Nurturing partnership: the Primate in Cuba

See you next year, Cubanos

Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio of the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba.

I’m typing this last blog post from the Havana airport, where all four members of the Canadian delegation are busily writing or reading on laptops or notebooks. We have had many rich conversations with members of the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba about our churches’ current and future partnership. Now we’re planning next steps.

Last night, after our bumpy trip back to the city, I spoke with the Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, about why this Canadian-Cuban partnership is important.

“Obviously it’s very important to honour our historic relationship,” he said. “It’s also very important at this time of transition in leadership that we try to walk with them. It’s very much a ministry of accompaniment and my sense from this trip is that the Cuban church is looking for this.”

Archbishop Hiltz said he was especially glad the Canadian church could share the gifts of our General Secretary, Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, who came to Cuba in late January to help Bishop Delgado prepare for her first synod. Archdeacon Pollesel’s skills as a translator have also been invaluable during the trip. Through him, we were able to hear more of Bishop Delgado’s vision for the church and the church’s ministry plan.

“It’s a time of great hope for the Cuban church,” said Archbishop Hiltz. “It is really important to have partners here celebrating that hope. What we see out of this trip is that the Cuban church longs for relationship.”

One unique element of the Canadian-Cuban relationship is that the Primate has an annual February commitment in Cuba for the Metropolitan Council and diocesan synod. So he—along with the General Secretary, and possibly others—will be back soon.

Already we’ve scribbled an idea for 2012 in our notebooks: a longer roadtrip to visit more parishes in the east, even out to Guantanamo.

In the meantime, why not help us think broadly? You’re invited to take a minute to post your thoughts below. Tell us, what does the Canadian-Cuban partnership mean to you?

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A ministry of transportation

Bishop Delgado will miss this old car, which she calls "my little child."

When I asked Bishop Delgado about her old car, she put her hands to her heart and said “It’s my child!”

The sky blue Lada isn’t much to look at. It’s one of many old Russian cars (and 1950s Chevys) that clunk along Cuban roads. It needs a new coat of paint. The back seat is just a piece of foam covered in floral fabric. Someone has, however, carefully engraved “Iglesia Episcopal” into the top right corner of the windshield.

This Lada was one of six cars that the Anglican Church of Canada gave to the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba in the mid-1980s. Bishop Delgado describes this as “a difficult time,” as the Episcopal Church had just withdrawn and the Canadian church was among the few organizations still offering financial support. The church had to ask the government’s permission before buying the car for $4,000.

A windshield engraving labels the bishop's Lada.

“When I first saw it, I was afraid to touch it,” said Bishop Delgado. Yet once she learned to drive, it became essential for her ministry. It allowed her to commute easily and visit parishioners.

The car has also served as ambulance and construction truck over the years, especially in Itabo as they developed the community garden. It was possible to carry long pieces of tubing or wood along the outside of the Lada if some inside also held on through the window.

Now the bishop is getting a new car—another gift from the Anglican Church of Canada, and specifically, several generous donors in Nova Scotia. This will provide another ministry boost for the new bishop as she visits her clergy and parishioners across a large country.

And the old Lada? It’s old, but it won’t be sent out to pasture. The car will be passed along to another clergy person and continue its clunking, but reliable, ministry of transportation.

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Cuban GPS

In Perea, Cuba, it’s better to consult a farmer than a map.

We didn’t use a map much during our tour of the central eastern parishes. Our driver, Herardo Logildes Coroas (the bishop’s husband), just slowed down from time to time and called over one of the locals to help. Inevitably they’re friendly. Most of the time they’re helpful too. 

There’s quite a demographic range among our “human GPS systems” (as one member of our group called them): 

• A farmer strolling home from work, dressed in dirty coveralls
• Young nursing students in fancy sunglasses
• The occasional cowboy

My favourite guide was the elderly woman in the sparkly kerchief who helped us find the minister’s house in Florencia. She didn’t know where we wanted to go at first, but she asked around, then gave us directions in high-pitched, high-speed Spanish. Then she led in the dark, while we drove slowly behind, our headlights illuminating her sparkly headdress.

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Funding: the difference between bud and blossom

Buds turn into blossoms at Santa Maria Virgen, Perea.

After 40 years of neglect, the interior of Santa Maria Virgen Episcopal Church, Perea, is finally being restored. We step inside the large sanctuary and see new chairs, altar, and font, all made from local cedar. Beside the sanctuary are newly constructed rooms, almost ready for Sunday school or meetings.

The young priest here, the Rev. Andres Espinosa Marrero, says this project was started several years ago, but this new burst of construction was made possible by a generous donation from The

Canadians and Cubans bless the new sanctuary at Santa Maria Virgen, Perea.

Episcopal Church’s United Thank Offering.

Bishop Delgado has told our Canadian group that the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba has plenty of human and material resources, but what they really need is financial support.

The Canadian Primate, Archbishop Hiltz, agrees. “Funding represents the difference between plans and construction, construction and completion, bud and blossom,” he said.

