Nashville's Glendale Baptist among churches with politically dangerous Cuban sisterhood

People's Weekly World reports in this article, and the Associated Baptist Press reports in this article, that the federal government is cracking down on religious groups with ties to Cuba at the same time it allows travel there. Glendale Baptist Church of Nashville is mentioned in one of the articles.

"In a related development, in Birmingham, Ala., members of the Baptist Church of the Covenant and several other churches recently hoped to build a sister-church relationship with the Baptist Church of Boca de Muriel in Cuba, having sent a delegation to Cuba in 2005. Instead they were slapped with a $34,000 fine from the U.S. Department of the Treasury."

"The Treasury Department claims that the church delegation violated a U.S. ban on tourism to Cuba."

"The Church of the Covenant is part of the Alliance of Baptists, a moderate group representing 117 congregations that broke with the Southern Baptist Convention in the late ’80s when it elected ultra-conservative leaders. Alliance Executive Director Stan Hastey said the group will appeal the fine, which is about 10 percent of its annual budget."

"Other congregations involved in the Cuban sister-church project are the First Baptist Churches of Washington, D.C., Savannah, Ga., Greenville, S.C.; and the Glendale Baptist Church of Nashville."

Glendale Baptist has Cuba news on the missions page of its web site.

Focus: Faith, Justice