Maria Georgina Valente (photo) was born in the southern Brazilian city of Rio Grande and lives in Alvorada. She works as a volunteer at the Spiritist Centre Sociedade Espírita Obreiros do Senhor and is in charge of family issues in the Spiritist Federation of the State of Rio Grande do Sul.  Maria Valente has four children and two grandchildren. She has been working for many years in the religious education of children, in the company of her husband, Valmor.   O Consolador:  What  are your  main

tasks in the Spiritist Centre Obreiros do Senhor?

I am in charge of the study groups, lectures and I also give healing. 

O Consolador: What duties have you had in other Spiritist groups? 

I began working with Spiritism at a very early age and in many parts of the country. I was one of the directors of Spiritst Centres in the city of Macapa, in the Brazilian Amazon, also in the state of Sergipe, in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, and in the state capital, Porto Alegre. 

O Consolador: Where does your interest in family issues come from? 

I began working with the religious education of children at the age of 13, that is 44 years ago… By evangelising the children, I understood the importance of evangelising also their parents. During four years, when I lived in the north-eastern state of Sergipe, I worked with children in the rural area. I was part of a team that went to a small farm and spent the day with the children. Some of us cooked for them, some worked in the garden, with the vegetables, others were providing religious education to local children. We realised that the parents were idle during those hours and became assisting them too. I have the most beautiful memories of those days, the beautiful nature that made the background during prayer time. When my husband and I returned home, to the south of Brazil, we felt there was a need to carry on our work and help the great human family. I am now in charge of the Department of Family Issues of the local Spiritist Federation, commanding a team of qualified and dedicated Spiritist workers. 

O Consolador: What are your views on the state of the family in our times? 

The family is facing the challenges of the great transition the world is going through (from a planet of Trials and Tribulations to a world of Regeneration). This is a time of big challenges, of pain and suffering. We live in a world of here and now, where meeting our immediate desires seems to be the priority for so many, in total disregard to the well being of others. However, we find so many brothers and sisters dedicated to Good, who practice the principle of loving their neighbours. These are the people who are building the new world of Regeneration. 

O Consolador: During 2010, you presented a series of seminars in the state of Rio Grande do Sul focusing on family issues, titled “Where did I get it wrong?” How did you come up with that idea? 

The seminar was indeed very successful. It discussed issues very close to the anxious hearts of so many homes in our times. It went to eight cities in Rio Grande do Sul, and we may be taken to four more cities next year. “Where did I get it wrong” is the question we ask ourselves when we realise we “failed”, everything “went wrong”, that we should have “done things differently.” We had workshops that attempted to bring answers to questions on pregnancy, marriage, the relationship between parents and children, violence, sexuality (including homosexuality), living with the elderly, the Gospel in the home. When we took our seminar to the border city of Uruguaiana, we attracted a record crowd, including our brothers and sisters from Argentina and Uruguay. Our team of facilitators have achieved excellent results thanks to their brilliant skills, their enthusiasm and creativity. 

O Consolador: What lessons have you learned from those meetings? 

I am happy to say that non-Spiritists also joined our seminars. We highlighted the role of Spiritist in bringing comfort and console to all and to the fact that our errors are a result of “a past” history of badly managed existences on the planet. When we question, not only do we find the answers but also we move away from the “zone of remorse”, which is so dangerous, looking ahead towards new paths of recovery and real solutions to our conflicts, through spiritual development. Each city we went to provided our team with new opportunities to exchanges views and experiences. The stories we were told marked the beginning of new journeys for those people, with more hope and faith. And that was very rewarding! 

O Consolador: What are the main challenges faced by the family in the XXI century? 

This is a special time… There is great scientific development, but the material progress of our times is not met by moral development. What we have is materialism, egocentrism… On the other hand, this is a period of ambitious social projects, of new brilliant educational proposals, of news laws created to protect human rights. We seem to be living in a time of extremes, of values from the opposite scales of human evolution. With all that, the family will drift away unless it has as its north the laws of love, brought to us by Jesus. I am optimistic that Good will prevail on Earth. I see so many anonymous contributions at hospitals, jails, homes for the elderly, schools, in different families… It’s the silent and selfless work of so many. There is so much pain around us, but so many hands to offer help, there are regrets and comfort, there is ignorance and education side by side. That is the big challenge face by all Spiritists, I believe: to minimise suffering, being aware of what the XXI Century really means. 

O Consolador: Tell us more about the Department of Family Issues (DAFA). 

Our department plays an important role because of its reach. It has four subdivisions, focusing on Expecting Parents, Parents, the Elderly and the Gospel in the Home, which means it fulfils the main spiritual needs of us incarnates. We have specific targets and goals for each cycle and try to educate parents on what happens or should happen in that very special moment when spirits reincarnate among us. We also provide assistance and dialogue to the elderly; we go to where there is pain and suffering – in people’s houses and flats, in homes for the elderly, in jails etc. Our department is also in charge of the Value Life Campaign. We provide information on issues like euthanasia, abortion, death penalty, drug and alcohol addiction and suicide. Spiritist Centres need to be prepared to assist all of those who face problems in their families. We need to be able to provide advice, education, and information to all of those who come to us. And that is what our department tries to help Spiritist Centres with. 

O Consolador: What are your views on same-sex families, including the adoption of children? 

In 2011 we will be debating in our seminars the issue of “New Format Families,” and difficult themes such as domestic violence, paedophilia. In our society, these themes have been discussed openly in schools and other public institutions. The problem is everywhere, it affects so many people and we, Spiritists, could not close our eyes to something that touches people of all social classes in Brazil. My opinion on same-sex families is that we should not judge, it is up to everyone’s free will. I believe that are many children in need of love and a real home. But I wonder if, from the point of view of Psychology, they will be disturbed or challenged by the new roles of father and mother. On the other hand, how to assess what is more important, our need for love and affection, or the roles played by mother and father? 

O Consolador: You lost young daughter, certainly a very painful experience. Would you mind sharing your experience with other parents? 

We have had the opportunity to learn, to grief, to overcome pain. We have four children – three girls and a boy. One of our daughters disincarnated six months ago in a car crash, at the age of 30. Liciane is our third daughter, a unique spirit, beautiful, with so many qualities but also flaws. During her existence she made so many friends and won our hearts. The pain caused by physical separation, by missing our daughter, has been huge and we can only imagine how much parents going though a similar situation, but without the benefit of believing in reincarnation, suffer. We can say we speak from the soul when we say that God exists, that He is our Father, fair and generous, that death doesn’t exist and that we are can overcome pain, we are able to do it, in order to help our dear ones who returned to the Spiritual World before us. All the pain and experience from our lives on the planet, the experience from domestic violence, paedophilia, addictions, the premature death of our dear ones provides us with the tools to understand and help one another. God has been generous and given us amazing presents: generous parents on this planet, parents who were dignified, responsible, and honest; I was always blessed with a relationship that lasts 37 years. My husband, whom I married as a young Spiritist, has helped me in my roles as wife, mother, grandmother, fulfilling each day of my life with joyful experiences and valuable tasks. 

O Consolador: Your final thoughts, please... 

I would like to tell readers that life on Earth is a wonderful opportunity and that, in spite of all the obstacles we face, we are able to sow today the seeds for a happy tomorrow. I’ve heard from many people that they didn’t feel they could work in our Department of Family Issues, as they hadn’t been able to overcome their own family problems. I must say, however, that all the experience we have gathered is the tool we need to assist those who are suffering. We must work to help evangelise families, that’s a task that can’t be postponed. We are a source of light, which can shine with more or less power, but above all, with light. Peace to everyone.