First Presbyterian Church
partnership with
Cuba's Sancti Spiritus Church

Since the spring of 2000, First Presbyterian Church has developed a sister relationship with Sancti Spiritus Presbyterian Church in Sancti Spiritus (El Centro Presbytery) in Cuba's Central Province — a relationship that has helped us share political and cultural realities as well as our ministries. Our church has been particularly interested in the farming ministry and the lively mission churches. During the past three years, First Church has sent more than twenty adults and teens to work with Cuban churches on partnership-in-mission trips, visiting vegetable farms and cattle farm projects and meeting with numerous church congregations.

Members' visits to Cuba have deepened our understanding of the faith journeys of our brothers and sisters there. We have recorded interviews with national leaders in the Cuban Presbyterian Church as well as with women church leaders about their ministries to provide hot meals, laundry services, and clothing repair to the indigent elderly. Through our sharing, participants continue to affirm our partnership goals, which are to share worship and Bible study, to show support to the Presbyterian Church in Cuba and in Sancti Spiritus, and to further understanding between our two congregations.

We have begun a cultural and spiritual interchange by sharing newsletters and a scripture study via email as well as by sending useful educational materials and medicine. Some of our youth visited Cuba with the Task Force in 2005 and returned with a deeper awareness of life for our neighbors. We celebrate our partnership with the world church and our spiritual journey with Presbyterian Cubans by designating one Sunday a year as Sancti Spiritus Sunday.

PC(USA) mission coworker Rev. Tricia Lloyd-Sidle has been appointed by the General Assembly Council to serve in the United States and in Cuba as a mission co-worker. She is the Regional Liaison for the Caribbean, with a special focus on Cuba and the Caribbean-North American Council for Mission. She has been to Cuba many, many times.



Phil Peters of The Lexington Institute covers "Havana-Miami-Washington events and arguments and their impact on Cuba" on an almost daily basis. His entries include links to articles in a variety of media.



Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas, Cuba Seminario Evangelico de Teologia (SET) is the only accredited one in Cuba for Presbyterians. It also trains ministers for the Methodist and Episcopal Churches.It is supportedby The Ofelia Ortega Endowment Fund at the Presbyterian Foundation.