
by Thomas McAnally*
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Methodists participating in a world conference here Aug. 7-15 gave their host church $204,093 for its work with poor and homeless children.
At the suggestion of the conference planning committee, more than 2,700 individual participants brought with them to Rio money from individuals, Sunday school classes and others in their respective local congregations.
The offering was taken Saturday night, Aug. 10, during a celebration planned by the Methodist Church of Brazil. More than 15,000 people attended the event in a large domed sports stadium in the city.
The amount of the offering was announced Aug. 14.
"I expected the offering to be a large sum," said the Rev. Donald English, a British clergyman and chairman of the World Methodist Council. "But the amount is much larger than I thought it would be."
His voice breaking as he announced the total amount, English described the gifts as "a unified, concrete expression of love." He noted that the total consisted of cash and checks in dollars, reals (the Brazilian currency), francs, pounds and marks.
English said money isn't the most important thing. "It expresses the degree of love and gratitude we feel for our
brothers and sisters in Brazil and for all the work they are doing for the gospel."The council's chief staff executive, the Rev. Joe Hale of the United States, also expressed delight at the moment. "Through this offering, we will put the arms of Jesus around thousands of children in Brazil. We may not make a difference everywhere, but we can make a difference somewhere, and we will begin here --right where we are!"
Brazilian Methodist leaders said the money will be used to support the work with impoverished children maintained by their church throughout Brazil. Priority will be given, they said, to projects addressing the needs of street children, especially girls in risky situations, drug recovery and prostitution prevention.
The World Methodist Council is a 500-member delegated body that meets every five years in conjunction with a larger World Methodist Conference, which it sponsors. The council represents 73 member denominations, 32 million members and 107 countries. The Rio meeting is the first ever held in South America. More than 2,700 are attending the meeting here.
Two categories of street children are served by the Brazilian church: orphans and others who literally live on the streets and those who have a home but wander the streets to find money to help support their families.
Some projects work directly to help street children with their problems. If possible, they are helped to return to relatives, get into school or move into a children's home. Getting children off the street is difficult, church leaders explain, because some are used by adults for crime, drug distribution or prostitution.
Most of the programs try to prevent the conditions that cause children to go to the streets. These efforts include day-care centers, after-school programs, tutoring and children's homes. Poor families also receive assistance so that their children can stay in school and do not need to beg for help.
* McAnally is director of United Methodist News Service, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn.
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