A trajetória do missionário Clinton Thomas entre os EUA e o Brasil e a Igreja de Cristo em Urucará-AM (1956-1996)

Abstract

Our work investigates the trajectory of the missionary Clinton Thomas, from the USA to Brazil, between the 1950s and 1990s. This research is based on the methodology of Oral History, which, through interviews, makes it possible to record the process of building memories or shared memories about historical events that took place in the present time. The Church of Christ was born in the United States at the beginning of the 19th century, spreading to other nations, and settling in the Midwest of Brazil in 1948. Clinton Benjamin Thomas (1930-2007) and Phyllis Eleanor Thomas (1934) , natives of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, began their missionary service in the North region in 1956. In 1965, with their three children, they arrived in Urucará, Amazonas, to found the first Protestant church in the city, at a time when the presence of the Catholic Church, and even the State itself, was fragile in the region. The actions of the missionaries in Urucará, in terms of religiosity, health, mechanics and education, developed over three decades. In this way, this article records and analyzes memories about the trajectory of Clinton Thomas, the religious and social performance of Pastor Clinton and the evangelical church in the Lower Amazon, their relationships and tensions with the residents of the city, with the Catholic Church and the authorities.