Archbishop Hiltz also noted that funding can help with both building and ministry work. On one hand this support could bring a new building to Bermeja, where concrete slabs lie waiting outside. On the other hand, financial support could help put legs on the Cuban church’s new and ambitious ministry plan, which they adopted last week.

Outside Santa Maria Virgen, Archbishop Hiltz points to a small pink begonia bush, growing up around one of the century-old columns. “That’s a bit like what’s going on here,” he said with a smile.

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You can taste the abundance in the guava juice

Bishop Griselda and a community worker show off one of their prized tomatoes. In Itabo, community workers grow tomatoes, onions, cabbage, herbs, and more.

If there were one Cuban church that I could teleport Canadian Anglicans to (one by one, Star Trek style), I would bring them to Santa Maria Virgen in Itabo, east of Havana. Although many churches in Cuba are doing excellent, creative ministry, the abundance of this place is immediately evident. You can pick it from trees. You can see it in the lush green leaves everywhere.

Over several years, Santa Maria Virgen has expanded to become a garden complex and community centre. A network of stone paths leads through large patches of vegetables, fruit, and herbs, all carefully tended. There is a modern kitchen and several open-air classrooms, one with a thatched roof and a screen for projecting movies. The community also raises rabbits and chickens, operates a sesame oil press, and leads workshops—on everything from domestic violence to how to preserve fruits and vegetables.

Bishop Delgado shows us around with an enormous smile. She was the leader of this community from 1988 until 2010, when she was appointed bishop. When she started, the church was in disarray. There had been no priest for eight years and the building was falling apart. Gradually she led her congregation to build up this program, with funding and training from the Cuban Council of Churches and other agencies.

“This is my passion,” said Bishop Delgado through a translator, “In my opinion, this is the way to minister, to touch the reality of the Cuban people.”

This ministry of community development has drawn visitors, including universities and representatives from the Communist government. Bishop Delgado said the government workers were very impressed with the program and even asked if parishioners would share these skills with them.

This was a positive step in a country where recent relations between church and government have often been characterized by mutual suspicion.

But if you come to the Itabo complex (by teleporting or other means), you will see that it is very easy to be won over. The Canadian group was thoroughly charmed by the garden and before we left, we had a fabulous Itabo breakfast featuring the centre’s abundance: eggs, tomatoes, and incredible guava juice—sweet, foamy, and fresh.

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Anglicans online–in Itabo

After a long day of travel, the Canadian group and Cuban friends were delighted to find an Internet connection in Itabo. Of course our first stop was www.anglican.ca, where everyone checked up on how they were being talked about in this very blog.

Internet access in Cuba is very limited. Most people cannot afford to buy computers or visit Internet cafes. Even at the diocesan office in Havana access is limited only to email; they don’t have general Internet access.

After the blog-cruising, our conversation turned to online communications. We trade tips on website development. I give them our contact information for Facebook and Twitter. We talk about why blogs are useful.

The Cubans want to get involved in more social spaces online, and the Canadians want to share partner news more effectively in these spaces. After much communicating about communicating, it’s time to go to bed.

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Crowded church needs room to grow

Sanctuary of La Trinidad Episcopal Church, Bermeja

In the sanctuary of La Trinidad Episcopal Church, Bermeja, hangs a faded picture of Jesus as a young carpenter.

“This is what we need,” says Geraldo Logildes Coroas, the bishop’s husband. “We need to build like Jesus built.”

At this first stop on our parish tour with Bishop Delgado, we Canadians see that La Trinidad is in a sorry state. The building is over 50 years old (no one knows for sure) and it has become hazardous to worship in. The roof is collapsing. You can peer through cracks in the wooden walls.

La Trinidad needs to rebuild. Not only is the building falling apart, but the congregation is packed in and ready to grow. Around 90 adults and 35 children pack the church each Saturday night for the service. The parishioners aren’t able to join the local custom of inviting other denominations for Christmas dinner. They have limited their outreach activities because if more people came, well, there just wouldn’t be a place to put them.

At the front of the church, stacks of large bricks warm in the sun. The building materials are here, but the church is still waiting for the building permit, which must be processed in Havana. More importantly, they are waiting for the funds to put it all together. It has been a long process, and I sense discouragement in the women who give us the tour.

Our next stop is to visit the energetic Lazaro Laguardia, who has served as La Trinidad’s lay leader for more than 30 years. Over cola and cake in his living room, he shares a vision for what the church could do in this community. He wants to see a clothing centre for the poor, meals for seniors, and more activities to attract people to the church.

The building is the block for now, so our group wonders, how can Canadian Anglicans help?

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Primate encourages church to reflect Christ’s light

“Rejoice that Christ is your light and he leads you. You are called to reflect his light in your living.”

The Canadian Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, encouraged Cuban Episcopalians with this statement, part of his sermon at the synod’s closing Eucharist, Sunday, Feb. 6.

Speaking to a full cathedral, the Primate also assured them that the Metropolitan Council of Cuba and the churches it represents care deeply about the work of their church, the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba.

