In Havana, Beatriz Casal is pastor of the Shemá Baptist Church, a congregation that meets in Casal's walk-up apartment on San Bernadino Street. She moved to this location from another part of Havana because it was closer to where most of the church members live.

With 35 baptized members, Shemá focuses its ministry in three areas: liturgy and Christian education, community ministries, and ecology projects.

A pastor since 1994, Casal is a creative minister who finds inspiration and sermon illustrations in non-traditional places. A fan of Charlie Chaplin, she has used his speeches and movies as topics for discussion in her sermons and Christian education classes.