Latin America Delegates Workshop
Chiefs of Missionary Areas from 12 Countries Attend and Study the Truth
From January 21 to 25, the Latin America Delegates Workshop (Spanish) was held at the South American Spiritual Training Center in Ibiuna, Sao Paulo. Thirty-three delegates from Central and South America and southern Europe attended.
This Workshop is held every year for Chiefs of Missionary Areas and Chairmen of Latin American countries other than Brazil. This year’s Workshop was the 16th. The attendees represented 12 countries: Argentine, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Spain and Portugal.
Since this was the last year of Latin American countries’ “Seicho-No-Ie Movement Policy—Three Year Plan,” which began in 2007, the main theme of the Workshop was to deepen an understanding of the Movement Policy. The lecturers were Rev. Yoshio Mukai (Ordained Minister, Bishop of Seicho-No-Ie Latin America), Rev. Marie Murakami (Ordained Minister, Chairman of Brazil Missionary Headquarters), and four Ordained/Assistant Ministers. There were lectures, including “Sundial Way of Life,” “Seicho-No-Ie and Environment,” “Unit Organizations and Readers’ Meetings,” and “Development of Leaders.” Examples in Brazil were introduced in the lectures. The program of the Workshop also included “The Role of Chiefs of Missionary Areas and Chairmen” and a “Group Discussion.”
Rev. Mario Gabriel Fransa Silva (Assistant Minister), who became the Chief of the Latin American Propagation Office, as of January 2009, commented, “Among the attendees, there were five newly appointed Missionary Area Chiefs and one Chairman. The event was very meaningful for the organizational movement in the future. The attendees were full of enthusiasm to actively carry out the Movement in Latin American countries.”
Comments received from the attendees included: “I renewed my sense of the mission to propagate this great teaching in my country. I intend to develop young leaders, start unit organizations and improve the existing organizations even more.”
Remarks by Rev. Yoshio Mukai, Bishop of Seicho-No-Ie Latin America
“There are many differences in language and custom in Latin American countries. By holding this Workshop every year, we try to help the attendees understand the objective of the Movement Policy. Our guidance takes into consideration the differences in the size of the organization in each country. This year, we took the opportunity to encourage that Regional Lecturers and leaders of each country attend the Special Conference for World Peace to be held in Brazil this August.”