ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 13, 2009  

Obama, Cuba and a Lutheran Theologian's Journey
09-115-SH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hurricane season came faster than anyone
expected in 1965. Violent waves shook and tossed the boat
carrying 15-year-old Alicia Vargas. Terrified and seasick, she
clutched a tiny cross in her hand and prepared to die.
     That's how Vargas emigrated from Cuba to Florida with her
sister, mother, father and grandmother, Spanish-speaking
Catholics. She's now a 58-year-old theologian and ordained pastor
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She's also
a scholar of "mujerista" theology, which she defines as "Latina
women's theology."
     Vargas supports U.S. President Barack Obama's steps to
improve relations with Cuba, a Caribbean island 90 miles from
Florida. Her family lived there comfortably before Fidel Castro
took power in 1959, prompting a U.S. trade embargo three years
later. Her mother lost an executive post with the telephone
company, and her father's import/export business tanked.
     "The restrictions haven't done anything but make the people
of Cuba suffer," said Vargas, assistant professor, contextual and
multicultural studies, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary,
Berkeley, Calif. "In any question of justice, the church is
called to add its voice to the public sphere."
     Unlike Vargas, many Cubans who fled to Florida in the 1960s
and 1970s were staunch supporters of the embargo. Many had
supported the regime Castro toppled and were driven by political
upheaval and ideology. They poured money into politics, developed
a strong anti-Castro lobby and close political allies,
particularly among Republicans.
     That hard-line stance is no longer a given, particularly
among younger generations of Cuban Americans, who grew up in
different times. Most Cubans now living in the U.S. arrived since
1980, according to the Census Bureau. Obama received 47 percent
of the Cuban-American vote in Florida in 2008, according to exit
polls.
     "They want to see more openness between the U.S. and Cuba,"
said the Rev. Raquel Rodriquez, director for Latin America and
the Caribbean continental desk, ELCA Global Mission.
     "We don't have a reason to stay divided," said Miguel
Acosta, 28, of Beloit, Wis., who moved to the U.S. from Cuba
three years ago. He's joining the ELCA.
     In April the United States eased restrictions on Cuban
Americans' travel to Cuba and financial support of relatives
there. The trade embargo remains in place. Congress is expected
to consider relaxing travel rules to Cuba for all Americans.
After the 2008 presidential election, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
ELCA presiding bishop, joined numerous religious leaders in
calling for a U.S. policy "freely allowing religious travel to
Cuba."
     Vargas said her mother supported Castro before the
revolution, but her father thought all politicians were corrupt.
Their transition to life in a new country wasn't easy. "My mother
had to work in a factory making pants for one cent each. She
didn't know how to sew. Her hands would bleed," Vargas said. "My
father worked in an athletic shoe factory, burning the rubber."
     Vargas excelled in school, eventually earning three masters
degrees and a doctorate. She became a Lutheran in the 1980s. In a
giant leap of faith, she quit a tenure-track teaching position at
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at age 41 to study ministry.
She was ordained a pastor in 1998 at a county jail where she was
a chaplain.
     Vargas returned to Cuba for a short visit nine years ago.
She preached at a Lutheran congregation in Havana, where
worshippers spilled into the street. "They worshipped with such
hope in the midst of so many problems," she said.
     She was in an airport weeks ago when she heard Obama on
television talking about improving relations with Cuba.
     "I felt a balm in my soul," she said.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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