Hola, and blessings to all!
I
write to you with great news from the Church in Cuba:The Diocese of
Cuba is alive and well!¡Gloria a Dios!Under the sure direction of
Bishop Miguel Tamayo, the Church in Cuba has really made a dramatic
turn-around and is thriving in his very capable hands.Bishop Tamayo
spends 3 months at a time in both Uruguay, where he is also Bishop and
in Cuba, where he is interim Bishop for the next 3 years.With the help
of his wife Martha López, he handles the job of Bishop of both
countries fantastically.He once told me when I asked him what was his
secret, that is to say, how he had so much energy to work so hard and
keep going so strong.He told me with the enthusiasm of a young boy that
he ate well and slept well!I had to laugh out loud at that perfect but
simple answer.
Despite
the fact that he eats and sleeps well, the job of Bishop of two
countries does tend to wear one out, especially one with the dedication
of Bishop Tamayo.So the Metropolitan Council consisting of the Primates
Andrew Hutchison of Canada and Katharine Jefferts-Schori of the US have
at the request of Bishop Tamayo appointed two suffragan Bishops.Those
two, Bishop Ulises Agüero of Santiago, Cuba and Bishop Nerva Cot of
Havana will be consecrated on June 10th, 2007 at the
Cathedral in Havana.Our own Bishop John Howard and the Canon to the
Ordinary, the Reverend Gayanne Silver will be joined by Fr. Jack and
Tari Watson of Christ Church, Cedar Key at the Consecration.A full
report of that momentous occasion will be given after the event.
The
Cuba Committee of the Diocese meets about once a month, generally at
the Church of St. James in Lake City.The meetings are usually attended
by 12-15 people and at the meetings we discuss ways in which we can
best help the church in Cuba.We have been able to facilitate many trips
to Cuba from groups throughout the Diocese and also to help support the
priests by augmenting their salaries.We have been able to do the latter
by receiving funds from the Global Missions Catalyst Committee,
donations from individual churches and also from money raised at our
annual Seafood Buffet dinner held at Christ Church in Cedar Key.
This year’s Seafood Dinner held on May 26th
proved to be as successful as the last two dinners raising close to
$4000. Mrs. Thelma McCann and her wonderful family provide all of the
seafood for the buffet at no cost to the Cuba Committee.Fr. Jack Watson
and his wife Tari provide the organizational skills; Christ Church
provides the venue, beverages, dessert and volunteer servers to make
the dinner a huge success.Our hearty thanks go out to Mrs. Thelma and
to all of those labored so intensely on behalf of the church in
Cuba.¡Muchas gracias!
If you would like to get
involved with the Cuba Committee, please feel free to contact me, Julie
Sullivan at the phone numbers or e-mail address listed below. ¡Bendiciones a todos! (Blessings to all!)
325 Market Street * Jacksonville, FL 32202
Chairperson: Dr. Julia Sullivan: Home: 850-878-3754, Cell: 850-980-3503
Email:
jmsullivan32301@gmail.com