Who is My Neighbor - Support for the Episcopal Church in Cuba

Last summer, the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church voted to readmit the Episcopal Church of Cuba as a diocese of The Episcopal Church after 52 years of separation. The Diocese of Cuba will join The Episcopal Church’s Province II.Bishop Curry has asked all Episcopalians to participate in the campaign to support the Episcopal Diocese of Cuba.

Leading the effort is a group called Friends of the Church in Cuba. Please follow them on Facebook at @friendsofeccuba.

On their website they have listed several ways one may help the Diocese of Cuba. Support for the church in Cuba can take on various forms:

• Help fund that pension plan for the Cuban clergy--The average monthly salary for the 23 Cuban clergy is $55; but when they retire, they will not be eligible for any state pension or social security because the government does not recognize their service as employment.The campaign seeks to raise a one-time amount of $800,000 by June 9. This will provide funding for past contributions that will yield future retirement benefits for 23 active clergy, three retired clergy, and one surviving spouse. You can donate to the pension plan here.

• Partnership with Churches in Cuba-- The primary focus is helping Bishop Griselda secure partner congregations for ALL 46 churches across Cuba, that will not only support the church with prayers and visits, but also financially, as their needs are great.

• Water purification equipment for churches (about $4,000 each) to provide clean water. In many cases, these systems are the only secure source of water in the villages and surrounding area

• Camp Blankingship --The objective of Camp Blankingship is for it to be a vibrant Episcopal center of worship and sustainable education (ecological, economic, social and spiritual) for all the youth of Cuba, and visitors from around the world. This vision was disrupted by the revolution, but thanks to impeccable record keeping, the Cuban government continues to recognize the ECC as the owner of the property, and has now granted all the licenses and permits for construction of Camp Blankingship to begin - 60 years after it was originally conceived.

God calls us to be our brother’s and sister’s keeper. Jesus invites us to love not our neighbors as ourselves, especially those in need.