What a joy it was to spend the Thanksgiving week of 2023 working with our Cuba mission team. Two team members could not attend an earlier scheduled trip and rescheduled their trip for this past Thanksgiving week. They invited me to tag along, and in the words of John
Wesley, my heart was continually “strangely warmed!” Many have asked how my experience went, and as a processor, I needed to reflect on the experience to develop an answer. Even still, further processing is warranted (further reflection will be offered in the upcoming 2024 Discipleship Encounter Module); however, today, the word “humbled” sits in the forefront of my heart. I want to share a bit of our experience from the week and celebrate the long-term engagement this church holds with the Methodist church in Cuba. As those who have experienced the love of Christ, we
are called to live into that love and be the hands and feet of Christ throughout the world. Central UMC is doing just that! This church has an amazing Mission Committee, who have named and focused our efforts to be the hands and feet of Christ in our community and throughout the world via long-term relationships with agencies that our members have established, deepened, and continue to hold. The Methodist Church in Cuba is one of our long-term, laity-discerned, developed, and ongoing
relationships. Our primary relationship with the church in Cuba has been an
ongoing relationship with the bishop’s office. Much like our own conference, Cuba is divided into seventeen districts under the guidance of the bishop and the district’s superintendents. Each year, we reach out to the bishop’s office to see how we can serve the church during our missional engagement. Our secondary relationship with the church in Cuba has been ongoing with the Methodist Nursing Home in Marianao. This nursing home is an extension ministry of Marianao Methodist Church located directly across the street. For over a decade, our teams have repaired the roof, built fences, painted walls, cleared areas to
be developed, and much more! Each of these missional projects was carried out through limited and creative means. Our third relationship with the church in Cuba has been an ongoing relationship with a developing church under the leadership of Pastor Zaldivar. As their church has grown over the years, Central UMC has celebrated that growth by collaborating in their expanding needs. The church building structures are somewhat unique in that the pastor and family
reside in a small section of a house while the church projects the expansion (I.e., Sanctuaries begin in a “living room” and expand to the “carport" area and then built into the back yard). The church Fontanar outgrew their “home church,” procured the home next to them, developed a new worship space, and is looking to bring
multiple services as that area has reached capacity. I am thrilled that our church
continues to grow this relationship, being the hands and feet of Christ in our community and throughout the world! We are planning our next in-person engagement with our friends in Cuba!!! An opportunity to serve on this team will be available through our Discipleship Encounters 2024 modules! For more information on joining our next engagement or our Discipleship Encounters 2024 modules, click here.
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