ELCA leaders welcome renewal of diplomatic relations between U.S., Cuba

            CHICAGO (ELCA) – The White House announcement that the United States will renew diplomatic relations with Cuba, as well as take steps toward the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, came as welcome news for some members and leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

            A Dec. 18, 2014, statement from the Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director for ELCA Global Mission, said the announcement may allow for "the reunification of families and for the two nations. For more than 25 years our church has supported steps such as these toward normalization of relations with Cuba and urged our members to support interdependent efforts and relationships among the churches and peoples in the Caribbean region."
            "In that spirit," Malpica Padilla wrote, "the ELCA has had ongoing contacts with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Lutheran Confession in Cuba, the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas, and the Ecumenical Council of Cuba to promote dialogue and exchange with the churches in Cuba, as well as provide humanitarian assistance."
            Malpica Padilla noted that earlier this year ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton joined 15 other faith leaders in a letter to President Obama that urged him to open a high-level dialogue between the United States and Cuba, permit people-to-people travel more generally, remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and provide opportunities for U.S. citizens to support emerging small businesses and cooperatives in Cuba.
            The full text of the statement is available at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Charting_A_Course_For_Cuba_121814.pdf.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper, Manager, Public Relations
773-380-2956 or email Melissa.RamirezCooper@elca.org
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