August 27, 2004

SAO PAULO - Preaching that is not accompanied by works is not very Evangelical, said the representative from the federal district of Brasilia, Peniel Pacheco, who participated, together with Brazilian Environmental minister Marina Silva, in a reflection forum on Brazil.

The Progressive Evangelical Movement (MEP) in Sao Paulo organized the forum August 14. Silva and Pacheco are members of the Assemblies of God Church.

The political action of Evangelicals must leave some essential marks, such as, for example, not abandoning their principles. It is also not enough to preach the Word, if it does not produce practice results. The Church will only carry out its role when it preaches and puts the integral Gospel into practice, said the representative.

Minister Silva, renowned for her ethical convictions, spoke about her experience as a young girl working in rubber plantations in the Amazon, and the struggle she had to study, her conversion and her current activity.

Our ministry is here and the accounts we must render come from above. When I studied the Bible I found all the concepts that guide my daily life. We Christians do not have any other alternative than to do politics with radical ethics, emphasized Silva.

The MEP is an association committed to social change. It constitutes a space for debate, formation and cooperation on the part of Evangelical Christians, with the objective to battle for ethics and justice.

ALC News Service