A letter from Jo Ella Holman, regional liaison for the Caribbean region
April 2013
“…we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Dear Friends,
I have been thinking a lot about that great “cloud of witnesses” in the past few months. I have felt “surrounded,” not only by witnesses, but also by active participants in my experience of surgery and recovery. The many cards, emails, visits, and the occasional “care packages” sent by so many of you have reminded me that I am never alone, but am accompanied by you, by family, and, yes, by God in the good times and in the trying times. I am recovering well and look forward to returning to my home in the Caribbean in early July. I thank each of you who have accompanied me in prayer, in presence, and in correspondence during these months. THANK YOU!
That “great cloud of witnesses” includes those who have gone before us in the faith: those saints who persevered through difficult circumstances to pass on the faith to a new generation, not losing heart or growing weary in the struggle. The Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba (the IPRC, by its Spanish initials) has more than a few members in that “great cloud.” The Cuban people recognized the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution in 2010. Until the revolution what is now the IPRC was part of the Synod of New Jersey of our U.S. church. These 50 years have not been easy for the church in Cuba. Until the 1990s there was little openness for the church, but despite the hardships, a faithful remnant survived. I have heard some of the stories in my visits with octogenarian church members. In one congregation there were three women who maintained a Christian presence in their place for decades. These three, alone but for that “cloud of witnesses,” constituted the “church” in their community. Their story is repeated in many parts of Cuba: a small band of Christians persevered in meeting, witnessing through their presence and care to the love of God shown in Jesus Christ. Since the mid-1990s there has been a greater openness to churches and religion, in general, on the part of the Cuban government and people. Praise be to God, all of the churches in Cuba have grown in membership and in distribution throughout the country in the past decade!
Our two denominations have maintained close ties through all of these years—the hard ones and the easier ones. Our PC(USA) partnerships have grown exponentially over the past decade. Currently there are some 90 partnerships between PC(USA) and IPRC congregations, presbyteries and synods that relate through visits, exchanges, correspondence, joint Bible studies and activities. These are linked together in a very active Cuba Partners Network that meets annually for sharing, coordinating, and learning together. The last such gathering was held in Cuba, so that we might share and reflect more deeply with our brothers and sisters in these partnership relationships. The easing of travel restrictions to Cuba by the U.S. administration in 2011 has assisted us in building and nurturing these vital friendships across so many barriers.
The ecumenical theological seminary (SET) in Matanzas, Cuba, continues to train pastoral and lay leaders for the IPRC and other Cuban denominations and maintains important ties with several PC(USA) seminaries and organizations. Last year more than 500 students were enrolled in their various programs! The interest and desire to learn about the Christian faith is alive and well in Cuba.
But the U.S. embargo continues to exact a toll on the Cuban people. Instituted by President Kennedy in 1960 by executive order, it was expanded under the Helms-Burton Act in Congress toward producing free markets and representative government in Cuba. You may have noticed the increasing number of news articles in a variety of U.S. media outlets that argue for ending this embargo. One of the latest, in Forbes magazine (January 16, 2013), argued that current U.S. policy is outdated and counterproductive. They cite the numerous reforms undertaken in Cuba since 2008 as indications that Cuba is moving toward a more open society. The U.S. embargo has been and continues to be a volatile issue in Cuba and within some segments of the U.S. population, but U.S. public opinion seems to be swaying toward a new relationship with the Cuban government and people. The Cuban churches ask us to advocate for normalized relations and cite the numerous social and economic changes over the past two years, in particular, and political reforms that are in progress.
That “great cloud of witnesses” includes people from both our churches—Cuban and U.S.—who, through thick and thin, have persevered in nurturing friendships and Christian ties and in advocating for normal relationships between our two peoples through all these years. It is now in our hands. Shall we also stand faithfully with our friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ in Cuba, who constantly and consistently call on us to act to end the embargo and to normalize relations between our peoples?
There are currently two petitions circulating from the Latin American Working Group, an ecumenical group working on policy issues from a faith perspective (www.lawg.org/our-campaigns). One of these calls for removing Cuba from the list of “state sponsors of terrorism” (which includes only Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Sudan). The other petition calls for ending the travel ban on Cuba.
I ask you to pray, read, discuss these issues and, if you are convinced of the rightness of these petitions, to add your name to them, to contact your legislator, to talk to others in your circles of influence, and, in any event, to pray for these relationships between our two peoples and for the witness of the church in Cuba and in the United States.
May God’s peace be with you as you continue to minister in the place where God has planted you!
Jo Ella
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 12
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