Our focus in the ecumenical mission study has centered on the work of the Methodist Church of
Brazil, United Methodist partnerships with the Brazilian Church, and the work of United
Methodist and Brazilian Methodist missionaries.
Missionaries Watch the Church Grow in Brazil
by Christie R. House
Interviews with two missionary couples who have lived and worked and raised their families in
Brazil over the past 35 years and who now retire in their adopted country. Their perspectives on
the Brazilian church will help readers understand how Methodist work in Brazil has changed
over the last three decades.
Methodism in Brazil: A Missionary Church
The Methodist Church of Brazil developed their Plan for the Life and Mission of the Church in
the 1980s. Some excerpts from the plan reveal why Brazilian Methodist mission reaches beyond
the church doors out into the streets and the surrounding countryside.
Life Changes Slowly for Brazil's Street Children
by Paul Jeffrey
Has the "1990 Statutes on Children and Adolescents" made any difference in the lives of street
children in Brazil's large cities? Jeffrey interviews directors and staff members of children's
ministries all across Brazil to find out the answer.
Good Health, Abundant Life for Brazil's Poor
by Paul Jeffrey
Through the Evangelical Council of Methodist Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean
(CIEMAL) and the Brazilian Methodist Church, Jeffrey visits several areas where Community-based Health Care programs have taken root among poor communities in Brazil. The article
features communities in Porto Velho, Limoero, and Vargas in the northern territories.
Taking the Side of Brazil's Indigenous People
by Paul Jeffrey
Over 200 indigenous communities throughout Brazil must fight to keep their right to live on their
ancestral lands while rangers, farmers, and big businesses attempt to evict them. Although Brazil
has passed laws to protect indigenous territories, local courts and municipal governments
overturn hard-won victories. Join Jeffrey as he visits a fascinating group of people, whose
ancestors lived in this South American countryside before the Portuguese and other colonizers
arrived.
Poster: Methodism in Brazil, Map and Timeline
It's another useful and informative New World Outlook study guide special. You won't find it in
any other publication. Methodist ecclesiastical areas, education institutions, and a brief history of
how Methodism got started in Brazil--its all right here.
Children, Priority of the Kingdom of God
by Ana Claudia Figeroa and Lenise Lantelme
The Brazilian Methodist Church has sent us their own priorities in mission. Figeroa and
Lantelme tell why Methodists in Brazil consider ministries with children as their first priority.
Education in Defense of Life
by Ana Claudia Figeroa and Lenise Lantelme
Children's education is a chief concern among the church's ministries with children. The article
gives statistics on how many Brazilian children are denied an education in the public-school
system and why a good number of Methodist ministries are schools.
Dreaming a Possible Dream for Brazil's Farm Workers
by Yone da Silva
Boia Fria (cold food) farm workers are an oppressed people in Brazilian society. They labor
long hours in the fields without adequate pay or human services. Da Silva writes about how the
Methodist Church ministers to an otherwise forgotten group of people.
Solidarity With the Kanamari People of the Amazon
by Ana Claudia Figeroa and Lenise Lantelme
The Brazilian Church has 10 mission projects with indigenous people throughout Brazil. The
Kanamari of the Amazon are one of the latest tribes to be "contacted" by civilization. Brazilian
Methodists have joined with other agencies and missions to help the Kanamari protect their
culture and their land.
A Spiritual Engagement With the Amazon
by Roberto Alves Vania
The Amazon conjures up all kinds of images for people in the United States--a huge raging river, jungles, indigenous people, thousands of species of animals. Alves Vania, who lives and works in Porto Velho, narrates a different kind of reality and tells of the Methodist Church's plans for theological education in the Amazon region.
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If you did, our September/October issue will be a special memento for you. If you didn't make it--sit tight. We'll deliver the whole event to you at your doorstep!
In this not-just-the-Global-Gathering issue, we'll present the sights and senses of the Global Gathering. We'll have photos from Mike DuBose and John Goodwin, as well as stories from our roving reporters, who roved all over the Bartle Hall Convention Center to talk to some of the 5400 people who attended the event.
In addition, GBGM staff member Sarah Strawn accompanied photographer John Goodwin and a number of other participants on the Global Gathering tour. They visited mission sites in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Illinois. We'll present their trip log so that you can join in the journey through words and photos.
And then there were the other events that took place in Kansas City before, during, and after the Global Gathering III--Global Praise, the international team of composers, singers, and musicians that gathered to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through music and song; the General Board of Global Ministries Spring Board Meeting; Mission Volunteers working on a project in Pattonsburg, Mo; a Disaster Coordinators meeting for UMCOR; and a group of international youth leaders meeting at the Sheraton Suites across town. They all have stories to tell--and even if you did make it to Kansas City, chances are, you missed a couple of these. Some of them were happening simultaneously in different parts of the city.
Coming in September in New World Outlook--renew or
subscribe now so you won't miss it!
Send comments and questions to nwo@gbgm-umc.org.
All photographs are copyright © The General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church
and courtesy, New World Outlook magazine.