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Henrique Berg

Photo courtesy of Brazilian White Center – UNASP.

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Berg, Henrique (1932–1997)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

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The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

 

 

First Published: June 9, 2021

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Henrique Berg was a pastor, missionary, and administrator in South America.

Henrique Berg was born on September 19, 1932, in the city of Bom Retiro, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. His parents were João Berg and Margarida Berg, a Dutch-Russian immigrant couple. Henrique was raised in the city of Mogi das Cruzes, state of São Paulo, where he was an active member of the local church, serving there as a secretary in his youth.1

Still young he went to study accounting at Brazil College (today UNASP-SP), in the city of São Paulo, where, on feeling called to become a pastor, he later applied to the theology program. One year before graduating, on February 23, 1960, he married Miriam de Azevedo Berg (1938–2006) and they had two daughters, Lívia and Lélia.23 She was of great support to her husband in different areas, especially in the former Dorcas Department, today Adventist Solidary Action. In the missionary field, she was also involved in welfare activities. In Mozambique, for example, she instructed a group of women on cutting and sewing skills. In the churches, she held many courses on healthy cooking.4 She also served the Church at the South America Division office, where she was director of Children’s Ministries from 2001 to 2003.5

Henrique graduated from Theology on December 9, 1961,6 and began his ministry on the 12th of the same month, as a district pastor for the São Paulo Conference, which at that time comprised the whole state of São Paulo.7 He held this position for eight years until 1969.8 During this period he was ordained to the ministry in 1966, while a pastor in the city of Bauru.9

In January 1970, Henrique was appointed by the South Brazil Union Conference as president of the Santa Catarina Mission,10 where he also led the departments of Education, Evangelism, and Stewardship.11 Shortly after, in 1971 he was called by the Portuguese Union Mission to lead the Mozambique Mission, which at the time was a detached field, not pertaining to any division.12 In the same year the field was reorganized into a Union Conference and came to be part of the Euro-Africa Division. Pastor Henrique would have the responsibility to manage and strengthen the Union in its new stage. He arrived in Mozambique with the family in 1972,13 and later in the same year, another change was made in the field organization by the establishment of three Missions – Central, North, and South, the former comprising the districts of Gaza, Inhambane and Lourenço Marques (today Maputo). Henrique was president of both the Mozambique Union and the local South Mission from 1972 to 1975.14

Faced with missionary challenges, he also took over the departments of Radio-TV, Sabbath School, and Stewardship, both of the Mozambique Union and the South Mozambique Mission.15 At the lack of a canvassing leader in the initial years, he assisted in the organization of the canvassing work in the country, which became a strong missionary front.16

By the year 1975, there were almost 20,000 baptized members and 30,000 people in Sabbath Schools. Also, there were about 8,000 students in the alphabetization schools in the jungle and 7,000 in the Bible Correspondence Course. The independence of Mozambique from Portugal in June 1975 made the missionary team optimistic. However, they began to face difficulties due to the Marxist regime, which declared as the propriety of the state all the medical and educational institutions. In addition, leaders and members from different denominations came to be attacked and imprisoned. On October 24, 1975, Pastor Henrique was arrested along with Pastors Geraldo Clajus and Bernardino Pene Mabote, at the city of Lourenço Marques (today Maputo).17

The former Brazilian Republic prosecutor, Dr. João Batista Clayton Rossi, also elder of Brasília Adventist Church, worked hard alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that Pastors Henrique Berg and Geraldo Clajus, his mission partner, would be free and could return to Brazil with their families. They were in prison for a total of 182 days.18

After five years in Mozambique, Henrique returned to Brazil on April 26, 1976, being appointed as pastor of the Curitiba Central Church, state of Paraná.19 Following this he was president of the Paraná Conference over the year 1977.20 In 1978 he accepted a call to be president of the Inca Union Mission, which covered the territories of Bolívia, Ecuador, and Peru. During his term, the Peruvian Union University was established.21

After six years in Peru, Henrique returned to Brazil in February 1985, to be the director of the Sabbath School and Church Ministries departments of the South Brazil Union Conference.22 Nonetheless, he led these departments for a short time; in July of the same year, the General Conference Council named him as director of the South American Division Church Ministries Department,23 a position held until 1994.24 In addition, Pastor Henrique was editor of the Sabbath School Portuguese Auxiliary Study Guide for Teachers,25 and of the Auxiliary Material for Sabbath School Children Ministry Teachers, in Spanish, from 1986 to 1996.26

Due to his experience in foreign missions, in 1995 he was chosen by the General Conference Council to lead the South American Division Global Mission Department.27 Henrique occupied this position until March 17, 1997, when he passed away due to a lymphoma cancer he was fighting since 1993. He died at the early age of 64, at the Silvestre Adventist Hospital, city of Rio de Janeiro. Three months before his death, Henrique was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Peruvian Union University.28

Henrique Berg’s story as a missionary in Mozambique was portrayed by the writer Miriam Wood in the book Prendam-no! (Arrest him!), published by the Brazil Publishing House in 1982.29 He left an important legacy of 36 years dedicated to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil, Mozambique, Peru, and South American territories. His greatest joy was to study the Bible with others, and he is remembered as a very responsible and hard-working pastor.30

Sources

Alcides Campolongo. “A XXII Bienal da Associação da I.A.S.D.” Revista Adventista, year 61, n. 07, July 1966.

Arnaldo B. Chistianini. “Parábola do Altruísmo.” Revista Adventista, year 65, n. 07, July 1970.

Certidão de Nascimento. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Shelf: 2. Rack: 13. Folder: “Berg, Henrique.” Accessed on March 6, 2018.

