My Testimony

 This is my testimony why I am so passionate about the Covenant between the churches in Cuba and the United States. I had the unique privilege to witness the birth and execution of the Covenant, and why it is thriving today. 

My parents were missionaries when we arrived in Camagüey in 1951. I was two years old and my brother David was six. My father became the pastor of  “la Iglesia metodista San Pablo,” now known as “la iglesia de la Unción Divina,” “the church of the Divine Unction.” My mother was a high school teacher at the Pinson Methodist school next door to the church. David and I attended Pinson for the next 10 years.

We lived in Camagüey until we had to leave in June of 1960 because of the revolution. These were happy years. I had close friends, having fun with all kinds of adventures, and participating at the church and school. 

Leaving Camagüey was very traumatic. I was so attached to Cuba that was more Cuban than American. When we landed in Miami, I was in foreign country.

The break in 1968 between the conferences turned out to be an interruption, because the Covenant was really established in 1883, when the Methodist mission was planted in the rich soil  of Cuba by Methodist lay pastors Enrique Someillán and Aurelio Silvera from Tampa and Key West.

In 1995 Bishop Hasbrouck Hughes went to Cuba and was surrounded by Methodists who said to  him “We feel abandoned by our Methodist sisters and brothers in Florida.” Convicted, Bishop Hughes convened a meeting in Miami between exiled Cubans and Methodists from the island. He shared his vision for re-establishing a bond across the Florida Straits. Friends met with friends who had been separated for years. They embraced, wept with shouts of joy!  

Finally (al fín!) in 1996, my brother and I were returning home after 36 years. We were back our home, our church, and school. Nothing had changed; everything did change. 

In 1997, Bishop Cornelius Henderson convened a task force to write the document defining the Cuba-Florida Covenant. The Cuban Methodists did the same. 

At the June Florida annual conference session the Covenant was unanimously acclaimed.  A few weeks later, Bishop Henderson led a delegation to the session of the Cuban annual conference session. David and I were a part of that delegation. The bond was re-established as the Covenants were signed. As the vote came in, at the Vedado church, the delegates erupted with joy, weeping, arms uplifted with shouts of “Alleluias y Gloria a Dios.” 

Only by the power of the Holy Spirit  was this possible.

Today, almost 30 years later, Cuba is facing its greatest crisis. The challenges are daunting. Yet, the Covenant between the US. and Cuban Methodists is stronger than ever. 

Yes! the Covenant is reaching beyond Florida and welcomes other denominations to participate as well. 

The Covenant is the bridge that makes our work possible. It is safe to say that the Covenant has more lasting power than any others in the Christian world!

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. You have multiplied exultation; you have increased its joy.” Isaiah 9:2-3