wfn.org | Methodist Church in Italy

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3483 notes).

Note 3483 by UMNS on March 12, 1997 at 16:19 Eastern (5286 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                             129(10-71B){3482}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            March 12, 1997

Italian Methodist visiting Nashville 
to learn about Christian education

                          A UMNS Feature
                          by Linda Green*

     The desire to be a more effective Sunday teacher in the
Methodist Church in Italy brought 24-year-old Gabriele Bonaiuti to
the United Methodist Board of Discipleship here for two months to
learn about Christian education.
     Bonaiuti, a member of the only Italian-speaking Methodist
congregation in Rome, is the director of teaching and youth Sunday
school. The lack of Christian education resources in Italy and his
desire to help the 350 members of his congregation increase their
faith, brought him to Nashville to study, talk with Christian
education staffers and learn all that he can to perform his
duties. He will return to Italy March 21.
     Under the tutelage of Carol Krau, Christian education
specialist at the board, Bonaiuti has learned ways to help the
Methodist children, youth and adults in his country understand who
they are in relationship to God and one another.   
     In Italy, there are no Sunday schools for adults and no
resources to help adults grow in their faith, Bonaiuti said.
Children and youth, until they reach 18 years of age, learn to be
Christians and learn about the church in Sunday School and
confirmation classes. He wants to find ways to establish adult
Sunday school and covenant groups enabling adults to grow in their
faith. 
      The Wesleyan Methodist Church was born in Italy in 1861 and
between 1861-64, it spread throughout the country. After the rise
of fascism in the 1920s, evangelism became difficult, finances
were scarce and the government expelled Methodist pastors from
their churches or denied them permission to preach. 
     Today, the Methodist Church of Italy is comprised of 4,200
Italian Methodists of whom 2,700 are baptized members. There are
about 50 congregations spread all over the country with numerous
Methodist social projects.    
      Bonaiuti said 98 percent of the Italian population in Rome
is Catholic and the Methodist Church in Italy is a member of a
"unique" federation of Methodists, Waldensians and Baptists. The
various members of the federation maintain individual identities
but they collectively possess a common policy in ecclesiastical
life. Ministers are shared between churches and there is one
theological school and one united circuit and district.
     As Bonaiuti reflected on the things he's learned about
Christian education and the United Methodist Church during his
tenure here,  he said, "I have seen a difference as it pertains to
how to live following Jesus' teachings.  It's something very
different than in my country."
     Bonaiuti said the Methodist Church in Italy has a lot to
learn about Christian education. "I hope that I will be able to
explain it to my sisters and brothers in Italy so that we can do
better."
     He said the Methodist church in Rome is a minority church and
"we fight to survive." Methodists in Italy have the "supposition"
to be "good people" because the majority of Catholics don't know
why they are Catholic.  They don't know enough about the Bible and
Jesus ... but the church is very big."
     Within a primarily Catholic population, it is not uncommon
for other traditions to be disregarded. He said, it's not uncommon
for young Methodists in high school and college to be asked "why
aren't you Catholic?" "We have to defend our religion, but we have
to understand what it means to be Methodists, to be Protestant." 
     "Children need to be taught the tenets of Methodism, because
within the public school system, Catholic doctrine is taught to
students once a week," he said. "It's strange to be Protestant in
a Catholic society because the Catholic church has influence in
all of life."  
     Krau said that once Bonaiuti returns to Italy on March 21,
she hopes that he goes with a sense of being connected to the
church universal and is better prepared to communicate the gospel
effectively through sharing, distributing materials and informal
conversations. "I hope he is pointed to how to put people in touch
with the living reality of God's grace available to them daily
through prayer, studying the Bible and discovering ways to live as
Christians."
     Bonaiuti said that although Italy is small it struggles with
some of the same social problems that America has -- abortion,
drugs, violence -- but on a smaller scale. He said the Methodist
Church in Italy does not have official statements on certain
issues and "we accept everyone. We don't have the discrimination
about homosexuality, abortion or divorce," he said. "In spite of
the difficulties the Methodist Church in my country have, we try
to do our best. I hope we will be able to transcend the
difficulties and do more in Christian education."
                              #  #  #
     * Green is the director of the Nashville, Tenn. office of
United Methodist News Service.

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