“Curso de Enfermagem Prática em Santo André.” Revista Adventista, May 1967.

Diploma. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP.

Jael Eneas. “Hinário Adventista Completa 100 Anos.” Revista Adventista, year 109, n. 1292, December 2014.

Lessa, Rubens S. “Pastor Henrique Berg.” Revista Adventista, year 93, n. 05, May 1997.

Memorandum. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Shelf: 2. Rack: 13. Folder: “Berg, Henrique.”

“Miriam de Azevedo Berg.” Revista Adventista, year 101, n. 2, February 2006.

“Notas Breves.” Revista Adventista, July 1972.

Ordination Certificate. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Shelf: 2. Rack: 13. Folder: “Berg, Henrique.” Accessed on March 06, 2018.

Old Xerox of Pr. Henrique Berg’s annotations as the secretary of the Mogi das Cruzes Church. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Shelf: 2. Rack: 13. Folder: “Berg, Henrique.” Accessed on March 6, 2018.

Osvaldo Félix. “Notas e Notícias Paulistas.” Revista Adventista, year 65, n. 05, May 1970.

“Prestação de Contas.” Revista Adventista, February 1985.

Report of the Events Involved in the Detention of Pastors Henrique Berg, Gerhad Clajus, and Bernardino Pene Mabote of the Mozambique Union of S. D. A. Church, Occurred by October 24, 1975, at Lourenço Marques (Maputo, today), Mozambique. In: Collection of the National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP. Shelf: 2. Rack: 13. Folder: “Berg, Henrique.”

Rubens S. Lessa. “Agradecimento ao Governo Brasileiro.” Revista Adventista, year 71, n. 07, July 1976.

Rubens S. Lessa. “Evangelismo na União Incaica.” Revista Adventista, year 77, n. 08, August 1982.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, various years.

Notes

  1. Birth Certificate (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); Old Xerox of Pr. Henrique Berg’s annotations as the secretary of the Mogi das Cruzes Church (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  2. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  3. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); “Miriam de Azevedo Berg,” Revista Adventista, year 101, n. 2, February 2006, 37.↩

  4. “Miriam de Azevedo Berg,” Revista Adventista, year 101, n. 2, February 2006, 37; Lívia Berg, interviewed by Renato Stencel, Ellen G. White Research Center, Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, April 9, 2018.↩

  5. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2002), 257; “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2004), 225.↩

  6. Diploma (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  7. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  8. “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1963), 191; “São Paulo Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1970), 227.↩

  9. Ordination Certificate (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); José H. C. Moura, “História da Igreja de Bauru e Jaú” (Monograph, Brazil College, 1984), 04; Campolongo, Alcides, “A XXII Bienal da Associação da I.A.S.D,” Revista Adventista, year 61, n. 07, July 1966, 17.↩

  10. Félix, Osvaldo, “Notas e Notícias Paulistas”, Revista Adventista, year 65, n. 05, May 1970, 30.↩

  11. “Santa Catarina Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1971), 237.↩

  12. “Mozambique Mission – Detached Missions,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1971), 264.↩

  13. “Notas Breves,” Revista Adventista, July 1972, 30; Lívia Berg, interviewed by Renato Stencel, Ellen G. White Research Center, Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, April 9, 2018.↩

  14. “Mozambique Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1972), 136; “Mozambique Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976), 153; Lívia Berg, interviewed by Renato Stencel, Ellen G. White Research Center, Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, April 9, 2018.↩

  15. “Mozambique Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1972), 136; “Mozambique Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976), 153-154.↩

  16. Lívia Berg, interviewed by Renato Stencel, Ellen G. White Research Center, Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, April 9, 2018.↩

  17. Report of the Events Involved in the Detention of Pastors Henrique Berg, Gerhad Clajus, and Bernardino Pene Mabote of the Mozambique Union of S. D. A. Church, occurred by October 24, 1975, at Lourenço Marques (Maputo, today), Mozambique (National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP), 17; “Evangelismo na União Incaica,” Revista Adventista, August 1982, 09.↩

  18. Arthur S. Valle, “Agradecimento ao Governo Brasileiro”, Revista Adventista, year 71, n. 07, July 1976, 13; Report of the Events Involved in the Detention of Pastors Henrique Berg, Gerhad Clajus, and Bernardino Pene Mabote of the Mozambique Union of S. D. A. Church, occurred by October 24, 1975, at Lourenço Marques (Maputo, today), Mozambique (National Center of Adventist History/Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP), 17.↩

  19. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); and “Pastor Henrique Berg,” Revista Adventista, year 93, n. 05, May 1997, 29.↩

  20. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); and “Parana Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978), 270.↩

  21. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  22. “Prestação de Contas,” Revista Adventista, February 1985, 24; Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  23. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  24. “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1986), 261; “South American Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yerbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995), 255.↩

  25. “Portuguese,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1987), 553; “Portuguese,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1997), 554.↩

  26. “Spanish,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1987), 555; “Spanish,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1993), 517.↩

  27. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

  28. Ibid.↩

  29. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); Miriam Wood, Prendam-no! (Santo André, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 1982); Lessa, Rubens S., “Evangelismo na União Incaica,” Revista Adventista, year 77, n. 08, August 1982, 9.↩

  30. Memorandum (Ellen G. White Research Center/Collection of the National Center of Adventist History, UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩

×

UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Berg, Henrique (1932–1997)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 09, 2021. Accessed October 09, 2024. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=9GFK.

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center –. "Berg, Henrique (1932–1997)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 09, 2021. Date of access October 09, 2024, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=9GFK.

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UNASP, The Brazilian White Center – (2021, June 09). Berg, Henrique (1932–1997). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved October 09, 2024, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=9GFK.

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