Evangelical
Seminary of Theology
EVENTS
/ SEPTEMBER 2008
Credits
Contacts
Leadership
Professor
Interviews
PASTORAL BIBLICAL
INSTITUTE
19TH
PASTOR FOR PEACE CARAVAN VISITS THE SET
A GROUP
OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM
SALVATION ARMY
CELEBRATES A SYMPOSIUM AT SET
REGIONAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE CHRISTIAN STUDENTS MOVEMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE
CREATION OF
RESOURCES FOR THE LITURGY WORKSHOP AT SET
YOUNG
PEOPLE FROM THE UNITED
AFTER
THE HURRICANES
COMING
ACTIVITIES
PASTORAL BIBLICAL
INSTITUTE
As every summer, the
Pastoral Biblical Institute took place from 3 to 5 July, in 
Cuba and from 6 to 12 in Matanzas.
This time the subjects were “Family, church and values formation”. 64 people
attended to the Institute: 35 in Santiago de Cuba and 29 in Matanzas. They were
representatives of 14 national churches. The workshops were coordinated by
Professor Daniel Montoya Rosales. The courses offered
were:
“Family contribution to
the Value Formation” by Lourdes Ibarra, Doctor of Psychology at Havana
University.
“Fundamental Values of
the Christian Ethics” by Dr. Reinerio Arce
Valentin.
“Value Formation in the
Childhood” by Nelson Davila Rodriguez, Master of
Science.
“Value Formation in the
Adolescence” by Graduate of Theology Beatriz Ferreiro
Garcia.
“Value Formation in the
Youth” by Graduate Raquel Suarez Rodes.
Every morning, Elizabeth
Gonzalez Rodriguez and Jesus Martinez Leon from the Liturgical Renovation Group
of the SET led a devotional. They also attended to the Biblical Studies which
made deeper the issue of the Kingdom values, taught by Dr.Clara Luz Ajo Lazaro,
a professor at SET and Master of Theology Francisco Marrero Gutierrez and Ivan
Gonzalez Tasse. In the evenings, there were dances, video-debates, sociodramas,
community theatre, and other entertainments.
MARTIN
LUTHER KING JR MEMORIAL CENTER’S WORKSHOP
From 6 to 14 July, the
15th Socio-theologian Center’s workshop of Martin Luther King Jr
Memorial Center met at SET with the subject “A Pedagogy for the sharing and the
participation”. Under the auspices
of the Center, the workshop was coordinated by Graduate Alicia Sevila and
Kirenia Criado, having as adviser the Ecuadorian Theologian Boris Tobar,
Graduate of Theology and Master of Pedagogy. He works at Verbo Divino (Divine
Word) Missionary Center in Quito, Ecuador. He is also a professor at the
Catholic University at the same city.
40 people attended to the
workshop. They were from different denomination churches: Presbyterian,
Episcopalian, Gracia Soberana Pentecdoswtala, Congregational Pentecostals and
the Lutheran Brazilian guest Claudio Becker from CECA (Ecumenical Center of
Advising and Training).
Psychologist Alicia
Sevila shared with us some opinions about this event: “The subject of this
workshop is the Theo-pedagogy for the sharing and the transformation. It has the
aim to analyze the relationships between Theology and Pedagogy to achieve a
conscious and active participation of people in the personal and in the
community transformation for justice, fairness and integration and so to achieve
more healthy relationships between people and with the nature. In the framework
of this workshop Boris Tobar presented the lecture “Ten keys for a successful
preaching”. This title is a completely incitation to the deflexion about the
pedagogical recipes and the possible pedagogical alternatives for the
participation”.
19TH
PASTOR FOR PEACE CARAVAN VISITS THE SET
On July 10th, the
Evangelical Seminary had the visit of a group of brothers and sisters of the
19th Pastor for Peace Caravan. This group, headed by Luscious Walker,
was welcomed by Director Reinerio Arce Valentin, Vice-director Pablo Oden
Marichal Rodriguez and a group of professors of our institution who offered a
detailed explanation of the relationship between the church and the State. They
also talked about some aspects of the church in Cuba.
Through out their staying
in Matanzas, the caravan of solidarity with the Island went to some historical
and cultural sites. They also enjoyed the work at a disabled children center.
Reverend Luscious Walker received the key of the city, a high distinction which
the Municipality Popular Power concedes.
A
GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM TRINITY CHURCH VISITS THE SET
A group of young people
from Trinity Church visited the SET from 10 to 12 July. As other groups, they
came to the SET to meet the aim to get experience about the Cuban life. The
leader of the group was the Pastor of youth Revere and John Dylan and the
parents Tom Callaway and Peter Barret and other brothers of the congregation.
