Two diocesan leaders were honored by the city of Orlando on Feb. 28, 2023, the end of Black History Month and just prior to Women’s History Month. The Rev. Maytée de la Torre, associate rector, Christ the King, and assistant vicar, Jesús de Nazaret, both in Orlando; and Mrs. Monique Myers, member of the Standing Committee and community outreach manager for St. John the Baptist, Orlando, where her husband serves as rector, were among five women named in a proclamation signed by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 2 Commissioner Tony Ortiz for their extensive ministries in service of the vulnerable.

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The Rev. Maytée de la Torre

“This award was a surprise,” said de la Torre. “I did not expect to be recognized among women who have been making a difference for so many years here in Florida. The Coalition of 100 Black Women is a much-respected group. As a part of them, I reaffirm my commitment to all people. I felt that we were all receiving the award, not just me but all the immigrant women who, like me, give their lives to their vocation of service.”

The proclamation said de la Torre has “dedicated her life to teaching, equipping and uplifting vulnerable persons in Cuba, the Amazon and now Florida, focusing on the needs of women at home and in the marketplace,” and de la Torre affirmed that her ministry began in her native Cuba where, as a single mother, she began a Sunday school at her home church.

“There, I dedicated myself to doing work with young mothers, who, like me, needed help in raising their children,” she said. That was the start of a ministry that expanded to starting another Sunday school; attending seminary at the request of the bishop of Cuba; obtaining a master’s degree in Brazil and remaining there to work, primarily with women, as a rector in the Missionary District of the Amazon. 

After coming to Florida in 2017 for the birth of a grandchild, de la Torre discovered the congregations of Christ the King and Jesús de Nazaret. “When I finally came to live here in 2019, they welcomed me, and Rev. José [Rodríguez, rector, Christ the King and vicar, Jesús de Nazaret] from Day 1, opened the door for me to develop all my ministries,” she said.

Mother Maytée de la Torre speaks at the event honoring her and other community leaders. | Photo Credit John-Franco Gamboa Vargas

And if anything, those ministries are more extensive in Central Florida than they were in Cuba and Brazil. She participated in Leadership with Purpose, organized by her two churches to train and work with other organizations to help, empower and meet the needs of members of the Puerto Rican community who arrived in the area after Hurricane Maria. She takes an active role in the churches’ Healing Hunger Food Pantry, which distributes food to more than 200 families (at least 800 people) a month. She organized a women’s retreat through Jesús de Nazaret covering areas such as self-esteem, women’s health, entrepreneurship and more. Once a year, she holds a community baby shower for Latin immigrants from various countries, “anyone who has a need for their time of delivery,” she said. 

De la Torre has continued her ministry to her fellow Cuban nationals, organizing vigils for those repressed and imprisoned there and participating in civil demonstrations addressing their needs. She also took part in community health worker training offered by the Central Florida Black Nurses Association of Orlando in 2022; leads a weekly Bible study for residents of Magnolia Towers; and celebrates weddings and baptisms for Brazilian people as requested while maintaining an active social media presence, with messages and prayers in both Spanish and Portuguese. 

“My vision for this community is to create a space for spiritual growth and training in handicrafts for women and victims of violence, and that the elderly can collaborate in this venture,” she said. “My biggest dream is to have a shelter for victims of domestic violence.”

De la Torre remains grateful to God and to Rodríguez. “I thank God for the opportunities he has given me, and I thank Father José for lending me his pulpit and letting me be part of his ministry,” she said. (To read a previous story on vaccine events held at Jesús de Nazaret, click here.)

Mrs. Monique Myers

Myers also expressed gratitude for the award and for her ministry partners. “It really means a lot to me to be acknowledged in that way,” she said. “Glory to God, and thanks to all of the people who are involved in our ministry, all of the people at St. John’s who support our ministry, to my husband and the work that he does, and to our community partners, 100 Black Women, Central Florida.”   

The proclamation said Myers “has worked diligently in developing and opening a food pantry that fed not only the residents of Washington Shores but many of our hospitality workers during the COVID emergency, and also worked in supporting public health programs and vaccinations protecting the lives of thousands.”

Mrs. Monique Myers speaks at the ceremony where she and four others were honored for their community service. | Photo Credit John-Franco Gamboa Vargas

She was quick to point out, however, that she did not open St. John the Baptist’s food pantry, which has been active for more than 20 years. “I was just able to come in and help to expand what the pantry had been doing,” particularly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

“We were partnering with Unite Here! and helping to get food delivered to a lot of the laid-off or furloughed airport workers and Disney workers,” Myers said, noting that they served hundreds of families every week with a drive-by food pantry and delivery service. 

Even during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, church members who couldn’t be there in person found ways to help, such as driving to the church to drop off food, having Amazon deliver food to the church or donating funds. “They were still partners of the church and supporters of the ministry,” she said.

By now, most of the laid-off workers have their jobs back, Myers said. But that hasn’t reduced the church’s impetus to serve. “We still have a commitment to give out food on a weekly basis; we do that at the food pantry every week, and we have a few people that we will still drive and deliver to,” she said.

God used the food pantry ministry to help bring people out for the church-sponsored vaccine events. Despite an initial mistrust of vaccines, when St. John the Baptist offered the events, “They signed up; they came; they got vaccinated,” she said. “People trusted St. John’s and our legacy, our commitment to the community over the years.”

Myers also values her church’s partnership with the churches de la Torre serves, which minister to people with similar needs. “We’ve kind of become partners in that respect,” she said. 

That partnership is captured in questions such as “How can we help one another? How can we have a team that we can bring in from each of our churches when there’s that need?” she explained. Other churches that have partnered with theirs for various outreach ministries include St. John’s, Kissimmee; Blessed Redeemer, Palm Bay; Our Saviour, Palm Bay; and St. Mary of the Angels, Orlando. The latter is located in a neighborhood that doesn’t need a food pantry, but members collect food that they donate to St. John the Baptist and also prepare bountiful Thanksgiving baskets for those served by the food pantry each year.

And St. John the Baptist’s community ministries continue, Myers said. From April 29-May 20, the church will offer a free Basic Community Emergency Response Team class every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. The CERT program educates people about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. A four-week commitment is required; register at OFDCommunityEngagement@Orlando.gov.

“It’s nice to remember all of the things that we did,” Myers said about the recent award, again pointing away from herself and to her fellow volunteers. “We do this because we have a desire and a passion to help people, to share the love of God with people and to serve people and the needs they have. We want to be a voice for the community, a resource for the community.” 

St. John the Baptist does not want to let its legacy of community activism die, she said. “We want to stand on the shoulders of Father Pinder [the late Rev. Canon Dr. Nelson W. Pinder] and the community leaders of our church who have had this awesome foundation and say, ‘What can we continue to do? And how can we make it better?’”

Myers also has a word of advice for churches who have a desire for community outreach but no current ministry: “Start small. Do what you can with the resources that you have, even if it’s little, and just take the temperature of the community that you’re in.”

L-R, Mother Maytée de la Torre, Father José Rodríguez, Father Charles Myers holding Moses Myers, and Mrs. Monique Myers share their joy. | Photo Credit John-Franco Gamboa Vargas