“We have much to learn from your passion for the gospel and your perseverance in living it out,” he said.

The General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, translated this sermon simultaneously into Spanish.

*****

On Monday, Feb. 7, the Canadians head east to visit three Cuban parishes, including one in Itabo where the current bishop, the Right Rev. Griselda Delgado del Carpio, ministered for many years. Internet access will be limited, so this blog may be quiet for a couple of days. Sit tight! There will be more stories coming.

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An unmusical man with a musical mission

The Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, and Archdeacon Aurelio de la Paz Cot.

The Ven. Aurelio de la Paz Cot claims he can’t play a musical instrument and he sings off key. Yet music ministry is his passion in the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba.

Yesterday he hopped up in front of synod and cheered members on as they dug into their pockets to raise 675 CUC ($758 CDN) for the diocesan music festival. With a matching grant from the Anglican Church of Canada, this festival—the diocese’s major outreach event—can now hold its fifth annual gathering this August.

“I am certain that the church should offer praise and adoration through music,” said Archdeacon de la Paz through a translator. “This will strengthen the church to reach more people.”

Archdeacon de la Paz grew up in the church. His mother was the former suffragan bishop, the Right Rev. Nerva Cot Aquilero, and his father, the Very Rev. Juan Ramon de la Paz, was the former dean of the cathedral. As a young Aurelio de la Paz grew up in the 1970s, many good musicians were drifting away from the church. He only heard traditional music in church—piano, organ, and sometimes just singing a cappella.

It was when he took up a position as a parish priest that Archdeacon de la Paz started to get really frustrated. Not only was the music minimal, but the congregation could not agree on how to sing the hymns.

“The music there was a punishment,” he said. “I asked God, ‘Isn’t there another way of doing this?’”   

Then in 1990 he visited an Episcopal church in Jacksonville, Fla., as part of the Florida-Cuba companion diocese relationship. This was when he first saw a full worship team, a choir, and experienced what he called “tremendous worship.” He came home with an electronic keyboard and a vision.

First, Archdeacon de la Paz started a music group that toured around to local parishes. This was successful, so members decided to create a music festival that would equip and inspire other church musicians. In 2007, the first diocesan music festival was held in Cardenas.

In August 2010, the fourth festival attracted 90 people to the Havana cathedral. It included workshops on liturgical preparation, poetry, prayers, testimonials, and a variety of evening concerts—from a hand bell choir to classical soloists. Local residents packed in to the cathedral for these evening concerts, where they heard good music and a Christian message.

Archdeacon de la Paz believes that music is a logical way for the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba to keep growing.

“There’s something about a Cuban that gives them music within themselves,” he said. “We need rich liturgy that needs to reach this level through different means.”

As for the money, Archdeacon de la Paz said he just steps out in faith, like yesterday, when he helped fundraise beyond the festival budget within an hour. “God will provide,” said the archdeacon. “It’s not about me. I am just an instrument.”

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“We are beloved daughters and sons of God”

This diocesan synod is the first public test of leadership for Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio, Cuba’s first female bishop, who was installed in November 2010. She was one of the first two women ordained by the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba in 1986. Currently one sixth of Cuban clergy are women. (In Canada one third of clergy are women.)

Dr. Clara Luz Ajo, professor of systematic theology at the Matanzas Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Yesterday, after the bishop’s opening remarks, I chatted in the courtyard with Dr. Clara Luz Ajo about the role of women in the Cuban church. Dr. Luz is a well-respected professor of systematic theology at the Matanzas Evangelical Theological Seminary.

She has also seen many changes in the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba since she got involved in the 1960s. Dr. Luz lived through the scarcity of post-revolution Cuba, where the church had “zero resources, no finances,” as she explained through a translator. Some months, she and her husband, a priest, had to stretch just a few pesos to provide for their family.

As for the growth of women in ministry, Dr. Luz tells a familiar tale: women have always provided leadership within the church, but it has been a slow journey towards their full acceptance as ordained leaders. Women face a patriarchal culture and a hierarchical church structure.

“With Bishop Griselda, this is a way God is showing women that we are able to carry out great leadership,” said Dr. Luz. “It’s a big challenge. People have to shift their perspectives.”

It isn’t long before our translator, the Rev. Maria Christina Borges Alvarez, adds her own thoughts. She emphasizes that ordained women—like her—have the challenge of balancing family and ministry. Her husband is also a minister and between them they care for four parishes.

“It’s hard, but I have this vocational ministry,” she said. “The call is so strong.”

Both agree that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide them, and the Cuban church.

“We are beloved daughters and sons of God,” said Dr. Luz. “As a woman I have a longing to support this bishop and we are hoping that our church will move forward.”

The women seem united in their support of Bishop Delgado, but our friendly conversation has an interesting tangent. While out in the courtyard, Dr. Luz and Ms. Borges have a friendly argument over the question of inclusive language in Cuban hymns. They disagree on which words should be changed and why. Clearly there are still more than a few sparks left in this hot topic.

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