The staying of this group tries to make deeper the friendship bounds with the
church which supports the Seminary and the Presbyterian Church of La
Playa.
SALVATION ARMY
HAD A SYMPOSIUM AT SET
From 12 to 15 July, 42
members of the Salvation Army Church of Cuba met at SET. There were among them,
six 
officials from the Dominican
Republic and two officials from Costa Rica. Captain Orestes Fidel Linares
Rodriguez is the divisional Major and the President of the work. He said about
this meeting: “With this symposium, we try to stress the normal procedures of
the process, to strengthen our spiritual ministry, to asses and to strengthen
the social programs, to channel the reality our officials and to strengthen each
official in his ministry”.
The Salvation Army Church
was founded by the Englishman William Booth in 1865 who had the spirit to serve
people, to walk in the streets moved by compassion. He wanted to be someone by
the needed people. Today, this church serves inn more than 111 countries. The
international headquarters is in England and the territorial one, in northern
America, is in Costa Rica.
In Cuba, this church was
founded in 1918 and coming October it will be ninety years old. At present, this
church is founded the entire long of the country. The Divisional Regional
Headquarters is in Marianao, Ciudad de La Habana.
Finally, Captain Linares
emphasized: “The spirit of service identifies us. We feel the passion for
helping people. We emphasize the work with alcoholic people in Cuba, we have
achieved that most of them join again the society. We also have a social work
with seniors and with those ones do not have familiar affection. We want to
restore everybody and for that task we need to be spiritually ready. We call
this year, “the year of Redemption and consolidation about many issues which are
lost or have grown weak. It is necessary to strengthen these aspects to keep on
going forward.
REGIONAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE CHRISTIAN STUDENT MOVEMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
FEDERATION
This assembly met at SET,
from 21 to 27 July this year. This is the most important regional
meeting of this organization. 25
leade4rs from Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay,
Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, and Cuba participated this time. In the sessions of
work, they made a balance of the work done through out a four- year-period,
agreeing important decisions for the future. They also chose a new staff: the
Colombian engineer Belkis Teheran Estrada and Graduate Sarahi Garcia Gomez from
Cuba will be the new President and Vice-president
respectively.
Very kindly, Belkis
agreed to this interview and she said: “Our major target is not only to
emphasize the work in the area but also to get interchanges and achieve mutual
targets with other ecumenical organizations in the Continent. Another aim will
be to reinforce a critical theological and political training or our young
people, since the leaders need a sound training to face the challenges of the
work in their countries. We wish the young people’s voice be heard and that the
work becomes actions of a positive change to our world and that the Kingdom of
God comes to be true in our world”.
LITURGICAL
RESOURCES CREATION WORKSHOP
On the way to the
International Ecumenical Summon for Peace (CEIP) to take place in Kingston,
Jamaica, in 2011, the World Council of Churches (WCC) has started a chain of
liturgical resources creation workshops for that 
meeting. The team of Red Crearte
(Crearte Network) participated at the first of those workshops, so starting a
process to finish at CEIP. With the summon motto “Glory to God in the highest
Heaven! Peace upon the earth” the workshop took place from 26 to 31 July in the
facilities of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of
Matanzas.
Gerardo Oberman, from Red
Crearte, says that the meeting they have with the leaders of the churches of
Matanzas was a chance to share information ant to strengthen the friendship
bonds. After this meeting, we had the First Music and Praying for Peace
Festival. It was celebrated with the leaders of the city at the Resurrection
Chapel at SET. “That moment was very rich of music, rhythm, poetry, gestures,
children, young people, adults and seniors voices. It was an unforgettable,
touching, joyful, inspiring evening. It puts us immediately in a Caribbean
context, he said.
Jacqueline Velarde from
Peru; Eleazar Torreglosa from Colombia; Louis Marcelo Illenseer and Simei
Monteiro from Brazil; Mendelson Davila from Nicaragua; Elizabeth Gonzalez and
Jesus Martinez from Cuba; Gerardo Oberman, Margarita Ouwerker, Laura D Angiola,
Horacio Vivares and Ruth Schneider from Argentina; Oral White from Jamaica;
Martha Diaz and Elizabeth Hernandez Carrillo from Mexico livened up the moments
of spirituality.
The outcome was a very
rich liturgical production which could be used in the coming Advent time in the
framework of the Peace heading to CIMEI. It is true that we have to insist that
there is any glory in Heaven if upon the earth there is not peace and so, we
have to work full time to achieve it”, stated the Red. These resources could be
finding in the site of the World Council of Churches (www.oikumene.org) and in the
inter-denominational site devoted to the liturgical resources FEATUR, www.featur.org . Report: Red
Crearte. Taken from ALC August
15.
