Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Renews Call to Action on Cuba Humanitarian Crisis: General Assembly Action Includes a Churchwide Sunday of Prayer, Reported October 27
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reported on its official website on October 27 that it is renewing its longstanding commitment to its Cuban neighbors as a worsening humanitarian crisis threatens access to food, medicine and other basic necessities across the island. At the denomination's 227th General Assembly in Milwaukee in June, commissioners voted for a churchwide call to action supporting the people of Cuba and the PC(USA)'s sister denomination, the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba (IPRC).
Item RIW-11, "Reaching out in Concern for the Presbyterian-Reformed Church and People of Cuba," directs the Stated Clerk and Executive Director of Presbyterian Life & Witness, the Rev. Jihyun Oh, to declare a churchwide Sunday of Prayer with the IPRC. It also requires denominational agencies to respond to Cuba's economic crisis and report on their progress at the 228th General Assembly in 2028. The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations and the Office of Public Witness were directed to advocate for policies reducing barriers to food, medicine and basic necessities, enabling humanitarian aid without obstruction, supporting diplomatic engagement and rejecting military action against Cuba.
The report said Cuba's economic challenges involve overlapping pressures including longstanding U.S. sanctions, trade restrictions, fuel shortages, inflation, deteriorating infrastructure and domestic struggles, and that at the end of September the U.S. Treasury Department expanded restrictions on transactions connected to Cuban military, intelligence and security services and eliminated authorization for group educational travel and certain professional meetings. The Office of Public Witness has launched a social media campaign, "Cuba Is Our Neighbor, Love Is Our Call."
On partnership, the Cuba Partners Network gathered in Matanzas, Cuba, earlier this month for its annual "Encuentro," where roughly 35 U.S. attendees and 40 to 50 Cuban partners worshiped, studied Scripture and discussed the realities facing the IPRC. In the past year, all but two IPRC churches across Cuba have been outfitted with solar panels, funded by international partners, providing crucial energy amid power outages. First Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Havana has long provided meals to seniors and recently began serving children as well, with U.S. partner churches able to order food online and have it sent directly to the church.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 古巴哈瓦那的一座教堂（历史明信片资料图）。Roberts & Co. 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A church in Havana, Cuba (vintage postcard file photo). Photo by Roberts & Co., public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
