The Cubans have a long mission’s history of north American churches sending groups there to "serve" them, which seems to them as a control issue.  So, they are advocating for a new model, based on mutuality, friendship building, accompaniment, etc.  In order to honor their request, our pilgrimage will be to get to know the Cubans, gain some understanding of their context and history and commitment to social justice, and sew the seeds for future trips, where there could possibly be some common work on community projects.  In the words of our guide, “From what I have seen, heard, and experienced, friendship-building is the most appreciated "service" the Cuban people want.”  Also, our investment in some of the activities, such as in the Kairos Center, will support their workshops as a sort of micro-enterprise. We are trying to get away from what has become “service-tourism” among churches and universities, and make longer-term commitments.

The itinerary will include time in Havana and Matanzas. We'll spend time at the Martin Luther King Center and Ebenezer Baptist in Havana, do some cultural sight-seeing, and have a visit to CENESEX (Cuba's national sex education center, which is led by Mariela Castro, the president's daughter, and which does great advocacy on gender equality and LGBTQ rights).  In Matanzas we'll be hosted by the Kairos Center (out of First Baptist Church), which does a lot of work around preserving Cuban cultural arts and liturgical renewal. There will be lots to do around music, dance, theater, religion (first protestant church in Cuba is there, along with centers of Afro-Cuban religion), and we'll have a day at Varadero, the world's most beautiful beach.