In Havana, a Pentecostal pastor and 60 members of his church have been holed up for more than three weeks under the watchful eye of police. The purpose: to conduct a religious retreat.

Cuba’s government said that members of the Assembly of God Pentecostal Church are not there against their will, but added that police surrounded the church in order to prevent any incidents after family members expressed worries about loved ones on the inside, including four pregnant women and 19 minors.

William Herrera, the son and spokesman for Pastor Braulio Herrera, said the group has been holding a retreat since Aug. 21 to pray for the country: “God told us to pray morning, noon, and night. We want a new Cuba free of sin, but this should not be misinterpreted, we do not have anything to do with politics.”

A medical team entered to verify that the worshippers were in good health and warned the pregnant women a prolonged stay would be dangerous. Authorities also expressed concern that the children were missing the beginning of the school year.

A government note published in September in state media said officials were trying to resolve the situation, and that authorities had no involvement in its root cause.

Yoani Sánchez, a reporter in Havana wrote, “Between one thing and another, certain ‘locals,’ with all the hallmarks of plainclothes police, throw out apocalyptic rumors to sway public opinion against the pastor.”

William Herrera dismissed media rumors that the church was anticipating the end of the world, predicting a catastrophic tsunami, or pressing for political change on the Communist-run Island. “Those people have bad intentions and are trying to ruin this moment,” he said.

Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many clergy were expelled and religious schools closed under an officially atheist state. National Public Radio reports, “At the height of Cuba’s militant atheism in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, religious believers were fired from their jobs and sent to labor camps for ‘re-education.’”

Now, Cuba’s evangelical Christian population is growing. Rev. Marcial Hernandez, president of Cuba’s Council of Churches, confirmed that out of a population of 11 million, there are more than 800,000 evangelicals in the country.

@Copyright 2011 WORLD Magazine – Used with permission