The World Communion of Reformed Churches calls its member churches and partners to prayerful solidarity with the people of Cuba, who continue to endure profound economic hardship. Decades-long sanctions, intensified by additional measures imposed by the United States, have severely restricted access to food, medicine, fuel, and essential resources. These policies disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and deepen suffering rather than contributing to peace, justice, or human dignity.

As a global communion committed to justice, truth, and the flourishing of all people, we recognize that the realities facing Cuba cannot be separated from histories of colonialism, racism, and unequal power that continue to shape international relations today. Faithful discipleship calls us not only to pray, but to speak truthfully about the roots of injustice.

A Prayer for Cuba

God of life,

God who hears the cry of the poor and the groaning of creation,

we lift before you the people of Cuba in this time of deep hardship.

You know the weight carried by ordinary families—
facing anxious times.

You see how sanctions and political decisions, made far from kitchen tables and hospital wards,
fall most heavily on those with the least power.

Merciful God,

we lament policies that punish the vulnerable in the name of justice,
and systems that harden hearts rather than heal wounds.

Forgive us where indifference has replaced compassion,
and where ideology has silenced our response to human suffering.

We pray for daily bread, our daily bread, food for everyone,
for medicine where there is illness,
for hope where there is despair,
for dignity where people feel forgotten.

Strengthen churches and communities in Cuba
as signs of hope, resilience, and mutual care.

Give courage to churches in the US to speak truth,
and wisdom to those who govern,
and persistence to all who work for peace rooted in justice.

God of liberation,

who led your people out of bondage
and whose Son proclaimed good news to the poor,

break open pathways of dialogue, solidarity, and reconciliation.

May walls—economic, political, and spiritual—may walls be reconfigured to build a way to bridges.

Keep us restless until justice flows like a river,
and faithful in prayer until mercy prevails.

We ask this in the name of Christ,
who stands with all who suffer
and calls us to love beyond borders.

Amen.