What are some Italian customs that differ from those in the U.S.? How do you decide what to do as a missionary? Do all missionaries get paid the same?
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E-book: Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio: Questions and Answers about Missionary Service in Italy (part 10)
In this e-book, "Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio," Howard Culbertson answers questions he has been asked about missionary work in Italy. Originally published for the Nazarene Missions International mission book series by what is now The Foundry, this book carried ISBN 0-8341-0612-4. Some material has been updated for this e-book edition.
Unless otherwise noted, these answers describe Nazarene ministry in Italy during our years of missionary service there. Later developments are identified separately.
Yes. The Italian Bible Society, part of the United Bible Societies fellowship, supports Scripture translation, production, and distribution in Italy. Roman Catholic publishing houses also publish Bibles.
Italian Protestant translations include the Riveduta, published in 1924, and the Nuova Riveduta, published in 1994 by the Geneva Bible Society. The Traduzione Interconfessionale in Lingua Corrente, a translation into contemporary Italian, was published jointly by the Italian Bible Society and the Roman Catholic publisher Elledici.
No. During our years in Italy, offerings in many U.S. churches supported the American Bible Society. Nazarene contributions helped support Bible printing and distribution in Italy.
For many years, our own publishing ministry in Italy published two or three short Christian books each year. We also produced music recordings, a hymnal, mission books, and books on doctrine and Christian living. The Nazarene Manual was translated into Italian with financial help from a Nazarene layman in California.
I did not do the translating. My wife, Barbara, translated and adapted Sunday school lessons. Italian colleagues handled book translation and editing, and I did quite a bit of the proofreading.
No. We tried running a small print shop for a while, but we did not have enough work to justify the investment. Instead, we used commercial printers with far better equipment than we could have afforded. Using commercial printers also freed us from managing printing facilities, equipment maintenance, and employees.
Our Italian hymnal differed from the English version. It contained more than 200 hymns and gospel songs, including original Italian music, hymns from the international Christian heritage such as "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" and "How Great Thou Art," and distinctly Nazarene music such as "Called unto Holiness." Alfredo Del Rosso did much of the translation work. The hymnal was the fruit of years of effort by Roy and Nina Fuller.
Most Italian hymnals available to us contained only the words — no music. Thanks to financial help from the Virginia District and individual donors, we were able to publish editions with words only and editions with both words and music.
During our years in Italy, only the Florence and Torre Annunziata churches had pianos. Some other churches wanted pianos but used small electric organs, which could be purchased and maintained much less expensively.
Some groups sang a cappella , while others used accordions, guitars, or even harmonicas for accompaniment. At our little preaching point in San Mauro, our 18-year-old musician arrived each week with different instruments to accompany our singing. He certainly kept things interesting!
No. We considered joining a group of evangelicals to establish an FM station in Rome, but the project never materialized. For years, a 15-minute weekly program, "L'Ora Nazarena," was produced in a Southern Baptist recording studio in Rome and broadcast by Radio Monte Carlo in Monaco. Its 600,000-watt AM transmitter reached almost all of Italy. Later, a few private FM stations in Italy also carried the program.
We did not have a regular television ministry during our years in Italy. Opportunities for Christian programming had been limited under the government broadcasting monopoly. As private television developed, new opportunities emerged. In the Florence area, three of our pastors appeared on a private television station's talk show.
At that time, satellite broadcasts were not a practical means of reaching the Italian audiences we served. Reception required suitable equipment, and Italian-language programming was essential for reaching a broad audience.
While we were in Italy, I was not involved in amateur radio. Reciprocal licensing arrangements with the United States were a concern at the time. When we went to Haiti, I obtained my amateur radio license and used ham radio extensively for communication. See devotionals using ham radio illustrations .
Italy does not have a separate residential Nazarene Bible college. Ministerial training is offered in Italian through European Nazarene College's Italy Learning Centre.
European Nazarene College was established in 1965 following a shared vision of Jerald Johnson, serving in Germany, and Bob Cerrato, serving in Italy. Its decentralized model provides training through learning centres in various countries.
Enrollment at the Italy Learning Centre has been modest. We need a steady stream of graduates preparing for ministry. My hope is that three or four students will graduate each year.
During our years in Italy, our churches ranged from near the French border in the north to the island of Sicily in the south. On the mainland peninsula, they were all in the western half.
Yes, most have been in larger cities, including Rome, Palermo, Turin, Florence, and Catania. We have also had churches and groups in smaller towns.
At the time described in the original edition, there were three ordained Italian pastors, one of whom was retired, as well as ministers with local or district licenses.
In the early 1960s, the decision was made to employ full-time salaried pastors. That made it difficult for local churches to become self-supporting because the congregations were fairly small. Later, some lay pastors combined secular employment with pastoral ministry.
During our years in Italy, we did not have an English-speaking Nazarene congregation. Large concentrations of American military personnel supported such congregations in Germany, Japan, and other countries. In the Italian communities we served, American Nazarene military families were too few and too scattered to support a similar congregation.
During our years in Italy, the district superintendent was Salvatore Scognamiglio, an Italian born in Naples. He pastored what was then our largest church and was one of the speakers on the radio program. He and his wife, Milvia, a vivacious redhead, were converted in Florence in the early 1960s under the ministry of missionary Bob Cerrato.
Later, Giovanni Cereda, from Sicily, served as superintendent. His father was one of the pioneer pastors who worked with Alfredo Del Rosso in the 1950s. Daniel Fink subsequently served as district leader and pastor of the Florence church. His wife, Vania, is the daughter of Rev. Scognamiglio. Continue reading .
What are some Italian customs that differ from those in the U.S.? How do you decide what to do as a missionary? Do all missionaries get paid the same?
Read the next chapter
