Eliane
Cassemiro:
“I am very happy
to work for the
Spiritist
Movement”
The President of
the Regional
Spiritist Union
of the Brazilian
state
of Santa Catarina talks
about the
Spiritist
Movement in
Criciúma and
other cities in
the region
 |
Eliane Cassemiro
(photo) is the
President of the
9th
URE (Regional
Spiritist Union)
in the southern
Brazilian state
of Santa
Catarina,
gathering 27
municipalities.
She is an
accountant and
works as
controller of a
chemical plant
in the city of
Criciúma, where
she has lived
since 1995, the
same year when
she became a
Spiritist. She
is also a
vo-
|
|
lunteer worker
at the Spiritist
Centre Seara de
Jesus. In this
interview, she
talks about her
experience in
the Spiritist
Movement in
Santa Catarina.
Tell us a little
bit about the
city of
Criciúma.
|
It has 204,667
inhabitants
according to the
2014 census and
it is the main
city in the coal
producing area
of Santa
Catarina.
Criciúma is
known as the
Coal Capital of
Brazil and it
has also a
vibrant
industrial
sector. The city
was built by
Italian
immigrants, as
well as Poles,
Germans,
Portuguese and
Arabs.
How many
Spiritist Groups
are there in the
9th
Regional
Spiritist Union
and which is the
oldest one?
We have 20
Groups in our
regional body.
Four of them are
in Criciúma. The
oldest Spiritist
Centre in the
area is the
Spiritist Centre
Seara de Jesus,
which began its
activities on 31st
March 1942, 73
years ago. It is
one of the
busiest
Spiritist
Centres in the
region,
gathering some
500 people in
its public
events. More
than 200 people
take part in the
study groups. It
is the flagship
Spiritist Centre
in the region.
How do you
encourage the
integration of
the different
groups in the
region?
We promote and
organise a
number of
regular meetings
with the
presidents of
all Spiritist
Groups in the
region. We also
organise
regional events
for the
volunteers and
we publish a
rota of public
speakers, who go
round the region
three times a
year debating a
chosen theme in
all Spiritist
Groups in the
area. And we
have a yearly
gathering of
three Regional
bodies from
Santa Catarina
state.
In which way has
the Spiritist
Movement in the
region been
benefited by
these efforts?
We have achieved
further
integration
between the
volunteer
workers, a more
vibrant exchange
of experiences
and the union of
the various
Spiritist Groups
in the region.
The Spiritist
Federation of
Santa Catarina
organises three
meetings every
year, gathering
the 16 Regional
Unions of the
state. That has
helped encourage
the cross
fertilization of
ideas and
projects and has
given us further
encouragement to
carry on with
the activities
we have been
doing in the
regional
Spiritist
Movemnet.
What are the
main challenges
faced by you and
the most
rewarding
moments?
The rewards and
joys are the
participation of
the public in
the events and
the growth of
the Spiritist
Movement in the
region. But we
still struggle
to bring some of
the most
renowned
Spiritist
speakers to our
region, in the
south of
Brazil.
Your final
thoughts,
please.
I am very happy
to work for the
Spiritist
Movement in the
region. And I
often remember
the words of the
Spiritual
Benefactor,
Emmanuel,
through the
medium, Chico
Xavier:
“Spiritism
demands from us
to perform a
continuous form
of charity – the
charity of its
dissemination”.
