The Covenant:
A Bridge of Faith, Love, and Reconciliation
This is my personal testimony of why I am so passionate about the Covenant between the Methodist churches in Cuba and churches in the United States. I had the unique privilege of witnessing the birth of this renewed relationship, its implementation, and the reasons it continues to thrive 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 Iglesia Metodista San Pablo, now known as Iglesia de la Unción Divina (Church of the Divine Unction). My mother taught high school at Pinson Methodist School, next door to the church. David and I attended Pinson for the next ten years.
We lived in Camagüey until June 1960, when the Revolution forced us to leave. Those were happy years filled with close friendships, childhood adventures, and active participation in the life of our church and school.
Leaving Camagüey was deeply traumatic. I was so attached to Cuba that I felt more Cuban than American. When we landed in Miami, I felt as though I had arrived in a foreign country.
The break in relations between the conferences in 1968 would ultimately prove to be an interruption rather than an end to our connection. In fact, the roots of this relationship reach back to 1883, when Methodist lay pastors Enrique Someillán and Aurelio Silvera, from Tampa and Key West, planted the seeds of the Methodist mission in Cuba.
In 1995, Bishop Hasbrouck Hughes traveled to Cuba, where Cuban Methodists told him they felt as though they had been abandoned by their sisters and brothers in Florida. Deeply moved by their words, Bishop Hughes convened a meeting in Miami that brought together exiled Cuban Methodists and Methodists from the island. He shared his vision of restoring the bond across the Florida Straits.
What happened next was unforgettable. Friends who had been separated for years finally saw one another again. They embraced, wept, and shouted for joy!
I wept, too, because at last—¡al fin!—my brother and I were returning home after 36 years. In 1996, we returned to our church and school in Cuba. Nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.
In 1997, Bishop Cornelius Henderson convened a task force to draft the document establishing the Cuba-Florida Covenant. Cuban Methodists undertook a similar process on their side.
At the June session of the Florida Annual Conference, the Covenant was unanimously approved. A few weeks later, Bishop Henderson led a delegation to the Cuban Annual Conference, and David and I were part of that delegation. As the Covenant was signed, the bond between our churches was officially restored.
I will never forget the moment the vote was announced at the Vedado church. The delegates erupted in tears of joy, raised their arms, and filled the sanctuary with cries of “¡Aleluya! ¡Gloria a Dios!”
Only through the power of the Holy Spirit could such a reconciliation have taken place.
Today, nearly 30 years later, Cuba faces the most severe crises in its history. The challenges are daunting, yet the Covenant between Cuban and U.S. Methodists is stronger than ever. And its reach continues to grow beyond Florida, welcoming Christians from other denominations to participate in this sacred relationship.
The Covenant is the bridge that makes our work possible. It is far more than an agreement between two church bodies. It is a living testament to the power of faith, reconciliation, enduring friendship, and God's love across borders. I believe it is one of the most enduring and meaningful expressions of Christian partnership in the world.
As we look toward the future, I remain convinced that the light of this Covenant will continue to shine, even in the darkest of times.
“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