wfn.org | Abu-Akel celebrates 'Day of Resurrection'

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Note #7673 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

23-April-2003
03206

Abu-Akel celebrates 'Day of Resurrection'

Cuba's thriving Presbyterian church welcomes PC(USA) leader

by Jerry L. Van Marter
and Tricia Lloyd-Sidle, PC(USA) mission co-worker for Cuba

LOUISVILLE - On a whirlwind Holy Week tour that took him from one end of Cuba
to the other, the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (USA), celebrated the vitality of Iglesia
Presbiteriana Reformada en Cuba (the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba, or
IPRC). 

	"It was a wonderful experience to join Cuban Presbyterians in their
observance of Holy Week," he said later. "I was intrigued that they do not
use the word 'Easter,' but rather call it the 'Day of Resurrection.' What a
joy to join Christians with whom we share more than 100 years of history to
celebrate Christ's resurrection!"

	Abu-Akel was received with enthusiasm and honor by the IPRC and its
three presbyteries - of Havana, Matanzas and El Centro. During his five day
visit - in which he was accompanied by his wife, Mary, the Rev. Tricia
Lloyd-Sidle, a PC(USA) mission co-worker with Cuba, and photographer David
Young of the Office of Communication - the moderator also met with
representatives of the Cuban Council of Churches, the Evangelical Theological
Seminary in Matanzas, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, the Arab Union of
Cuba, and the Cuban government.

	"Immediately, from the first day," he said, "we experienced the love
that gives evidence to the long history of partnership in mission between our
two churches."

	The Rev. Dora Arce Valentin, the IPRC moderator, told Abu-Akel, "This
is an important visit for us." 

	Abu-Akel is just the second moderator to visit the Cuban church; the
first, in 1996, was the Rev. John Buchanan.

	Valentin's co-host for the visit was the Rev. Carlos Camps Cruell,
the IPRC's general secretary. 

	As might be expected in Cuba - especially during Holy Week - the
highlight of the moderator's visit was worship, culminating in a two-hour
Easter service in a jam-packed First Presbyterian Church in Havana. The First
Church pastor, the Rev. Hector Mendez, is the father of Suecia Mendez, a
Presbyterian elder who serves as moderator of Havana Presbytery.

	On Good Friday, the delegation had traveled to Sancti Spmritus, in El
Centro Presbytery, where it was welcomed by the Rev. Mairolet Vega, the
presbytery's moderator, and the Rev. Pedro Jimenez, the presbytery executive.
 

	A worship service in Sancti Spmritus included sacred music sung by
children and young people and a dramatic presentation of the crucifixion. A
young man, representing Jesus, stood against the chancel cross, arms raised
as in a crucifixion, perfectly still throughout the moderator's 45-minute
sermon.

	"I was moved by the participation of laity in worship, and especially
the leadership of women and young people," Abu-Akel said. "The energy and
creativity of the young pastor, Pedro Jimenez, is reflected in the active
ministry of the congregation.  

	"They have children and youth outreach programs. They provide a daily
hot lunch for 30 older adults (called "the third generation" in Cuba). They
support two mission churches in the outskirts of the city."

	Marta Elvis Collazo, the moderator of Matanzas Presbytery, and the
Rev. Francisco (Pancho) Marrero, the presbytery executive, were co-hosts of
the delegation's Holy Saturday visit to the Dora Valentin Memorial
Presbyterian Reformed Church, in the coastal resort town of Varadero, and
worship at Central Presbyterian Church in Matanzas. 

	Preaching on Holy Saturday, Abu Akel spoke about the tradition in
Jerusalem on the day known there as the "Saturday of Lights." At midnight, he
said, believers gather and the bishop lights a candle by the tomb of Jesus,
then lights a candle of another believer, and each lights the next one, and
so on. In less than five minutes, thousands of candles are lifted up,
symbolizing Jesus Christ, the light of the world, and Christians' commitment
to carry that Light to the world.

	The service concluded with the resounding hymn, El vive, El vive ("He
lives, He lives").  

	"I could feel the power of the Holy Spirit moving in these Cuban
children, youth, women and men confessing, praising, and singing the power of
the resurrection of Jesus," the moderator said.

	That power has brought prodigious growth in the Cuban Presbyterian
church in recent years. The IPRC now has more than 6,000 members in 40
congregations and house churches, served by 20 pastors and 11 candidates for
the ministry.

	As with most of the Presbyterian congregations in Cuba, the
membership of the Dora Valentin Presbyterian Church has increased
exponentially. When pastor emeritus Sergio Arce began his ministry in
Varadero in the 1970s, just one person attended worship regularly. Today
there are more than 150 active members. The Rev. Joel  Ortega Dopico is
pastor.

	While in Matanzas, the PC(USA) group also visited the Evangelical
Theological Seminary and its legendary president, the Rev. Ofelia Ortega.
Abu-Akel was intrigued on learning that the seminary, an ecumenical
institution that trains all Cuban Presbyterian pastors, is a partner in a
three-way D.Min. program with Columbia Seminary, in Decatur, GA, and the
United Theological Seminary in Kingston, Jamaica. 

	The moderator's visit began on Wednesday of Holy Week with an
official welcome from Caridad Diego, of Cuba's Office of Religious Affairs.
Diego serves as liaison between the Cuban government and the nation's
religious institutions.  

	Abu-Akel's stay in Havana included a visit to the Martin Luther King
Center in Havana and a conversation with its director, Raul Suarez, a Baptist
minister and a member of Cuba's Parliament. They discussed the global impact
of King's teachings on non-violence. 

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