Do Italians really eat a lot of spaghetti? Do you use real wine in serving communion? Aren't you expected to drink wine when you visit Italian homes? Continue readingE-book: Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio: Questions and Answers about the Church of the Nazarene in Italy
In this e-book, Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio, Howard Culbertson answers questions he has been asked about missionary work in Italy. Originally published in the Nazarene Missions International mission book series by the publisher now known as The Foundry, the book carried ISBN 0-8341-0612-4. Some material has been updated for this e-book edition.
Historical note: These questions and answers reflect our years of missionary service in Italy. Some details describe conditions at the time of the original publication rather than conditions today.
During our missionary years, we encountered more concern about petty theft than about violent crime. Reports of shootings and bombings sometimes reflected isolated incidents associated with the political terrorism of that period. Petty theft, including purse snatching, was a concern, particularly for American tourists.
All three missionary wives had their purses snatched. Our home was burglarized, and the Longs experienced both car theft and repeated car break-ins. Despite those experiences, our wives generally felt comfortable walking alone at night in the areas where we lived. That describes their experience at the time rather than a general assessment of safety in Italy today.
The Mafia developed in nineteenth-century Sicily, but popular films can give viewers a distorted impression of its role in everyday Italian life. Its history is complex, and its influence has varied by region and period.
Crime exists in Italy, as it does elsewhere. From a Christian perspective, sin should be understood in terms of human choices and the influence of the devil, rather than attributed indiscriminately to a sensationalized image of the Mafia. To answer the question directly: We did not experience trouble from the Mafia during our missionary service.
Not necessarily. News reports alone cannot provide a complete understanding of a country. During our years in Italy, we generally found that American news organizations covered Italy well. Problems can arise when listeners or readers interpret reports through mistaken assumptions or stereotypes perpetuated by advertising, novels, and films.
For instance, someone reading a report of a bombing in Milan should not conclude that every Italian city is experiencing bombings in every neighborhood—or that Milan itself is under a terrorist siege because of one explosion.
During our missionary years, we did not encounter government restrictions on our church's work. Earlier generations of Italian evangelicals faced serious restrictions, particularly under Mussolini's dictatorship, when some were imprisoned for their witness.
During our missionary years, our main contact was through the annual Nazarene Servicemen's Retreat in Germany, which we attended, and occasional visits from military families sightseeing in Florence.
We sometimes had contact with Nazarenes serving with the U.S. Navy in the Naples area, as well as an occasional U.S. Army family stationed at Camp Darby, near Pisa, about 50 miles west of Florence.
Many Italians we met remembered American forces favorably for their role in liberating Italy during World War II. Those memories included the fighting against Nazi occupation forces after the fall of Mussolini's Fascist regime.
One cabinetmaker in Florence entertained me for an hour with stories of his time as a prisoner of war in the northwestern United States. His recollections of contact with the American military were positive.
At the time of the original publication, Italian men were generally required to complete a year of military service around age 20. Approved alternative forms of service were available for conscientious objectors.
Update: Italy suspended compulsory military service on January 1, 2005.
At the time of the original publication, I believed additional Nazarene missionaries were needed in Italy. Ministries such as evangelism, literature, and training for ministers and laypeople needed additional trained leaders. Large cities such as Milan, Venice, Genoa, Bari, and Trieste did not yet have Nazarene congregations. In the areas where we were working, we had only begun to scratch the surface. In Rome, for example, we had just one small congregation serving a city of millions.
A missions strategy advocated by some denominations at that time held that once an established local church, however small, had been planted in a nation, all further evangelization became its responsibility, and missionaries from the worldwide church should no longer be sent. According to this view, mission was essentially what each church did in its own setting.
However, expecting a small national church to assume all the initiative and responsibility for evangelizing millions of people is unrealistic. In Italy, for instance, I believe the Church of the Nazarene could have been strengthened by a larger missionary force in its early days in the 1950s.
Just as Nazarene headquarters personnel help local churches in the U.S. develop and implement strategies and programs, missionaries can work alongside national leaders to strengthen the church's ministry.
It would survive. Nazarene work in Italy had already continued for a number of years without missionaries. At the time of the original publication, we had loyal, capable Italian leaders, including a district superintendent, a district treasurer, and an active district advisory board. Production of a radio program was entirely in Italian hands, and Italians served on the literature advisory committee. Apart from efforts to establish new congregations, all our churches were pastored by Italians.
Some ministries might have struggled because of a shortage of personnel if missionaries had been withdrawn. But the church would not have collapsed.
Do Italians really eat a lot of spaghetti? Do you use real wine in serving communion? Aren't you expected to drink wine when you visit Italian homes? Continue reading
