Singing the spirit in Cuba

Jan 24, 2017

In the decades since the Cuban revolution, church members have fertilized their traditional Methodist roots with a homegrown spirit, transforming worship with music and enthusiastic prayer and calling upon each believer to be an evangelist for Christ.

Eighty percent of the municipalities in Cuba now have a Methodist church and preaching locations cover nearly the entire country, serving about 43,000 members and a community of 65,000. Encouraged by Bishop Ricardo Pereira, young people flock to the church and the 10-year-old seminary and district and local extension programs promote education and leadership.

Writer Linda Bloom and photographer Mike DuBose traveled to Cuba in November 2016 on behalf of United Methodist News Service to learn more about the Methodist Church in Cuba.

The first stories in this series debut Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, with the second two publishing Feb. 7 and 9.

Cuban Methodists are packing the pews

Decades after Castro’s revolution, the church has combined Wesleyan and Pentecostal elements to form its own identity.

Mauricio Freeman (standing) checks on the welfare of patients during afternoon devotionals at the Methodist Christian Home for retired pastors in Havana. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Sidebar: Providing a home for the elderly

In a former private home across the street from Marianao Methodist Church, 15 older Cubans find assistance and companionship at a facility run by the Methodist Church in Cuba.

The Rev. Leandro Cordero leads a song at A Place of Hope Methodist Church in Santa Clara, Cuba. He is accompanied on the keyboard by his wife, Yenisel Ramos. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Cuban worship: Music, prayer and passion

For Methodists in Cuba, praising God is about being supported by a community, not just about individual faith.

Samuel Figueredo is the engineer in charge of information technology at Cuba's Evangelical Methodist Seminary in Havana. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Sidebar: Going digital at Havana Seminary

In some respects, those attending Seminario Evangélico Metodista are ahead of many Cubans in terms of using digital technology.

The Rev. Alcibiades Negret is superintendent of the Mayabeque district of the Methodist Church in Cuba. He pastors a church in his home in San José de las Lajas. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Building a church growth strategy in Cuba

From cell group to mission to church, the goal of the Methodist Church in Cuba is to make each member an evangelist.

Sidebar: 'Lord, I'm here'

Lourdes Vazquez worked for 20 years in Cuba’s renowned health system but gave up her job, her home and proximity to her children and grandchildren to serve God.

For Methodists in Cuba, ‘These are good times’

Hard work and good relations — with fellow Cubans, United Methodists and others — help shape today’s church.

Sidebar: Solidarity and service in Cuba

In Havana neighborhoods, people seem to know everyone and hear everything. “The thing about Cuba is we have learned to help one another – solidarity. Life here is very sociable.”