wfn.org | Brazilian cautions Methodist educators to be wary of

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globalization

July 22, 1998 Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-22-63-71B{435}

By Alan Griggs*

GRANTHAM, England (UMNS)-A retired leader of the Methodist Church in
Brazil cautioned a group of international Methodist educators to be wary
of globalization during a worldwide conference addressing the challenges
for the church and its educational institutions.

Methodist Bishop Paulo Ayres Mattos, a keynote speaker at the 1998
International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges and
Universities (IAMSCU) conference here July 22 warned the educators to
deny the damaging effects of secular globalization and to "reinvent a
world in which ethics and honesty are most important." 

The conference brought together college presidents, administrators,
faculty and students to celebrate Methodist education and to work toward
creating a global vision for the next century.

A former professor and director of the Methodist Theological Seminary in
Rio De Janeiro, Mattos expressed grave concerns over the effects of
globalization, which he described as  the rapid growth in technology,
communication, and information that creates "profound changes in the
cultural organization and expression of the social identity of our
peoples." Mattos, who retired from his episcopal duties in 1997, is also
president of Koinonia-Ecumenical Presence and Service and Diakonia, two
ecumenical organizations exploring the interconnections between church
and society in Brazil.

This globalization, Mattos declared, exists in almost all walks of life
and is "intensifying and expanding throughout all dimensions of
individual and collective existence." He said the expansion is hurting
most of the world's young people who are being raised in a society in
which the credit card has become the passport for citizenship.

He urged the 250 educators in attendance to remain faithful to John
Wesley's ideal of transforming society, thus "spreading the biblical
holiness throughout the earth." While recognizing that everyone lives in
a global village, Mattos maintained that educators must set an example
for their students by not succumbing to what he called the unethical,
exclusionary process of globalization.

Mattos stressed that the human life, "God's gift to all humanity," will
be the "ultimate value and criterion for any system historically built"
and will lead to real human happiness. Education, he said, must lead the
way in establishing this happiness for students now and in the future.

The IAMSCU conference, which concludes July 23 with student participants
departing for a two-day study in Northern Ireland, aims to develop
partnerships and connections among Methodist institutions. 

First formed during the 1991 meeting of the World Methodist Council in
Singapore, the association has more than 700 institutions as members.
During their current four-day conference in Britain, participants heard
from noted speakers and celebrated the 250th anniversary of the
Kingswood School in Bath, the institution that launched Methodist
involvement in education worldwide; worshipped in the New Room Chapel in
Bristol; and followed in Wesley's footsteps at Oxford. Portions of the
conference were held at Harlaxton Manor, a country estate owned by the
United Methodist-related University of Evansville (Ind.).

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*Griggs is director of media strategy for United Methodist
Communications.