In the garden, Jesus prayed “that they may all be one” (John 17:21a). Since that time, the Christian world has experienced many moments of division and unity. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, churches and leaders from diverse backgrounds are fulfilling Christ’s call to unity while offering the gift of life beyond the virus.
“This has God’s hand all over it,” said Ericka Gómez-Tejeda, a community organizer with Hablamos Español who is helping spearhead efforts for church-sponsored vaccinations. In six weeks’ time, she and fellow Episcopalian Carmen Torres carved every possible path for community impact. Following the lead of The Rev. José Rodriguez, who had already led an effort leading to the vaccination of more than 2,000 people at Jesús de Nazaret, the two brought together 100 volunteers who served and more than 3,050 people who received vaccinations.
As the volunteers canvassed the communities, they found their work intensifying due to increasing vaccination opportunities. In the beginning, the drop-off rate between signing up and showing up was around 5%. Presently, it’s 35-40% because of the variety of vaccination locations popping up around Orlando. To reach a minimum vaccination drive goal of 600, the group must sign up at least 1,000 people.
“I’m getting about 100 text messages every two hours,” Gómez-Tejeda said. “Some days, we get 300 people who sign up, and it starts with churches, with their own institutions.”
Diocesan churches include St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, Iglesia Episcopal Jesús de Nazaret and Blessed Redeemer in addition to other churches such as Tabernaculo De La Fe Orlando, Buena Vista Seventh-Day Adventist, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Washington Shores Presbyterian Church, Christ International Church and more.
In such a wide-ranging group, the unity the leaders are seeing is remarkable.
“Eighty percent of the people on this list didn’t know each other five weeks ago,” Gómez-Tejeda said. “I’ve been organizing for 30 years in the community, politically and as a social justice worker for 28 years, and I’ve never seen this type of bringing people together this quickly. I would have never been able to mobilize 5,000 people in five weeks.”
As new faith leaders join the process, they bring their members along. Some had expressed initial concern about certain brands of vaccines, such as Johnson & Johnson. But as more and more take a vaccine and share information with others, fears are alleviated.
“It’s really been like a very conscious flow of base-building together,” Gómez-Tejeda said. “Obviously, the people trust the local church leaders and community leaders that they’re not being misled or led astray. So many people are watching over that process.”
Beyond these events, Gómez-Tejeda sees a bigger picture forming of closer community relations for organizations that may have lacked a connection before.
“The faith community has really stepped up in a big way,” she said. “A lot of the parishes involved have never dealt with public officials before. Now they can build on those relationships. That’s one of the long-term improvements beyond this: a stable community that’s united.”
Another takeaway is that organizations such as Hablamos Español are now taking opportunities to offer free legal advice and even health insurance options to those who come for the vaccines. It’s all part of connecting people to larger networks put in place to help those in the community, in this case, the more marginalized sectors such as the Hispanic and Black populations. “It’s really reenergized the Asian, Latino and Black communities,” Gómez-Tejeda said.
She added that what she sees from those who are being vaccinated is “Joy and relief, absolute joy and relief. People understand that they’re getting their lives back, literally.”
The vaccinations affect the physical bodies of those who receive them, but the overseeing community leaders can’t help but be inspired by the spiritual connotations as well.
“We are going from dark into the light in a very beautiful way,” Gómez-Tejeda said. “It’s been one of the holiest experiences I’ve ever had.”