A letter from Tricia Lloyd-Sidle in the Caribbean
October 28, 2008
Dear Friends,
I was surprised to hear the Rev. Oden Marichal, Episcopal priest and member of the Cuban Parliament, state that two recent hurricanes “constitute the third major blow to Cuba’s economy since the revolutionary government took power in 1959.” I knew that the damage by Hurricane Gustav, compounded by Hurricane Ike 10 days later, had been devastating. But why equate these natural disasters with the loss of 80 percent of trade and commerce partners in the early 1960s and the loss of Soviet subsidies and trade in 1990?
I arrived in Cuba two weeks after Ike passed over the island. The Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba is located in the central part of the island, where damage was relatively light. Thus, on the surface, life seemed fairly normal. Around the edges, however, there was a great deal of fear and trepidation about the months ahead. Both current crops and stored food supplies were heavily damaged. Food shortages were already evident (mostly due to hoarding at that early point). In the small town of Los Palos, there were no eggs to be found. In Havana, many of the farmers’ markets were closed. An initial report on the storms’ impact concluded: “The sum total of the damages caused by these storms to the Cuban economy, infrastructure, and agriculture is nothing short of catastrophic.”
Cuban seminary student leads camp activities.
Shortly after Ike, the price of gas was raised in one fell swoop to almost double the previous price. Apparently, this measure aims at reducing consumption so that Cuba can sell the gas it buys at a subsidized price from Venezuela to other countries at world market prices; then buy food with the hard currency received. Transportation costs are more burdensome than ever.
As Presbyterians in the United States, we have a special role to play vis-à-vis the challenges facing Cuba. We have had Presbyterian brothers and sisters there since 1890. While most in our country only learn about Cubans through a contentious political lens, we are privileged to learn and love as members of the same family. At least 30 PC(USA) groups traveled to Cuba during 2008! There may be someone from one of these groups available to speak to your congregation. Let me know if you are interested.
Gifts to assist the churches in Cuba as they respond to critical needs in the aftermath of the hurricanes may be sent to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. There are several ways to give: online at Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; by phone: (800) 872-3283; by mail: Checks marked “DR000166” to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Individual Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678.
You may remember reading about CANACOM in a previous newsletter. I would love for CANACOM, the Caribbean and North American Council for Mission, to become a household word for Presbyterians! As the current chairperson, I will be in Jamaica in December to work with CANACOM’s staff person, Nicole Ashwood, a minister of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Rev. Ashwood is a young, dynamic pastor and educator who assumed leadership of this regional mission agency earlier this year.
Many of the Caribbean churches are very small, so cooperation among them is vital. CANACOM’s mission programs bring people together—especially young people—for faith sharing, work camps, and evangelistic outreach. There are also team visits to churches in special need of accompaniment and small mission grants for specific projects.
Spotlight on Guyana
Before worship in Guyana.
I visited Guyana last january for the first time soon after the murder of 11 persons in the coastal town of Lusignan had shocked this small nation. Although geographically part of South America, Guyana relates more readily to the Caribbean region. It shares history, culture, and language with those islands colonized by the British. Sadly, this terrible event was a wake-up call to Guyanese Christians that their country is not exempt from the violence so prevalent in much of the Caribbean.
Praying and working for peace is a high priority for Caribbean churches whose countries are experiencing an “unrelenting increase” in violence, especially among young people. An open letter from church leaders laments the significant impact of violence “on business, investment, tourism, mental health, family life, life at our schools, productivity and overall morale.” The letter calls for renewed witness to the Prince of Peace in order to “encourage our citizens to believe peace is possible again.” Read more about this at the Web site of the Caribbean Council of Churches.
Racial, ethnic, and language differences create a complex web of cultural richness as well as strife in the Caribbean. In Guyana, the two dominant political parties and most civic institutions reflect the divide between Africans (descended from slaves) and Indians (descended from indentured laborers). About 10 percent of Guyana’s 750,000 people are members of one of nine Amerindian tribes. Chinese, Portuguese and other Europeans are also represented.
The two tiny Presbyterian denominations embody this separation between the two dominant groups (totaling about 75 percent of the population). The Presbyterian Church of Guyana is African-Guyanese, while the Guyana Presbyterian Church is Indian-Guyanese. A third CANACOM member church, the Guyana Congregational Union, is African-Guyanese. CANACOM accompanies these three churches as they seek to bear common witness to Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Caribbean, languages that developed from a mixture of European, African and indigenous Amerindian languages are spoken. In Guyana, it is Creolese. In Jamaica, it is Patois. Widely spoken but long-considered unbecoming and unacceptable in educated circles, these languages are now gaining broader approval. Despite some controversy about whether or not it is appropriate, there is now a project underway to translate the Bible into Jamaican Patois.
Thank you for your interest and support. Please pray for the peoples of the Caribbean in all their wonderful diversity and in the midst of their many challenges.
Tricia
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 265
