Oct. 25 is the deadline to apply for unique travel study seminar in Cuba

Journey will provide insight into how partner organizations and churches bring hope to communities in the island nation

by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service

The travel study seminar in Cuba will be Feb. 25 to March 5, 2025. (Photo by Rev. José Manuel Capella-Pratts)

LOUISVILLE — Now’s your time to apply for a 2025 travel study seminar that will provide a unique opportunity to experience how partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are making a difference in the lives of the Cuban people.

“A Future with Hope: A Travel Study Seminar to the Republic of Cuba” will be Feb. 25 to March 5, 2025, and will be led by a faith-based community organization called Centro Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center) in cooperation with two ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and World Mission.

The center is “a grassroots organization that deals with community empowerment, advocacy; they receive groups throughout the year … and they’re gracious hosts,” said Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri, who serves as one of World Mission’s regional liaisons for the Caribbean. This travel study seminar “is for people who would like to know more about the realities in Cuba — where there is hope, what the churches are doing and our historic partnership with IPRC (the Reformed Presbyterian Church) and other entities, including the seminary there in Matanzas as well.”

Participants will dive deep into the country’s rich history and culture and learn about the current political landscape and the relationship between church and society while also exploring the challenges and opportunities for continued partnership and advocacy, according to the seminar description. They’ll also visit historic sites and get to know organizations that engage with their communities in various ways, including social work, ecumenical dialogue and conflict resolution.

The seminar is a passion topic for Cintron-Olivieri and fellow regional liaison the Rev. José Manuel Capella-Pratts. They are encouraging Presbyterians, such as presbytery and synod leaders, and other justice-minded individuals to embark on this journey to get to know Cuba better.

“In a polarized world where mass media is plagued with misinformation, it is of utmost importance that our constituencies get firsthand knowledge of the remarkable work our PC(USA) partners — the Iglesia Presbiteriana-Reformada (IPRC), the Seminario Evangélico de Teología, and the Martin Luther King Memorial Center — do in witnessing God’s kingdom in their communities,” Capella-Pratts said.

Centro Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center) will be among the leaders of the upcoming travel study seminar.

PC(USA) has a long history of advocacy regarding Cuba to improve conditions of the Cuban people. The country, just 90 miles from Florida, was the subject of recent action by the 226^th General Assembly of the PC(USA) as well as a recent interfaith webinar by the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, highlighting political and social issues and the impact of U.S. policy.

Despite a diplomatic divide between the United States and Cuba, the PC(USA) has maintained a lasting relationship with IPRC. Along with learning about that church, its synod and three presbyteries, seminar participants will visit Seminario Evangélico de Teología (Evangelical Seminary of Theology) in Matanzas, where students called into ministry are shaped academically and spiritually.

“Traveling to the Republic of Cuba as part of this seminar will give Presbyterian participants an opportunity to get to know our partners and learn about the historic relationship Presbyterians in Cuba and Presbyterians in the U.S.A. share,” said Cintrón-Olivieri, co-moderator of the PC(USA)’s 223^rd General Assembly (2018). “As stated in the description of the seminar, ‘ties and partnerships between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Iglesia Presbiteriana-Reformada en Cuba (IPRC) stood even across ideological and political divides that existed in different sectors of society.’”

Though tourist travel to Cuba isn’t currently allowed by the U.S. government, religious visas will be obtained, with the help of the Centro Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to make it possible for seminar participants to visit the country to take part in the travel study seminar. Up to 25 people will make the journey.

For more information, including details about the application process, cost, accommodations and travel logistics, go here. Applications are due by Oct. 25.

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Seminars like this one are made possible, in part, by your gifts to the Peace and Global Witness Offering.