Nilton Stamm de Andrade:

“The spiritist centre should have a transparent relationship with the society and with the government”

The group was oriented by my father and had young people from both sexes who were part from several spiritist centres in town. This was a remarkable experience for me. From that time onwards, I got involved with youth spiritist meetings in Rio Grande do Sul, which used to happen annually in our State. These meetings were promoted by the Spiritist Federation of Rio Grande do Sul. Alberto Rocha, who was coordinating the youth sector at the time, helped me to consolidate my convictions. On those days, little by little, I got more involved in the Spiritist movement and with the Doctrine. 

O Consolador: Have you worked with other institutions?

Since 1976 I go to the Spiritist Society Love to the Truth (Sociedade Espírita Amor à Verdade), from São Leopoldo, Brazil. I joined this society because I disagreed with a lot of things that were happening at the Society Sebastião Leão, such as activities involving magnetism and chromotherapy. Nowadays I work as well with the spiritist centre Fé, Luz e Caridade, from Novo Hamburgo. I also have a very strong connection with the spiritist centre Paz e Amor, from the city were my wife is from, São Francisco de Paula. 

O Consolador: Have you got any articles published?

No I haven’t published any articles. I tried some times to write a few lines for the magazine ¨A Reencarnação¨, for the Spiritist Federation. I have always been studying Spiritism. I have helped on planning, research and structuring of leaflets edited by the Centre of Training and Study (CTE) of the Spiritist Federation. This project was created under the administration of the president Jason Camargo (1992-1993). The main objective was to capacitate workers for the routine activities of spiritist institutions. We wanted to implement an operational view which would add to the spiritist studies already in place. I have also helped with research that involved the publication of the book Education of Feelings (¨Educação dos Sentimentos¨), from Jason de Camargo, ex-president of the Spiritist Federation.  

O Consolador: What roles have you had within the spiritist movement?

I have been working for more than fifty years to the spiritist cause during which I had the roles of secretary and president of spiritist centres. In 1998 I assumed the responsibility of Presidency for the Spiritist Federation of Rio Grande do Sul, and was re-elected in 2000/2001. Nowadays I am the president of the Regional Spiritist Council for the 2^nd Federative Region (http://www.2regiao.etc.br/)  

O Consolador: In which activities are you involved in the spiritist centre?

At the Spiritist Society Love to Truth (Sociedade Espírita Amor à Verdade) I am the Doctrine Director. I help with Spiritist Counselling, facilitating the study group and explaining the doctrine. 

O Consolador: You are very requested to be a speaker at seminars within the spiritist movement; not only for workers but also for the main public. Which topics do you prefer to talk about and how do you feel the repercussion of these activities are?

The spirit Emmanuel affirmed through a message ¨the spiritist centre is a school, where we all learn to teach, seed good, harvest blessings, carry out our own inner reformation and help others to do the same ¨. Based on this objective concept, I believe it is imperative for spiritist works and the main public to study Spiritism. All the topics mentioned within the basic codified books by Allan Kardec, especially The Spirits’ Book. We need to bring transparency to the different audiences and make a point that the main objective of Spiritism in Earth is the moral transformation of humanity and the domination and/or control of our imperfections. Spiritist is a highly educational doctrine. We learn that each spirit will construct, day by day, his virtues and victories over the millenniums. These victories will be achieved by educating itself and working towards achieving perfection.  

In addition, some topics for courses and seminars within the spiritist centres could be legitimate opportunities to learn and offer moments of reflection for the main audience. Some examples are the operational activities the spiritist institution offers such as healing, spiritist counselling and the studies of the doctrine. It is imperative to show the audience ‘how to do it’, which means, how to adjust the daily actions and routines of the centre to the teachings we have seen throughout the Spiritist Literature.   

If these activities are conducted with seriousness, quality and perseverance, they will be extremely valuable. It will be very useful for spiritists to comprehend that the spiritist institution is seen by the spiritual Benefactors as a school. It is also seen a centre that forms illuminated consciousness working towards rational faith, moral education, using as a guide the doctrine of Jesus through the Spiritist perspective.  

O Consolador: Is there a special aspect you would like to share with us?

Yes, there is.  There is a sensitive question in regards of the management of a spiritist centre. This is one of the difficult points we are faced within the Brazilian spiritist movement. We need to realise good management is a synonymous of positive results. It is a mistake to think the spiritist centre is not a company and should not adopt a sensible management style.  

