Moderator visits ‘resurrection church’

Ufford-Chase finds vibrant, growing
Presbyterian congregations in Cuba

by Evan Silverstein

HAVANA, Cuba — Greeted during a recent visit by enthusiastic worshippers and dancing children, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) praised Cuban Presbyterians for enduring years of hardship to build a “resurrection church” in the Communist island nation.

        Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, the first PC(USA) General Assembly moderator in three years to visit Cuba, arrived on March 28 for six days of church visits and dialogue with religious leaders.

        Ufford-Chase, who is fluent in Spanish, said he was impressed with the Cuban church’s lively worship, growing congregations and strong lay and clergy leadership.

         “The church here is vibrant and alive, that much is clear,” said Ufford-Chase, who toured congregations in all three presbyteries of the 13,000-member Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba (IPRC). “There’s growth in every single church that we visited. They’re doing new buildings and constructions. They’re excited because they’re doing Bible studies in people’s homes, and new young people are coming in every week.”

        Ufford-Chase, who presided over the PC(USA)’s 216th General Assembly, said he is encouraged by a recent increase in religious tolerance in Cuba, which until 1992 was officially deemed an “atheist” state by its revolutionary government.

        He said the Cuban Presbyterian church was “far more vibrant and growth-oriented than I expected,” but added that many economic and political challenges remain for Cubans suffering under Fidel Castro’s stagnating revolution and the U.S. embargo that for 45 years has failed to topple his regime.

        While medical care,

are free in Cuba, basic necessities are expensive, wages are paltry, and staple foods such as beans and rice are rationed. The average Cuban earns $15 to $20 a month, in Cuban pesos that have little buying power. Many professionals — doctors, lawyers, engineers and the like — drive taxis or work in other tourist industries for access to foreign exchange.

        “This is not an open society,” Ufford-Chase said. “They can’t say just anything they want without worrying about what the impact might be. That is a challenge this church has to face. How are they going to create a voice for the church, in light of the political situation in their country where the political process often isn’t open to Christian values?”

        He said it’s crucial that the churches maintain contact despite limitations the U.S. government has imposed on religious visits to the island of 11 million people.

        “I spoke very specifically about the need for people at the base of our two cultures to get to know one another, and then, that way, to begin to break down some of the barriers that exist between our two countries,” Ufford-Chase said after preaching at First Presbyterian Church of Havana.

        He said the PC(USA) has joined other religious groups in protesting the U.S. government’s attempts to curtail church travel to Cuba.

        The moderator also preached at three other Presbyterian churches to packed sanctuaries filled with spirited parishioners, many attending from towns miles away.

        “This kind of visit is a reminder to us of something that’s so important, which is people in the United States are remembering us and care enough to come visit us,” said Isabel Sánchez, moderator of El Centro Presbytery.

        Traveling by van from Havana on the northwest coast to central Cuba, the

Presbyterian churches in cities including Güines, Sagua La Grande, Santa Clara, Matanzas and Calabazar de Sagua.

        In all, Ufford-Chase visited 13 of Cuba’s 34 Presbyterian churches during the nearly weeklong visit, mingling with members and clergy, exchanging hugs and handshakes. He was joined by the Rev. Tricia Lloyd-Sidle, the PC(USA)’s regional liaison for the Caribbean.

        The Rev. Héctor Méndez, pastor of Havana First Church, said it is vital that the U.S. and Cuban churches remain strong partners.

        “Both churches are sisters, with a long tradition of common work, and we are working together by improving the relations among our two countries,” said Méndez, who also is moderator of the Synod of the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba.

        The Rev. Carlos Camps, an IPRC elder statesman and its secretary general, said he hopes Ufford-Chase’s visit will deepen the churches’ relationship.

        “Everyone who comes brings us a new face of the PC(USA),” he said, recalling the 2003 visit of former Moderator Fahed Abu-Akel. “This moderator brings the face of a young church, a church that is socially committed and a church full of joy. I have really noticed not only his enthusiasm, but his ability to notice small details of things going on in each of the congregations. In each visit there’s been opportunities (for him) to see different faces of the Cuban church as well.”

        This was Ufford-Chase’s last international visit as moderator before his term ends this summer at the PC(USA)’s 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, AL.

structure into its new home.

        Ledesma Garcia, an elder at the Sagua La Grande church, said he hoped the moderator would be impressed by “what we do here in Cuba, and by Christians in Cuba.”

