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Leila Rocha de
Oliveira
(photo),
originally from
Rio de Janeiro,
moved to
Holambra two
years ago, after
retiring as a
civil servant.
She has been a
spiritist since
1972. She has a
degree in Law
and PhD in
Education for
talented
children and
people with
special skills.
O Consolador:
Tell us a bit
about the town
of Holambra.
Holambra is near
the city of
Campinas, not
far from the
state capital,
São Paulo. The
town was founded
by Dutch
immigrants and
only gained its
autonomy in
1991. It has ten
thousand
inhabitants, who
live in an area
of 68 square
kilometers. It is quite well developed,
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with good
infrastructure,
all roads paved.
The main
economic
activities here
are tourism,
cattle raising
and agriculture.
The town has one
of the highest
average incomes
in the State of São Paulo, which
is the richest
in Brazil. |
O Consolador:
The Spiritist
Centre you
belong to,
Sementes de Luz
(Seeds of
Light), is it
the only one in
town? When was
it founded?
Yes, it´s the
only one in
Holambra. It was
founded on
February, 8th,
2006, but it
began operating
informally in
2002, when a
small group of
people first met
in one of their
homes. They
eventually
rented a small
room, then a
house in the
city centre and
that is where
they are still
based.
O Consolador: Do
the tourists who
go to Holambra
in the weekends
and during the
holidays visit
your Spiritist
Centre?
Many people have
country homes in
Holambra and I
have noticed
that they often
come to our
meetings during
the holiday
season and other
holidays. They
come not only to
attend our
lectures, but
also to make
donations. We
observe a
similar pattern
during the main
events in town,
like the
Expoflora –
Holambra is a
major flower
producer – which
attracts more
than 300
thousand people
to the town in a
month.
O Consolador:
What is the
impact of the
European
traditions to
the local
Spiritist
Movement?
The town was
founded by
Italian
immigrants, most
of them
Catholics. There
was a second
wave of
immigration,
from Dutch
Catholics, after
the Second World
War. There are
several Catholic
churches in
Holambra and now
many Evangelical
churches too.
The number of
people attending
our meetings
regularly is
small, but we do
have a number of
people of Dutch
origin,
including one of
the directors of
our institution,
who moved to
Brazil at age of
seven.
O Consolador:
How do you
publicize the
message of
Spiritism in
Holambra?
The town has two
weekly
newspapers. We
advertise in one
them and we
normally manage
to get both
newspapers to
publish small
news items when
we organize
special events
or when there is
something
newsworthy, such
as the visit of
lecturers from
other towns.
Recently we have
joined the Web
TV network A
Caminho da Luz,
which broadcasts
our events. And
we continue to
enjoy the
support of
Channel 8 and
its programme E
a Vida Continua
(And Life Goes
On), and of a
local Spiritist
radio station,
Radio Espírita
Campinas. We
also publicize
our activities
through email
and we publish
our own
newsletter,
which is handed
out free of
charge and plays
an important
role in
spreading its
message to
people of all
backgrounds.
O Consolador:
How did your
experience with
Spiritism in
other places
help your work
in Holambra?
My husband and I
took part in the
Spiritist
Movement in
Niteroi, near
Rio de Janeiro,
for more than 30
years. I used to
take part in
evangelization
groups, I was a
medium and
healer and my
husband had been
an active member
of the youth
Spiritist
Movement in the
city. He
eventually
became an
advisor to the
president of the
Spiritist
Federation of
the State of Rio
de Janeiro. All
that experience
helped us here
in Holambra,
where I am the
president of the
local Spiritist
group and my
husband, member
of the board
since 2009.
O Consolador:
How do you split
your activities
in your group?
What techniques
do you use to
keep the group
motivated and
united in their
work?
We rely on the
help of
experience of
our colleague
Marcos Santos,
who has assisted
us when we
decided to
implement our
Work Plan
2010/2012. The
plan has clear
goals, a vision
and a definition
of what our
mission is in
order to achieve
success. Our
vision is “to
promote the
study of the
Doctrine,
charity and
Spiritism, based
on the
codification by
Allan Kardec and
the Gospel of
Jesus, through
highly motivated
and committed
teams.” To
achieve our
goals, we put
into practice,
beginning in
March, the
project set up
by the esteemed
Spiritual
benefactor,
Joanna de
Ângelis: “To
Spiritise, to
Educate and
Humanize”.
O Consolador:
How much has
your group been
influenced by
what is going on
in the Spiritist
Movement
elsewhere in
Brazil?
We have invited
a number of
Spiritist
lecturers, who
have deeper
knowledge of the
Doctrine. We had
in our group the
other day
Alberto Leite
(from USE-IC),
who talked about
the importance
of integration
with other
Spiritist groups
in the region.
We have also
played videos
and DVDs of
speeches and
lectures by
other Spiritist
experts, in
order to offer
our group the
opportunity to
learn more about
the Doctrine.
O Consolador:
Anything else
you would like
to add?
We have special
courses for
beginners, for
all of those who
want to come and
learn about the
Doctrine. We
have been
studying some of
the main books
of Spiritism –
The Spirits´
Book, by Allan
Kardec; the
Nosso Lar
series, by the
spirit of André
Luiz and the
medium,
Francisco
Cândido Xavier;
the Psychology
series, by the
spirit Joanna de
Ângelis and the
medium, Divaldo
Pereira Franco.
We also offer a
course on
mediumship and
healing. For the
general public,
we have two
weekly lectures,
on Mondays and
Thursdays, as
well as
fraternal
assistance and
guidance on how
to do the weekly
family study and
prayer sessions,
which are part
of Spiritism. On
Fridays and
Saturdays, we
have a charity
fair, where
those with low
income can come
and buy second
hand items for
only R$ 1 (about
US$ 0.50).
O Consolador:
Your final
thoughts.
I would like to
thank the Lord
for all the
opportunities He
has provided me
with, for
allowing me to
raise a family,
to meet my
companion of 33
years, a couple
of children and
grandchildren –
all of them a
real source of
joy to my heart.
I don´t really
deserve so much
from the Creator
and I know I do
very little to
pay back, but
within my
limitations I
have tried to
take Spiritism
to all of those
who come to us,
I have
introduced them
to the Consoler
promised by our
beloved Jesus. I
thank the Lord
once again for
the opportunity
and I ask that
our Master Jesus
continues to
give to our team
the enthusiasm
to keep
propagating the
message of
Spiritism. May
Jesus bless us
all, peace to us
all!
The Spiritist
Centre Sementes
de Luz can be
contacted via
phone number +
55 19 78064456
or email
sementesdeluz151@gmail.com.
