Roots of Latin American/Caribbean Methodism go deep
April 6, 2006
By United Methodist News Service
The roots of Methodism in the Latin
America/Caribbean region were planted more than 240 years ago in Antigua.
There, in the 1760s, a group of Afro-Caribbean slaves developed the first
Methodist congregation outside of England and Ireland.
While British Methodists continued their outreach in the English-speaking
Caribbean and in Haiti, mission initiatives in much of Latin America were
fostered by the predecessor denominations of the United Methodist Church in the
United States.
That work began as early as 1836 in Brazil and Argentina and then spread to
Uruguay, 1838; Mexico, 1873; Chile, 1878; Cuba, 1883; Paraguay, 1886; Puerto
Rico, 1900; Bolivia; 1906; Panama, 1906; Peru, 1915; Costa Rica, 1918; and the
Dominican Republic, 1922.
At the time of its merger with the Methodist Church, the Evangelical United
Brethren Church was involved in mission in Brazil, Ecuador and Puerto Rico.
The 1920 Methodist General Conference created the Central Conference of Latin
America, which included Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Panama, Costa
Rica and Mexico. Resident bishops were assigned to Mexico City and Buenos Aires.
The growing Methodist Church of Brazil petitioned both the 1922 and 1926 General
Conferences for a resident bishop. Those legislative bodies failed to act and
Brazil became an autonomous church in 1930 ? the same year that Mexico also
decided to become autonomous.
In the 1960s, the General Conference Commission on Structure of Methodism
Overseas was formed to address the needs of Latin American Methodists for more
self-determination. The 1968 General Conference passed legislation that allowed
the churches to choose to become autonomous if they wished.
The Methodist Church of Cuba became autonomous that same year, followed by the
churches of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia in 1969 and Costa Rica
and Panama in 1973. Puerto Rico became autonomous in 1992.
The Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean
(CIEMAL) was formed in 1969. That organization partners with the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries and other Methodist agencies and bodies on
mission work.
CIEMAL also works in partnership with the Methodist Church of the Caribbean and
the Americas (MCCA), an autonomous church composed of former British Methodist
churches.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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