Mission to 'ungodly British'

9:36am Wednesday 4th July 2001

SOUTH American missionaries are turning age-old tables this week by visiting Orpington as missionaries.

They have travelled 5,000 miles from the Sal de Terra (Salt of the Earth) church in Uberlandia, Brazil.

Their inspiration is the Anglican Archbishop of Brazil, who has said parts of Britain have become so secular, he wants to reverse traditional roles and send missionaries to save them.

Mission chief Marcos Barros said: “Britain is ungodly.

“We always thought of it as the land of the good until a visiting minister told us about the decay.

“The British gave us our inheritance when they went to Brazil as missionaries.

“Now we are like the grandchildren coming home to help the grandparents.”

Missionaries William and Mary Duarte, who have spent time in the past working with refugees, will be in the Orpington area over the coming weeks.

They will be based at Orpington Town Church and hope to meet as many people as possible.

But not all the missions in Britain have been successful so far.

The Duartes' colleagues in Bradford worked with children and when asked about the crucifix, a seven-year-old produced a collage of the McDonald's sign and a hamburger.