Knox College, Canada

Highlights from MDiv students’ Cuba experience

In February 2020, eight Knox MDiv students spent Reading Week in Cuba, as part of their Practicum in Mission course. Student Jim MacDonald shared:

“It was wonderful to see and experience the friendliness, ingenuity, and commitment of the Cuban people in the face of many obstacles and difficulties. It was inspiring to hear from Cuban Christians who are serving directly in challenging communities and among the very poor.

“For me personally, seeing the home church ministry that we visited in Cuba demonstrated the importance of ministers immersing themselves within their communities to serve both Christian believers and non-believers equally. This will certainly impact my approach to ministry, should I be called to ministry in a church.

“It was also valuable to see Christian ministry thriving and co-existing in an unfamiliar (to us) ecumenical or pluralistic environment. Visiting the Institute of Religious Studies helped me to see the logic behind open discussion/instruction between peoples of differing faiths, especially in a milieu where people are just beginning their spiritual exploration. At the institute, Christian believers must trust the Holy Spirit to grow and gather those whom God calls within the inviting, non-pressuring, multi-faith environment.

“The Cuba experience is very different from the Canadian experience, and yet many of the challenges Cuban Christians face are not so different than our own. I’m grateful to Knox College, PCC International Ministries, WMS, and our home congregations, that we were able to experience — if only for a week — our faith in an environment and culture completely unlike our own.”

Photos (except where noted) provided by Jim MacDonald.