St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School

Sister parish to St. John, Bacuranao, Cuba

For roughly 20 years - almost as long as there has been a companion relationship between our Diocese and the Diocese of Cuba - St. Michael's has had a Cuban companion parish.  It is San Juan Evangelista, located in Bacuranao, a small town in the Greater Havana area.  It is a relatively small congregation and like St. Michael's shares a priest with another congregation, in its case Santa Cruz del Norte, whose partner is our own neighbor St. Joseph's.

One of San Juan Evangelista's most stalwart members, Jose Roul Ortiz, who has also been an official of the Cuban diocese and has helped the church in Bacuranao survive some difficult times, has been a visitor to Gainesville.  And about six years age, Susan Halberd was in a group of Florida Episcopalians visiting Cuba.  But in recent years, unfortunately, there has been little direct contact between our congregations.  We do regularly remember San Juan Evangelista in our prayers of the people, and you can be sure that they have been praying for us (and probably posting pictures of St. Michael's as well), but for some time there has not been direct personal contact in either direction.  This is unfortunate, because the main purpose of the companion relationship is to help Florida and Cuban Episcopalians to know each other and to support each other through visits when possible, by exchange of correspondence and small gifts, and of course by keeping each other in our prayers.  Our Junior Warden, David Bushnell , hopes to tighten our relationship with our companion parish once again by visiting Cuba at sometime next month.  When he has a firm date it will be announced in the bulletin, and he will hope to collect cards, letters, pictures, and odds and ends from as many of us as possible to take with him to our fellow Episcopalians.  Let's throw as much support behind David as possible with our prayers, letters and picture when he gives us the "GREEN LIGHT".

Millennium Development Goals (.07% of our budget goes towards helping those in impoverished areas in the world)

Gainesville Community Ministries

Fire of God Ministries

                                                  Groups That Meet at St. Michael's

Al-Anon

University Stamp Club

Housed at St. Michael's

Gainesville Conductive Education Academy