YOUNG
PEOPLE FROM THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA VISIT THE
SET
A group of young people
from the United Church of Canada visited the seminary from 19 to 22 August. The
program allowed them to learn about our country. Throughout their visit, they
interchanged with young people from the churches of Matanzas. They went to
sightseeing places and they enjoyed the Cuban music
AFTER
THE HURRICANE
In behalf of our
seminary, we want to appreciate the solidarity you showed with our country and
our church. Cuban are feeling, at this moment, the sorrow of the loss, not only
thousands of households, most of them totally demolished, but also schools,
hospitals, theatres and some national cultural heritages, crops, facilities for
production and services: it is a
very painful picture. Many people have to face the loss of all their
belongings.
Fortunately, although
human life has been much safeguarded, we have only to regret the loss of seven
lives, having into account the magnitude of this natural disaster. We are
requesting your prayers for the families who have lost their relatives. We are
also requesting you to keep on praying for our country and also for the
Caribbean countries badly affected by the violence of these two
hurricanes.
In our seminary and even
in the province of Matanzas, the loss have been minimal compared to the sad
situation other places of the country are living.
In spite of the fact that
all our facilities and properties were very well sheltered some computers
spoiled. The rain broke into our facilities, some window came off in the store
of books in the library and some walls fell down. The vegetable garden
(“organoponico”) lost the hut devoted to the crops. Also, the vegetable were
lost.
But among so many
afflictions, we have a beautiful experience: the seminary, requested by de Civil
Defence, sheltered more than 50 people who their houses were in danger to fall
down or flooded. The group was composed of sick people and pregnant women. The
students staying at the seminary and our workers took care of them throughout
the time they were in our institution. The Lord in His Goodness gave us the
chance to show, with deeds, the love we proclaim.
The people in hard moment
could be able to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, consoler and sanctifier,
especially through our specific deeds of love we try to multiply, to foster the
hope we will be successful.
COMING
ACTIVITIES
20 to 24
October 5th Christian
Education Bachelor Course Meeting
27 to 31
October Inter-seminary
conference
3 to 14 November
1st Meeting of the Mastery Program. Year
2008-2009
INTERVIEW TO DR
CARLOS EMILIO HAM
Reverend Carlos Emilio
Ham is our guest. He started to work at World Council of Churches in Geneva,
Switzerland, in March 2001 as an Executive for the Evangelization Program.
He also worked as a Coordinator of the Ecumenical Mission and Training Team for
four years (2003-2006). At present is the Executive for the Spirituality
Programs for Latin America and the Caribbean. Among his responsibilities, he has
to accompany the churches and the 
ecumenical organizations in their
work in Latin America and the Caribbean, as the FUMEC. For that reason, he is
participating in the 12th Regional Assembly of the Christian Students Movement
Federation for Latin America and the Caribbean, taking place at SET from 21 to
28 July 2008.
About his participation
in the FUMEC assembly, he said: “this assembly is a suitable space for the
interactions of the WCC with the region for better knowing the challenges the
Christian Youth face in the Continent at present, in their engagement with the
ecumenical movements to transform the world with values of justice, joy, and
full life for everybody proclaiming the Kingdom of
God”.
The WCC through him could
participate in two panels in the meeting. One of them, “A view on the ecumenical
reality” and the other, “Experience from the Oikumene’s friends”. He also
promotes the celebration of some events the Council is getting ready, as the
centenary of the celebration of the Mission Conference in Edinburgh (2010) and
the Ecumenical Solidarity Fund (this one supported by the assembly) among
others.
INTERVIEW TO
BORIS TOBAR, GUEST PROFESSOR AT THE SOCIO-THEOLOGICAL WORKSHOP OF MARTIN LUTHER
KING JR MEMORIAL CENTER
Boris Tobar, Ecuadorian,
was at SET teaching at the Socio-theological workshop under the auspices
of Martin Luther King Jr Memorial
Center. Mr Tobar is a catholic layman, graduate of Theology and Master of
Pedagogy. He spoke with us about the subject of this workshop: “The basis of the
course is to learn that our theological action is a pedagogical task, so we must
be aware of that the starting point is in people. That this first Theology is a
very narrow one and it is necessary to perform a process of keeping company in
our churches demanding as intentional action, being aware that we are
evangelizing. Our action should not be blind and it must to collectively build a
vision of God who has taken part in the humanity, of Jesus who teaches us to be
always more human and to live the experience of walking in a shared
way.
