Luiz Cláudio da Silva:

“Children should be taking part in the Gospel in the Home even before they are born”

Our fellow Spiritist from São Paulo state shares his experience and thoughts on the campaign he coordinates at state level to encourage Spiritists to do the Gospel in the Home

 

	Luiz Cláudio da Silva (photo) was born in a Spiritist family in the city of Santo André, in São Paulo state, where he still lives. He has a degree in Business Administration and has his own business. In Santo André, he works as a volunteer at the Spiritist Centre Bezerra de Menezes. He coordinates a national campaign to disseminate the practice of
the Gospel in the Home and in the Heart among Spiritists.

How did your involvement with the campaign begin? 

In the early 1990s I began to realise that there was very little information about on the Gospel in the Home. I decided to do some research and I soon enough found the answer for the lack of information. As the Gospel in the Home (-- a gathering that usually takes place once a week at home, with family members, to read and comment The Gospel According to Spiritism and other Spiritist books) is such a basic staple of Spiritism in Brazil, many people simply in the Movement did not feel the need to disseminate its practice. Many believed that a simple nod or hint would get people hooked. They also assumed that all Spiritists would know what to do, but many simply don’t. The first campaign to disseminate the Gospel in the Home was carried out in 2005 at state level only. In 2007 I was invited to take over the campaign. It was only in 2008 that it was implemented at a national level in Brazil. 

What has been the impact and feedback? 

Always very positive. People come to me to ask for recommended books to be read during the Gospel in the Home. They also ask questions such as the ideal time and day to do it, whether pets can take part too and whether their home will be protected from burglars and robbers once they start the weekly meetings…  

What do you need now to push the campaign forward? 

We need more volunteers, people who embrace the cause and are willing to work in the dissemination campaigns. 

What about the participation of children in the Gospel in the Home? Is that something you are working on in the campaign? 

We have been insisting with Spiritist Centres and all the key people in the Spiritist Movement to encourage the participation of children in the campaign and in the Gospel in the Home, which is a moment of communion with God. Children should be taking part in the Gospel in the Home even before they are born. We have been recommending appropriate books for children during the meetings. We also suggest ways of getting children involved, such as asking them to make the opening prayer or to prepare the books ahead of the meeting.  

What needs to be done to get Spiritist Centres and Federations across the country to put the programme into practice? 

This is a long journey, but not an impossible one. We are the difficult stage now of raising awareness among those in charge of Spiritist Centres and Federations. In our efforts we are constantly encouraged by the Spiritual Benefactors, who are doing the real work here. Joanna de Ângelis, mentor of the great Brazilian medium Divaldo Franco, talks extensively in one of her books (Liberta-te do Mal) about common problems faced by children these days, such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and hyperactivity. This is a book that should be studied by many families in the Gospel in the Home. That would help the complimentary work with those children at the Spiritist Centres they attend regularly. 

Your final thoughts, please. 

It is important to understand that the Gospel in the Home and in the Heart must take a position of prominence, always, among Spiritists. Workers and volunteers in the Spiritist Movement should be aware of its importance. In each and every meeting, event, activity in Spiritist Centres, we must be able to find easily folders, posters and other information material on the Gospel in the Home. I invite all of you to join the campaign. You will see that the joy of helping others achieve a degree of happiness is the best reward that there could possibly be. Let us do our part. I appreciate the help from the Spiritual Benefactors and the Spiritist Movement in Brazil for allowing me the opportunity of being part of this effort. We will have a seminar between April 18^th and 25^th in the city of Santos that will discuss several issues, including the Gospel in the Home and in the Heart campaign. If you want to get involved and help the campaign, please get in touch through use@usesp.org.br or telephone number +55 11 29506554.