Welcome to the

Cuba Partners Network

Founded over thirty years ago by member congregations, the Cuba Partners Network has a long and rich history of encouraging and supporting vital partnerships between Presbyterian Reformed denominations, primarily the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) and the Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Cuba (IPRC).

We encourage thoughtful consideration, conversation, prayer and reflection on the relationships between our churches, our governments and our peoples. PC(USA) in the United States and IPRC in Cuba continue to teach each other what it means to encourage each other to follow Christ in our homes and where we live, work and play. We sincerely invite you to consider joining us in this response to what we discern as God’s calling to us.

Working Together
The Network works closely with PC(USA) World Mission and with mission co-workers in the region.

Recent Developments
Evolving diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba have brought into focus a new climate and renewed purpose for the Network. With these changes come both new blessings and new challenges. We believe that perhaps now, more than ever, we have a prophetic calling to walk with our brothers and sisters in the churches in Cuba.

¡Bienvenidos!

For a detailed history of the development of the Network, click here.

The Cuba Partners Network facilitates connections between the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba (IPRC) and the Presbyterian Church (USA), including congregations and presbyteries of other US reformed denominations exploring or currently in partnership.

Building and strengthening mission in partnership

For information on the campaign
for a Seminary campus in Havana, “Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors)”, please contact Jack Kern at jackckern@sbcglobal.net

Read the SET Havana Campus
vision statement here

Videos:

SET Havana
3 mins, 10 secs in English

Why SET Havana is important
3 mins, 30 secs, in Spanish (subtitled)

"SU VOZ"

Daily Devotions from the

Presbyterian-Reformed Church

in Cuba

Click here read Su Voz online
(in English and Spanish)

To subscribe and receive "Su Voz"
daily in your email inbox, click here.

For more information on the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba, click here.

What We Do

We build and strengthen connections between U.S. and Cuban partners

As together we discern God's call to us, the Network provides an organized structure through which entities of the Presbyterian Church (USA) which have mission relations with the Presbyterian- Reformed Church in Cuba (IPRC) may join together to:

Seek and nurture partnership opportunities to strengthen our shared faith, peace, and reconciliation between our peoples and governments.
Collaborate and cooperate in partnership activities and seek to avoid duplication of effort.
Facilitate communication among PC(USA) partners and with partners in the IPRC.
Facilitate the participation of PC(USA) partners in the community of mission practice with the IPRC and the World Mission Division of the PC(USA).

Provide a central source of resources and information related to Cuba partnership.

Establish a Ministry of Pastoral Solidarity through which PC(USA) partners may become aware of the joys and concerns of partners in the IPRC and lift each other in prayer.

Provide information and support to PC(USA) partners to assist them in advocacy for change in U.S. policy toward Cuba and normalization of U.S. Cuba relations.

The Cuba Partners Network participates at General Assembly to continue its advocacy for doing life together with our brothers and sisters in the Cuban church, through ministry partnerships with the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba, and to encourage thoughtful consideration and reflection upon recommendations presented by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.

About

CPN at a Glance:

585+

Members

130+

Congregations

2+

Denominations

1

Lord & Savior

Partners

Our Ministry Partners

Read the PC(USA)/IPRC Mutual Mission Agreement
Click here to read in English – Haga clic aquí para leer en español

Many of the facts about our partners are a great surprise to many people, who assume that the church in Cuba had been eradicated or existed only as an underground remnant.

Not so! – the Cuban Presbyterian Church endured loss and hardship for over 30 years as many pastors and lay leaders emigrated and as the Marxist government made being “religious” a social stigma, but a faithful and self-consciously Christian community persisted in public worship and witness. Its schools were confiscated but not its churches. Being a Christian in Cuba was not dangerous but it was a great and difficult disadvantage. Those who persisted in such a course had to do so quite deliberately.

While the situation is considerably different now, even as the Cuban Presbyterian Church celebrated its centennial in 1990, and the world now gradually emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the church continues in fervent prayers of thanksgiving to a gracious God for its continuing survival as well as for its longevity.

Our ministry partners

The Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba (IPRC)
The IPRC has approximately 15,000 members in 33 “organized churches” in three presbyteries – Central, Matanzas, and Havana. In addition to the organized congregations, there are 21 “dependent churches,” missions and house churches. For historical reasons, all these are located in the central part of the nation. There are a total of 36 pastors, with 23 pastors directly serving congregations.

The IPRC is one of the founding members of the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC), whose current president is a Presbyterian pastor, and is actively involved in the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), and the Association of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Latin America (AIPRAL). The church subscribes the Westminster Confession of Faith, Heidelberg Catechism, Second Helvetic Confession, Apostles Creed and the Barmen Declaration.

For more information on the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba, click here.

The Evangelical Theological Seminary at Matanzas (SET)

The Seminary seeks to provide a high quality, diversified theological education program to prepare young church leaders to meet the challenges of growth in existing local congregations and in pursuing new church developments throughout Cuba.

SET is owned and operated by the IPRC, together with Cuban Episcopal, Baptist and Quaker churches. It was founded as a Presbyterian institution in Cárdenas in 1920. The seminary relocated to Matanzas when sponsorship became ecumenical in 1946. Currently the seminary is looking to expand its footprint by adding a full service campus in Havana as well.

For more information on the Evangelical Theological Seminary at Matanzas, click here.

Speakers