Supporting mission in Portugal
A grant of €10,000 from the Fund for Mission in Europe (FMiE) has been given to the Methodist Church in Portugal.
The Methodist Church in Portugal is, in addition to the local church activities, very actively involved in social service ministries. Examples of this are the care centers for the elderly, for children, and for students who in some cases are immigrants. There are also solidarity initiatives to support families in need, including migrant families. The Church is also engaged in ecumenical work. In spite of making great efforts in order to become financially autonomous to be able to fully pay the salary and pension subsidy costs for Pastors, the Church is not yet able to do that without support from the FMiE but there is the hope the Church is not far to reach that purpose.
A report from the Methodist Church in Portugal further explains this work:
The time we all in the world are living is very much complex and difficult. The challenge before us is not an easy one. With the so much difficult things happening like the pandemic and its effects, the unjustifiable war in Ukraine and its effects and the lack of hope in many people, how can we invite people to believe in God?
Yes, this is our main challenge in our days, tell the people that God and his love can change the situation, can bring the peace that all are looking for, knowing that the reactions easily will come saying be difficult to believe in a God who is allowing all the bad that are on the news. Of course, we know what for many people is not easy to understand. We know that God gave freedom to the people to decide how to live and what to do. This freedom can bring times and experiences as those that are happening, but also good news which are happening even not being on the media every hour as the bad ones are.
Much good things are having place in this world and many of them through those who took already the decision to love and live with God. The solidarity towards those in suffering because of the war or because of the pandemic are some of the examples. There are people caring about those suffering, even risking their life. There are people offering what they have, to help those in need. In God we are called to love and be loved, we are called to care about each other and about the creation, we are called to be in solidarity, we are called to respect and be respected, we are blessed to be blessing for others.
During the last year the Methodist Church in Portugal gave continuity to its mission adapting the activities to what was possible in a pandemic time that persists. The online facilities were precious help for what took place, to be in contact with people, to have Services, to have prayer and bible study time, to have small groups weekly meetings, to have pastoral care, to maintain the spirit of confidence and to share information and motivate people for the presential possibilities when they started.
In all that was lived there are also good news to share. In the local churches presential Services there were opportunities to have babies brought by their families for the first time. The gratitude to God was expressed, the blessing for the new-born child was asked and the child were presented to the congregations.
There were local churches who prepared and received new members and new candidates were announced.
The Theological Biblical Methodist Institute had and still has a good group of students who are from different parts of the country. The training is made in online mode and is offered to those who want to deepen their biblical knowledge, to those who feel called to the Ministries of the Church and for all those involved already in the different areas of the life of the Church and want to be updated.
The annual Synod that met online and in presential mode in the end of April, this year, amongst all the matters that were part of the agenda had the joy to live a historic experience for a very small minority Church, that was the approval of seven candidates to the ministries of the Church. Four young people to the Pastoral ministry and three people for the Diaconal one.
God is at work who can stop Him? Surprises are happening but many more, we believe, are about to come.
There is a Methodist local church in Lisbon that is a growing fast one, mainly constituted by people from Angola who live in the area already for many years, having many of them the Portuguese citizenship. The urgent need for this church is to find a place to meet with the capacity for about 200 hundred people with rooms for activities with children, young people, women and men groups, Choir, and solidarity initiatives. The Church keeps praying and believing the miracle will happen and the place will be found as well as the financial capacity to purchase or to rent it.
The Methodist Church in Portugal thank all the prayers and support for the continuity of the mission in the actual complex and difficult time the world live. It is very much clear that for our days, being the Church, the Christians, blessed by God, the Church, the Christians, have to be a blessing to those people who need to know, to accept and to live the love of God which brings the peace we all are looking for.
May God bless all of us, today and ever.
Portugal, June 2022