In this way, I have
approached Jesus as pedagogue and Jesus’ pedagogy. The starting point is that
Jesus knows how to read the signs of the times: none of the leaders should speak
out of life. The second point has to be with being sure of the base values we
want to share with the church. There are two negotiable values: one, the human
life is more important than the law and the culture; two, it is God who wants to
serve the human beings. He is not a narcissistic God or an egotistical one; He
is a God in the service of the Human Beings. The third point is the big question
related to the aims of Jesus’ preaching
is “to announce the
Kingdom of God in the history” The fourth point is that everybody has to have
into account the addressed people. Some people do not agree with us in this
point. The fifth point has to do with the contents. One has to be clear about
what was Jesus’ newness in his teaching, with his gestures and his words; his
practice was so meaningful that it created cultural breaking off having to be
with the focus of his methodology and this one could be the sixth point: Jesus
has endless kinds of methods; questions, parables, dialogues, he achieved the
authority and people admiration. The seventh aspect I dealt with is that all
evangelizer tasks have to do with developing a process of training. My task
consists of coming closer to Mark’ Gospel and to become aware of every training
task must have an intention. The eighth point was the management of special
resources. Jesus was a magician to become a house into an emotional meeting
place. He knew what to do in the Temple, in the streets to educate criticizers.
The ninth aspect worked in this workshop was that Jesus was aware of it was
necessary to evaluate. All this led to build a new vision of the life since He
changed paradigms and taught a new way to connect with God.
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President of the Board: P.P. Daniel Izquierdo Hernández, Th.M.
Vice-President
of the Board: Bishop Miguel Tamayo
Zaldivar
Secretary
of the Board:
P.
P. Dora Arce Valentín, Th. M
-00-
Rector:
Reinerio Arce Valentín, Th.D.
Vice-rector:
Pablo Odén Marichal. Th.M
Dean: Francisco
Marrero Gutiérrez, Th.M.
Vice-Dean:
Iván
González Tassé, Th.M.
Chaplain:
Lic Norca Iglesias Zúñiga, and Wil Arts Ph.M.
FULL
PROFESSORS
Clara
L. Ajo Lázaro, Th.D,
Theology,
Sergio Arce Martínez, Ph.D,
Theology,
Dora E. Arce Valentín, Th.M,
Biblical
Sciences, Reinerio
Arce Valentín, Th.D, Theology,
Carlos M. Camps Cruell, Ped.D.
Theology,
Alina Camps Iglesias, Lic,
Complementary
Courses,
F. René Castellanos Morente, Ph.D,
Biblical
Sciences,
Nelson A. Dávila Rodríguez, Sc.M.
Practical
Theology,
Marianela de la Paz Cot, Th.M. Practical
Theology,
Iván González Tassé, Th.M. Practical
Theology,
Adolfo Ham Reyes, Ph.D.
Philosophy
and History,
Odén Marichal Rodríguez, Th.M.
Philosophy
and History,
Francisco Marrero Gutiérrez, Th.M.
Biblical
Sciences,
Héctor Méndez Rodríguez, D.Min.
Practical
Theology,
Daniel Montoya Rosales, Th.M. Practical
Theology, Ofelia
Ortega Suárez, D.D.h.c.
Theology.
VISITING
PROFESSORS
Prof.
Ildefonso Acosta Escobar
Music,
Prof. Wil Arts, Ph.M.
Practical
Theology,
Dra. Mercedes Cárdenas Hodelins
Complementary
Courses,
Esther
Fuentes Oliva, Th.M.
Practical
Theology, Carlos
R. Molina Rodríguez, Lic. Philosophy
and History,
Sonia Montes de Oca Castellanos, Lic.
Complementary
Courses, Orestes
Roca Santana, Lic
Biblical
Sciences,
Dr. Min. Francisco Rodés González Philosophy
and History, Daylíns Rufín Pardo,
Th.M.
Biblical Sciences, Prof.
Hans Spinder Philosophy
and History,
Iraida Trujillo Lima, Lic.
Complementary
Courses.
Director:
Reinerio
Arce Valentín, Th.D.
Edition, Design
and typesetting
Elizabeth González R.,
Ing.
Writing
Rosa
Bahomonde, Sc.M.
Elizabeth
González R., Ing.
Photography:
Jesús
Martínez León
Calle
Dos de Mayo Final, Apartado 1439, Matanzas,
Cuba
(: (53-45) 24-2866
ext. 14
7: (53-45)
25-3391
http://www.cuba-theological-seminary.com/
Hinicio