Showing posts with label Cuba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cuba. Show all posts

Monday, February 23, 2026

WCC NEWS: WCC, ACT Alliance express grave concern over fuel blockade imposed on Cuba

The World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance, in a joint message, expressed grave concern over humanitarian impacts of the fuel blockade on Cuba, issued by an executive order from the US president on 29 January.
Trinidad, Cuba. Photo: Albin Hillert/Life on Earth
19 February 2026

“The action amounts to an attempt to embargo all fuel supplies to Cuba,” reads the message. “Cuba is highly dependent on imported fuel for all essential services.”

The WCC and ACT Alliance noted that the consequences for the people of Cuba of the US blockade on fuel supplies are likely to be severe – from impacting electricity generation, hospitals and health services, water and sanitation systems, public transportation, to food production and distribution. 

“A collective punishment of such an existential nature on the entire Cuban people cannot be justified,” the message reads. “Moreover, this extreme form of unilateral economic coercion, without authorization from the United Nations Security Council, is fundamentally incompatible with international law.”

Even before this latest imposition, Cuba was experiencing a deepening socioeconomic crisis due to a decades-long financial and trade embargo by the US, as well as the impacts of increasingly extreme weather events. 

“We urge all States to reject unilateral coercive measures and to act collectively to defend the principles of the UN Charter and of international law,” concludes the message. 

Read the full statement

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The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.

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Saturday, July 3, 2021

Breaking News: After 51 Years, AME Church Reestablishes Presence in Cuba

After 51 Years, the African Methodist Episcopal Church Returns to Cuba

The 16th Episcopal District announces the reestablishment of the AME presence in Cuba. In 1898 the African Methodist Episcopal Church records its first church in Santiago, Cuba.  In 1938, a high-level delegation of church leadership led by Bishop Reverdy Ransom visited the island and was well-received. Until 1960, there were many AME active congregations and members of the AME Church in Cuba who participated in all aspects of the life of the denomination.  When the change of government occurred, the AME presence diminished and became almost non-existent. Hoping for an eventual return, the Cuban Annual Conference was never legally dissolved by the General Conference and various attempts were made to restore AME congregations on the island.

In May 2020, these hopes were realized with Pastor Ilsido Perez Carrion requesting membership into the denomination.   Pastor Perez Carrion learned about the church from a Brazilian AME member and inquired about joining.  He and Jehovah Nisi Church were received on May 21, 2021, at the Planning Meeting of the 16th District (Caribbean, South America, and Europe). After numerous conversations, prayer sessions, and appropriate vetting.  Five other pastors and congregations were received pending appropriate vetting by the Dominican Republic Annual Conference which will have temporary administrative oversight of the AME congregations in Cuba. 

“Returning to Cuba has long been a dream of my predecessors who have served in the 16th Episcopal District. I have even heard stories from the descendants of Cuban members who still remember stories of an AME Church on the island. I thank God to be able to bear witness to this moment—even amid the suffering of this global pandemic,” stated Bishop Anne Henning Byfield, President of the Council of Bishops and Presiding Prelate of the 16th Episcopal District.  

An official request by Bishop Byfield has been received by the Cuban Government for the AME Church to be reactivated as a denomination and full restoration is expected.   The reopening of the AME Church in Cuba will expand the work of the Church and reunite our Cuban brothers and sisters to African Methodism.

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The Christian Recorder is the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the oldest continuously produced publication by persons of African descent.  

Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie, Chair of the General Board Commission on Publications
Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, President/Publisher of the AME Sunday School Union
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