In times where technological changes and scientific advances of all sorts demand daily changes in human society, this has been causing delays in the formation of efficient spiritist leaders. We need to form managers capable of bringing effective results to the spiritist centres, with quality. In a lot of centres, the results are very small. We can see that a lot of leaders feel like they own the centre, delaying the progress, missing opportunities, and conducting the centre to the opposite direction of what the Doctrine tells us. 

O Consolador: What do you think about the legal demands that have increasing for the spiritist institutions?

It is not our right to judge, but to execute them. By the way, the spiritist centre should have a transparent relationship with the society and with the government. Even if we don’t agree with certain facts and norms, there are always ways to appeal. Therefore, we shouldn’t forget the influence of the law of cause and effect in our lives. Jesus told the Teachers of the law and the chief priests “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”. This text was analysed in detail at The Gospel According to Spiritism – chapter XI, item 5. This should deserve our analysis in terms of actions to be taken.  

O Consolador: Can you please tell us about your motivation for approaching topics related to management within spiritist centres?

During these 150 years of Codification we lived through different states. We went through steps and achieved many goals. The managers of spiritist centres, who are hard workers, made the spiritist movement expand in Brazil, providing many people with the light of Spiritism. Nowadays, the management of a spiritist centre keeps being a complex activity that involves a lot of dedication and effort. It relies on volunteers most of the times and lacks of financial resources to be able to achieve its objectives, which are not well-defined most of the times.  

This task became very difficult; really challenging. This means to become a good spiritist leader it is not enough to have knowledge of Spiritism, live the doctrine together with good intentions and disposition for the doing the task. It is necessary to be able to organise and make the activities within the centre happen. It is also fundamental to structure the departments, look for modern management tools allied to IT, establish norms, get to know the audience who comes to the centre as well as the spiritist workers, chose a systemic view, work on planning, control and continuous evaluation.  Plus, this person needs to coincide the all these aspects to the arduous wish to proceed serving with love for the good cause. Efficiency and effectiveness are needed within the spiritist centres. On my point of view, this should be the motivation for every spiritist who is plenty conscious about the challenges we face at our times, in order to improve the management of our institutions. 

O Consolador: What are the advantages for the management team within the centre to be up to speed with the modern existing techniques of management?

There are two advantages. The first one is for the management team and its collaborators. Operating with efficiency and effectiveness within several activities is highly motivating and generates satisfaction in everything that is being achieved. The second one is for the spiritist centre. The institution will be able to achieve positive results in terms of quality within its activities, increase the number of workers who are committed to the cause and, as a consequence, the number of people who attend the centre. In other words there will be an increased development within the institution. It is imperative to comprehend the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness. We can say, for example, an efficient spiritist leader is not only concerned about having a good relation with the spiritist workers but also with the other groups. He also discloses the Spiritist Doctrine not just within the centre but also to the community which would include non-spiritists. Let’s be aware that this should be done respecting the other institutions and good care.  

O Consolador: According to your point of view, what is the importance of study groups within the spiritist centres?

The campaign for the Systematic study of the spiritist doctrine (ESDE) was implemented in Rio Grande do Sul in 1978.  As we said earlier, the spiritist centre is a school whose objective is to teach and console our fellow creatures. Therefore, it is imperative to have the serious and methodical study of Spiritism within the centre that involves all workers and public. When the group analyses certain topic, the result is amplified and enriched. It helps the group to get rid of personalised and subjective ideas. It is a need to be able to work in a group. The National Federal Council of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation, through the norms ‘Orientation to the spiritist centre’ recommends the permanent implementation of the Systematic study of the spiritist doctrine within the centres. Study meetings are those where a group of people meet regularly to study in a serious and continuous format the Spiritist Doctrine. This should be done with a program scheduled previously, based on the Codification.  

O Consolador: What experiences do you have to tell us about these activities?

Since 1985, I have been envolved with the task of facilitating study groups in the centre Sociedade Espírita Amor à Verdade. Through this time, I have noticed the benefits of this work. It is able to pass on spiritist knowledge to people and clarify concepts, making people more conscious. In the study groups, the one who benefits the most is the facilitator since he/she needs to prepare for these meetings and end up acquiring a deep knowledge of the topics studied. On the other hand, the Systematic study of the spiritist doctrine (ESDE) is able to form new workers. The knowledge of the doctrine is essential since being a conscious spiritist reinforces the spiritist movement and its correct disclose. We need to adopt the following: the Systematic study of the spiritist doctrine (ESDE) is fundamental. 

