Your prayers and presence are requested at the Institution of the Rev. Pedro Cuevas as the Fifth Rector of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Jackson Heights, NY. The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island, Presiding.
Following the installation, there will be a reception to share in fellowship and extend warm congratulations.
Saint Mark’s invites all to join this significant event, embracing the future with hope and anticipation. The presence of guests will add to the joy of this celebration and affirm a shared commitment to the life and mission of the parish.
Clergy are invited to vest: Cassock, Surplice, and White Stole.
RSVP for the reception by Monday, October 21: stmarksjh@gmail.com.
About the Rev. Pedro Cuevas
With a serene character and a moderate profile, Pedro Cuevas is the youngest of six brothers born in the Dominican Republic. His professional journey began as a lawyer, a role where he fervently advocated for human rights in his country. This early career path laid the groundwork for his later dedication to various nonprofit and interfaith groups, where he continued to champion fundamental rights and support grassroots communities and culture. For a significant period, he served as a staff attorney to the Dominican Center for Legal Advice and Investigations (CEDAIL), an organ of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Dominican Episcopal Conference (CED) of the Roman Catholic Church.
During his legal career, Pedro pursued courses on human rights in Santo Domingo and at the Inter-American Human Rights Institute in San José, Costa Rica. He further broadened his understanding of international human rights through education at John Abbott College in Montreal, Canada. In the summer of 2007, Pedro Cuevas attended the Human Rights Clinics of Columbia University in New York to immerse himself in the work and commitment of the student class regarding the issue of human rights at local and international levels. This experience led to the creation of specific critical discussions, commitments, and alternatives from the civic and citizen point of view, highlighting the importance of educational institutions and governments in the struggle against systematic violations of fundamental rights.
He accompanied and documented cases of migration and forced deportation processes, attended training, and has been involved in the topic of human rights, deportation, justice, transparency, insular solidarity, and immigration through such institutions as GARR, Solidaridad Fronteriza, Servicio Jesuita a Refugiados y Migrantes (SJRM), Centro Bonó, Flacso-RD, CEJIL, Fondasyon Zile, and others. For many years, as a lawyer, he was responsible for legal and immigration affairs at the Consulate of Haiti in Barahona, Dominican Republic. He also served as a lawyer and supervisor for human rights and labor law for migrant workers in the sugar cane fields, sponsored by St. Martin de Porres Catholic Parish. Currently, the Rev. Pedro Cuevas is the Thematic Specialist for the Dominican Republic of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), advocating for social justice and human rights in general.
In 2014, he completed his theological studies in Mexico, and was ordained an Episcopal priest at the Cathedral of San Pablo Apóstol in Guadalajara. That same year, he also joined the teaching staff of Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana in Baja California, Mexico (part of the network of Jesuit universities). He also holds a Master’s degree in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Cuevas’s commitment to community service is evident in his extensive involvement with various organizations. Within the framework of their ecclesial work on the border between Mexico and the United States, Pedro Cuevas collaborated with local and foreign institutions (migrant shelters and interfaith groups) to accompany and support deported Mexican migrants in the process of influential and integral social reinsertion into their country of origin, including single mothers and children, along the border. His efforts also led to the creation of the sister relationship between the Diocese of Western Mexico and the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, a testament to his ability to foster connections.
While in the Diocese of the Rio Grande in New Mexico, Fr. Pedro was a member of the Episcopal Network for Economic Justice, served on the Board of the Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe, and participated in an interfaith group in Santa Fe. His diverse community service reflects his commitment to social justice and human rights. He has also served churches in Baja California (Mexico), New Mexico, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. After being appointed Priest-in-Charge in December 2022, the Rev. Pedro Cuevas was called the fifth Rector to St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Jackson Heights in January 2024. His work has been instrumental in supporting the sustained growth of the Hispanic community and fostering multicultural relationships in the communities and dioceses he served.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Pedro bolstered an outreach program, spearheading the creation of a weekly food sub-program in Northern Virginia. This program helps provide food to individuals in churches and communities near the Washington metro area. His swift action to raise funds for the newly unemployed enabled many Hispanic families to pay their rent arrears.
Pedro's interests include a profound passion for liturgy and preaching, which he believes is the most effective means of communicating the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ: love, reconciliation, forgiveness, and the kingdom of God. In his leisure time, he immerses himself in a wide range of subjects, from sociology and history to psychology, spirituality, theology, and homiletics. He also enjoys the simple pleasures of life, such as exploring the city, shopping, traveling, and dining out with his family.