Darien Church Hosting Conference On Expanding Outreach To Cuba

DARIEN, Conn. — Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien will host a conference on Cuba to provide information to churches, faith communities and nonprofits looking for involvement in the island nation as political relations with the U.S. begin to normalize.

The Rev. Andreis Dorta Diaz, a priest of the Episcopal Church of Cuba, will address the Sept. 17 Cuba Conference and Networking Event at Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien. The public is invited to attend.
Photo Credit: *contributed*

Daily Voice

09/15/2016 4:00 a.m.

The Cuba Conference, scheduled for Sept. 17, will provide networking opportunities, travel tips and information on developing successful projects with communities in Cuba.

Saint Luke’s Parish will host the regional conference on building mission relationships with churches and organizations in Cuba on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All are welcome attend, especially those exploring or pursuing projects with churches in Cuba. Click here for details and online registration.

As U.S.-Cuba political relations begin to normalize, many U.S. churches in Connecticut, New York and New England have been working separately to develop mission partners in Cuba.

This conference will bring together individuals, churches and nonprofits to learn and build a network of partnerships with Cuba.

The featured speaker will be the Rev. Andreis Dorta Diaz, a young Cuban Episcopal priest. Diaz and his wife Marcela Martin Delgado will share stories about serving the local community and growing the church in Cuba despite the many hurdles.

Other speakers will include the Rev. Andrew McGowan, dean of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University; the Rev. Mark Pendleton, who serves on the Episcopal Church Task Force on Cuba; and Darien resident Jeremy Cage, who is working to assist the church in Cuba in creating a strategic plan for growth and development.

The conference will feature a workshop on Cuba travel for churches, nonprofits and youth groups. Participants will also learn which U.S. churches are already partnering successfully in Cuba, along with emerging opportunities for partnerships.

Saint Luke’s is organizing the conference and networking event after local parishioners visited Cuba in April, where they met with Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio and toured several Episcopal churches and the communities they serve.

Saint Luke’s Cuba initiatives include supporting a diocesan retreat center and funding day campers this summer at the center.

The Cuba conference will take place in the Youth and Community Center of Saint Luke’s Parish, 1864 Post Road, Darien. For more information, click here.

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