O Consolador: How do you evaluate the Systematic study of the spiritist doctrine (ESDE) in spiritist centres?

It needs to be revaluated. After 30 years of constant campaigns, it is only natural to realise that it needs new goals, methods and practices. I understand ESDE has 5 pillars: 1) the need to apply constant pedagogical and didactic concepts; 2) the study which is based on group consent in order to avoid subjectivism and personalism; 3) the regular and systematic study of spiritist concepts; 4) the existence of introduction courses on Spiritism which should be elaborated by the Federation and improved didactically and cost-effectively; 5) flexibility on the duration of courses, in which we need to respect the characteristics and productivity of each study group.  

O Consolador: How do you evaluate the present moment in terms of disclosure of Spiritism?

It is advancing. Technology and internet have been helping this process. I still believe it is important to consider the special role books have in terms of this disclosure. Therefore, we need to be careful about the quality of the work which is available out there. There are lots of so called ‘Spiritist’ books, which are not good in terms of content. We need to focus on quality and correct the information that is available to the general public. I would like to point out that the best form of disclosing Spiritism is by setting up a good example, in and out of the spiritist centre.  

O Consolador: How do you see the challenges we are faced with, such as the economic crisis which impacts the entire planet?

The world moves on a very fast speed through painful paths due to selfishness. The global economic crisis and the collapse of the biosphere are fruits of this, as we are all running for our survival. Therefore, we have spectacular technological advances. The level of consciousness of citizen rights, consumer rights, human rights, children rights, and many others have grown due to the slow transformation that our planet is going through, in order to become a world of regeneration. Greediness should be seen as a fault to the Divine Law. The law of cause and effect will establish the balance men have done due to his inconsequent actions. Our planet is just one of the numerous existing places that were created by OUR FATHER. Love, work and trust are the recipe to be used against these difficulties and challenges.  

O Consolador: What are the duties that compete to the spiritist leader in the spiritist centre, in regards of those who just arrive to the institution for the first time?

Number 1: qualify the spiritist worker. The spiritist centre is a school where its workers need to improve their knowledge of the Doctrine in order to better serve, since we are all teachers. There should be courses on counselling, healing, reception and also on other activities that are happening within the centre. This should be the leader’s main duties.  

Number 2: qualify the institution in terms of management. The leader should not forget the Management Course which has been elaborated by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. We need to remember that the Brazilian Spiritist Movement has a plan which has been elaborated for the next five years, and the success of this plan relays on the responsibility each spiritist centre has with the good cause.

Number 3: work on human relationships, motivational levels of individuals and the groups. The leader needs to create communication channels within the different parts of the institution. This person should always have in mind that the biggest cause is not the centre itself but the noble goals of unifying the spiritist movement.  

O Consolador: What has your long experience as a spiritist worker allowed you to see?

Throughout the years I realised the value of Spiritism in men’s lives. I recognise and fight agains my own imperfections. I lived and live the opportunity to exchange experiences with colleagues who share my spiritist view within Rio Grande do Sul and also within other estates. I had and have the pleasure to share knowledge and experiences with people from all cultural levels in meetings, talks and courses. I have been honoured to be the President of the Spiritist Estate Federation from 1998 to 2001. I thank all mentors I had and especially God for all I have had the chance to be a part of.  

O Consolador: Can you please give us your final words to our readers? 

I would like to raise the importance of discussing leadership towards Spiritism. The concept of leadership is “the ability to influence people to work enthusiastically, aiming to achieve the objectives as a common good cause¨. This concept interests me  a lot. Daily terms within the spiritist centre are abilities, influences, enthusiasm, work and common good.

For this reason, here at the 2^nd Federative Region we structured a seminar which approaches Leadership, Consciousness and Spiritist Work. This project has been achieving good results in terms of motivation for workers and commitment with the Doctrine.  

I would like to thank the possibility to expose my points of view and experiences. I wish they were able to contribute somehow to our colleagues who are committed to Him, our Humanity’s model and guide.  Let’s persevere in our tasks. I wish lots of peace to everyone.