SOME FAMILIES OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN BOLOGNA

If someone were to ask me about the Church of Christ in Bologna, I would hardly know how to begin.

I have been visiting that congregation for more than 40 of my 52 years in the Italian work, and such a long period of time is not easy to resume with a few simple words. There are many families and single persons in the congregation, who remain faithful to God and His Church, and every one of them has his genuine story. It is not possible to speak of all of them at once; I will have to do it successively.

 

The family of Arnaldo Finco and Rosa Garofalo for example. (The Italian wife doesn’t take the family name of her husband, only the children do.)
They have two beautiful daughters, Silvia and Desirèe. I have known them since the girls were two little „tads“ and today they are 19 and 23 years old. Until the last year, although attending the worship regularly, they were still not baptized. Rosa was very concerned about that. She spoke to the girls; the father spoke to them; some brethren tried to do their best; everything seemingly in vain. And, all of a sudden, as if they had gotten a bolt from heaven, they said: “It has to be today“, and were baptized before Rosa was able to exhale. That was 28 June 2009.

Recently the family Garofalo lost their beloved brother and son, Vincenzo. At the age of 59 he died of cancer and as he did not belong to the Church, his mother, Concetta Tinebra, was literally ill with sorrow. She could neither sleep nor eat, closed the door of her home and was likely to die herself. But her spirit was stronger than her body; last Sunday she came to the church again and her face was as serene as usual.

To add to the sadness, Vincenzo had begun attending services and had expressed the intention of being baptized the following Sunday, but developed complications and was unable to come.

Stefano Arrigoni and his wife Daniela are a wonderful couple. She is the second daughter of Concetta and the younger sister of Rosa. They have twin daughters, Martina and Milena, and one son, Matteo (on the picture with his Gran-pa,Alvaro Arrigoni); all of whom have been baptized. Until recent times they were just a happy family but the last year Matteo became ill and had to suffer two lung operations. Now he is doing better, his hair has regrown after chemotherapy treatment, and he has returned to work. He is young and strong and is doing well. However, we know from experience that there is some risk of a reoccurrence. Let us fervently pray for his continued good health.

When someone happens to visit the Church in Bologna, the first man whom he meets at the door is Emanuele Garofalo. He is the brother of Rosa and Daniela and the son of  Concetta Tinebra, the aging sister with black Sicilian eyes and a braid that once was also black and that in the past modest Sicilian women wore their life long.
Emanuele always arrives at the Church as the first and leaves as the last person. He has a big, black, fearsome mustache, but when he speaks to you, his smile is cordial and joyful.

There is also the family of Gianni Farina. He and his tender, lovely wife, Claudia, adopted three children from Ukraine: Kirill, Serghei and Anastasia.

Last year the Farinas went on a long journey to Ukraine, giving their children the rare possibility to see their natural brothers and sisters who are still living in that country.

A year ago Serghei, being 14 at that time, decided to be baptized, and that made us all very happy.

There is the family of Stefano Ciliberti, the man well known by brethren for his quick tongue and a golden heart. Several years ago his wife, Gabriella, had breast cancer, and experienced an operation and chemotherapy. At that time the tongue of Stefano lost it’s usual quickness. His voice became quiet and the only thing that he did with his normal self-assurance was to pray.  He is a dentist and as a doctor he knew better than any other person, how close he was to losing his dear wife. Gabriella however did not show even the slightest sign of fear. “God is with me”, she would say, “and He will help me”.

Today she is doing well and at this moment they both are visiting their daughter Daniela, who married an American and is living in Nashville, TN. Two days ago, Stefano and Gabriella, the happy Grand-parents, called us by Skype, showing proudly on the screen of our computer both of their grand-daughters: Rachele and Noemi. To my delight and total surprise, Harold and Mona Mobley who worked as missionaries with the church in Florence when I was there as Director of the Bible School, were in Nashville visiting the Cilibertis and sitting in front of me on my computer screen when I received Stefano’s call!

 

The Cilibertis are living in Ferrara, about 40 km north of Bologna.Their oldest son, Matteo, married and moved to Ancona, farther south in Italy, and at home remained only the younger son, Emanuele.

Emanuele Ciliberti is from Ferrara, Gabriele Modica is from Cesena;  the real friendship they form in Bologna.

Mauro Cervellati and his wife Ermanna are coming from Ferrara too. Both of them have health problems, but their joyful spirit helps them to enjoy life and share the fellowship with other brethren. She has many artistic talents; when their daughter was in a hospital delivering a baby, Ermanna made such a beautiful cushion in the form of a heart, that the nurses hung it on the wall, and it is there until today.

Another family of Bologna is that of Mario Cardamone, his wife Lucia, their daughter Cinzia and their son Giuseppe. If I were to say that this family is an exceptional one, it wouldn’t be totally correct, because every person in the congregation is exceptional, however this one really has a heavy task to fulfill. The son, Giuseppe, is an invalid, partially paralyzed. He cannot move without a wheel chair and even by eating someone has to help him.
Several years ago he was a splendid young policeman hoping for a future equally splendid. And this future was deleted unexpectedly with a simple car crash. He had an accident, was badly injured, but not this fact alone determined his condition. The doctors played here a great role. They used a false therapy and he became an invalid.

Giuseppe is a young, lovely man. He also takes his turn presenting biblical studies to the congregation. He loves children; he loves his family, which cares for him in a wonderful way. But there is one thing which he doesn’t have and for which he is suffering a lot, namely a wife. The family is hoping that maybe… one day…  somewhere in the world there will be a Christian woman, who would like to share her life with him… He is so young and handsome…
Let us dedicate ourselves in praying for him.

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For over a half century the Church in Bologna was served by my dear friend and colleague Italo Minestroni. His family members, Giorgio Marconi, Gian Luigi Minestroni and his son, Gian Luca, and the son of Italo’s deceased daughter, Sally, Simone, are an important part of the congregation. Italo died two years ago at the age of 92. We had been in close contact through the years, and in his final two years, with periods of hospitalization and home-care, I increasingly was near him, including special visits to him. He expressed to me his concern that after his departure the church might remain strong, faithful and united.
I made an absolute commitment to myself: “As long as I am able, I’ll always support the congregation with my frequent presence, teaching and counsel, and I will never abandon it.”
By the grace of God I am doing that to this day and I hope to be in a position to continue my commitment for as long as God wills.