Today marks one year since the death of Arthur J. Moore Professor in the Practice of Evangelism and World Methodist Evangelism Institute Director L. Wesley de Souza. To honor de Souza’s legacy of ministry and scholarship at Candler and beyond, several of his Candler colleagues came together to create a tribute video.
In the video, Associate Professor of Transformative Care and Leadership Gregory C. Ellison II, Professor in the Practice of Practical Theology and Methodist Studies Thomas W. Elliott, Jr. and Bandy Professor of Preaching and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Teresa L. Fry Brown speak about de Souza’s far-reaching impact, with the Rev. Nelson Furtado 17T offering a Portuguese translation.
De Souza served on Candler’s faculty from 2005 until his death, and was named director of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute in 2017. He was instrumental in developing the new course Religion, Culture, Society, and Mission in Latin America, a real-time, long distance class between Candler and the school of theology at Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil.
His research focused on contextualization of the Gospel, renewal and revitalization of the church, classical Pentecostalism and Pan-Wesleyanism in Latin America. He contributed to numerous books and scholarly publications, and served on the editorial advisory boards for The Asbury Journal, Wesley and Methodist Studies Journal and Caminhando magazine.
A member of several scholarly guilds, de Souza was a member of several scholarly guilds, represented Candler on the governing board of the Hispanic Summer Program, and served on the governing board of the Center for Studies in Global Christianity.
He was an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, and with his wife Vanice planted Communitàs, a Luso-Brazilian Ministry of the Atlanta-Roswell District of The United Methodist Church.
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Preview and inset photos: Cindy Brown 09T, C Brown Photo.