        “It is in my opinion a great opportunity to join two peoples,” he said. “We should keep in mind that Jesus is the bridge, and that bridge is also extended to other nations.”

        In a sermon in Güines, a town 30 miles southeast of Havana, Ufford-Chase urged nearly 300 people not to let fear dominate their lives or stifle their Christian witness.

        Reading from the Gospel of John, he said love is stronger than fear, and people of faith needn’t be afraid if they have God’s love in their lives.

        At Havana First, Ufford-Chase celebrated the growth he witnessed, saying, “I see tremendous hope and life in this church.”

        The crowded Sunday service was attended by Michael E. Parmly, chief of mission for the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

        Ufford-Chase commended First church for opening up to the community, a move he described as “real risk-taking by a church that’s come out of a time in which Christians were clearly marginalized” for years.

        “They look in fact like a resurrection church,” he said before leaving Cuba. “This is a church that most of us would have turned the lights out and shut the doors on, 15 or 20 years ago. And now to see the exciting work that’s going on here is really unbelievable.”

        Ufford-Chase talked about the need for both country’s churches to insist that “we will live as faithfully as possible” even when their views conflict with those of the government.

        “In our country we’ve got all kinds of challenges,” he said. “A growing gap between rich and poor … the inability to reach out to the migrant community … the need for the church to stand up to violence as a way of responding to the threat of terrorism.”

        He said someone at home had been “lying” to him about the lack of religious liberty on the island, referring to comments by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Presbyterian, during a House committee meeting in February. “I don’t think that there is anything that passes for religious freedom in Cuba,” Rice said.

        Parmly, who said he hadn’t heard Rice’s comments, noted that religious freedom in Cuba comes with restrictions. “All religions here face challenges,” he said. “If they stay within certain guidelines, if they stay safe, then they have only some difficulties. As soon as they step outside those guidelines they run into trouble. All religions do.”

        In a sermon at the Presbyterian church in Santa Clara, Ufford-Chase spoke to an overflow crowd about violence in Colombia, describing how the PC(USA) has sent volunteers to accompany Presbyterian church leaders facing death threats. He also discussed Christian Peacemaker teams in Colombia and the Middle East, mentioning the murder of American Tom Fox, a team member in Iraq who was kidnapped, tortured and killed for his witness to peace.

        Ufford-Chase met for dialogue with members of the synod council at Havana First church. He led prayer circles during some visits, and had dinner one night at the denomination’s national camp center, CANIP, outside Santa Clara, in El Centro Presbytery.

        While at the camp, Ufford-Chase met a group of Presbyterian students from the University of Oregon, who were visiting with their campus pastor.

        “I’m glad to help students broaden their sense of what the church is doing in the world,” said the Rev. Ann Bowersox, a Presbyterian minister who led the group. “I think it’s quite a testimony to faith when folks can be faithful under some very difficult circumstances.” 

        The moderator spent three nights at an ecumenical seminary in Matanzas, a cooperative institution of Presbyterians, Anglicans and Methodists founded in 1946. It’s the only interdenominational seminary in Cuba, with more than 200 students from 13 denominations (seven Presbyterian students graduated in 2004, and two last year).

        “We hope that when he returns (to the United States) that he will be a kind of ambassador for us,” said the Rev. Ofelia Ortega, the seminary’s former president. “To tell the people about how he found the church here. That we are here, we are alive, we are working for the mission of the church.”

        Cuban Presbyterians said they believe church partnerships can be more effective if the emphasis is on learning about and from each other through shared Bible studies. They said getting to know and pray for each other’s congregations, presbyteries and institutions, and praying for one another, can mean stronger partnerships for Cuban and U.S. Presbyterians.

        Ufford-Chase learned that, as Cuban society has become more open to religion in recent years, congregations have developed strong new outreach ministries, such as organic gardens, youth programs, and gatherings for isolated elderly persons.

        The religious reawakening in Cuba was sparked in large part by a change in national policy. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Cuban National Assembly passed a law in November 1991 allowing Cubans to participate in religious associations. The following year, the constitution was changed to define Cuba not as an “atheistic” state, but as a “secular” one.

        The PC(USA) was instrumental in the founding of the IPRC more than 110 years ago. The two churches enjoyed an extremely close relationship until the revolution. Since then, the PC(USA) has continued to support the IPRC despite hostile relations between the two governments and severe economic and travel restrictions.