Cuba Partnership Celebrates 10th Anniversary
by Patricia Zinn, Co-Chair, Cuba Partnership Network
This month we are celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the partnership between the presbyteries of Central Florida and El Centro, Cuba! The original partnership agreement was signed on Sept. 10, 2013, and the relationship between our two presbyteries - and between individual churches in both countries - has only grown stronger.
Our original commitment to El Centro had two parts. First, we would support their transportation needs, starting by providing them with a used school bus. The bus is used to meet us at the airport and take us to our partner churches in Cuba, and also throughout the year to carry El Centro members to synod and presbytery meetings, camp, and training events. Without the bus, most Cubans would not be able to attend any of these events. We also purchased a used car for one of the churches, enabled annual maintenance of all pastor/church-owned vehicles, and provided replacement and repair parts for the bus.
The second commitment we made to El Centro was a goal to establish at least one church-to- church partnerships between each El Centro congregation and a Central Florida congregation over the next 10 years. Currently 8 of the 11 churches in El Centro have an active partnership with a church in CFP. When you consider that we were unable to visit Cuba for 3 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have still maintained the partnerships we already have, we are very pleased with the progress, and we still hope to connect the remaining 3 churches in El Centro with partners in Central Florida.
In 2018, El Centro asked if we could make a third commitment, to support their Lay Leadership Training program. That program enables the presbytery to provide training for lay leaders - elders, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, etc. It allows the presbytery to provide workshops and training materials, not only at a central location, but also to take the training to different churches or groups of churches.
You have been incredibly generous and faithful in supporting this partnership, donating more than $90,000 from 2015-2023. Your support is even more important to our Cuban brothers and sisters today than it was ten years ago. The economic conditions in Cuba are dire, with food and medicine shortages worse than the Cubans have ever seen. As you look at your remaining mission funds for 2023, and plan your budgets for 2024, we ask you to prayerfully consider a donation to the Cuba Partnership.
The money, over the counter medicines, and other supplies we take to Cuba on our Partnership Trips are gifts of life and hope to Cuban Christians who continue to show the love of God within their congregations and also to those outside the church.
The material gifts we bring are important, but far more important to our Cuban partners are the relationships that we are building. These relationships are the foundation of our partnership.
Visiting our partners in Cuba gives one a new perspective on life and faith, and a greater
appreciation for the gifts God has given us in this country and presbytery. Our next Presbytery trip to Cuba will be March 12-19, 2024. We’ll be providing details in the next month - watch the Cuba page of the CFP web site and come to the Cuba Open Space at the September presbytery meeting. We encourage you to come with us - even if your church does not have plans to establish a partnership. The Cubans are so pleased when one of us makes the effort to come to them, because they can’t come to us. We hope you will join us!
For more information, please contact us at cflcubalt@gmail.com.
Our original commitment to El Centro had two parts. First, we would support their transportation needs, starting by providing them with a used school bus. The bus is used to meet us at the airport and take us to our partner churches in Cuba, and also throughout the year to carry El Centro members to synod and presbytery meetings, camp, and training events. Without the bus, most Cubans would not be able to attend any of these events. We also purchased a used car for one of the churches, enabled annual maintenance of all pastor/church-owned vehicles, and provided replacement and repair parts for the bus.
The second commitment we made to El Centro was a goal to establish at least one church-to- church partnerships between each El Centro congregation and a Central Florida congregation over the next 10 years. Currently 8 of the 11 churches in El Centro have an active partnership with a church in CFP. When you consider that we were unable to visit Cuba for 3 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have still maintained the partnerships we already have, we are very pleased with the progress, and we still hope to connect the remaining 3 churches in El Centro with partners in Central Florida.
In 2018, El Centro asked if we could make a third commitment, to support their Lay Leadership Training program. That program enables the presbytery to provide training for lay leaders - elders, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, etc. It allows the presbytery to provide workshops and training materials, not only at a central location, but also to take the training to different churches or groups of churches.
You have been incredibly generous and faithful in supporting this partnership, donating more than $90,000 from 2015-2023. Your support is even more important to our Cuban brothers and sisters today than it was ten years ago. The economic conditions in Cuba are dire, with food and medicine shortages worse than the Cubans have ever seen. As you look at your remaining mission funds for 2023, and plan your budgets for 2024, we ask you to prayerfully consider a donation to the Cuba Partnership.
The money, over the counter medicines, and other supplies we take to Cuba on our Partnership Trips are gifts of life and hope to Cuban Christians who continue to show the love of God within their congregations and also to those outside the church.
The material gifts we bring are important, but far more important to our Cuban partners are the relationships that we are building. These relationships are the foundation of our partnership.
Visiting our partners in Cuba gives one a new perspective on life and faith, and a greater
appreciation for the gifts God has given us in this country and presbytery. Our next Presbytery trip to Cuba will be March 12-19, 2024. We’ll be providing details in the next month - watch the Cuba page of the CFP web site and come to the Cuba Open Space at the September presbytery meeting. We encourage you to come with us - even if your church does not have plans to establish a partnership. The Cubans are so pleased when one of us makes the effort to come to them, because they can’t come to us. We hope you will join us!
For more information, please contact us at cflcubalt@gmail.com.