Rodolfo Abrantes, former member of the band Raimundos, recently reported that he and his wife, Alexandra Abrantes, suffered psychological abuse committed by pastors from the Bola de Neve church. “Wounds that take a long time to heal,” described the singer.
He denounced the congregation 13 years after leaving one of its headquarters, located in Balneário Camboriú (SC). The singer broke his silence after accusations of embezzlement and exploitation of voluntary work in his former church, made by former members of the religion, came to light.
But what is the Snowball? The evangelical denomination is very different from the traditional one. The services have an atmosphere similar to a rock show: they have relaxed language, songs with guitars and testimonies from believers about their experiences with tithing and prosperity.
Celebrities such as Monique Evans, actress Fernanda Vasconcellos, actor and presenter Guilherme Berenguer, surfer Gabriel Medina and model Sasha Meneghel and her husband, João Figueiredo, attend — or even attended — Bola de Neve. Figueiredo, in fact, is the son of church pastors.
The boy’s wedding ceremony with Xuxa’s daughter was celebrated by Rinaldo Luis de Seixas Pereira, better known as apostle Rina, surfer and founder of the congregation. With sermons without excessive formality, “the church attracts alternative people”, says Rina, who was aligned with President Jair Bolsonaro and defended in-person masses at the height of the pandemic.
The church has a liberal stance regarding clothing, but prohibits the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, and preaches sexual abstinence before marriage. The congregation has around 400 units and is present in all regions of Brazil, and also in Portugal and in countries in South America (such as Colombia and Uruguay), Africa and Canada.
The first Bola de Neve meetings took place in 1999, under a surf shop in São Paulo (SP). The story told in the church is that, without a table available to support the Bible, the option was to use a surfboard as a pulpit, which became a Bola de Neve trademark.
Source: Folha
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