Commissioners Lissette Carey and Jimmy Weekley, Mayor Teri Johnston, Rev. Steve Torrence, Vice Mayor Sam Kaufman, and Commissioners Clayton Lopez and Billy Wardlow. Commissioner Mary Lou Hoover was in attendance via Zoom.

Key West Honors Reverend Steve Torrence: A Lifetime of Service and Dedication

Mayor Teri Johnston and the Key West City Commission, during the September meeting, recognized a beloved member of the community for his contributions and commitments. Rev. Steve Torrence, who has served the community as a spiritual leader and a police officer, retired from his role as pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church.

“We recognize him as a model citizen in the City of Key West,” reads the proclamation. “We acknowledge that his giving nature is an inspiration and guide, driven by his kindness and support that has impacted so many lives in his church, our police department, and the community at large.”

Reverend Torrence arrived in Key West as a young pastor with a vision of an all-inclusive and welcoming church in July of 1985. At that time, the Metropolitan Community Church of Key West was meeting at the Key West Women’s Club. Under Pastor Torrence’s leadership the church purchased the property in current location on Petronia Street.

Pastor Torrence and his congregation serve the community well with a food pantry and the Cooking with Love program that feeds the needy, the elderly, and the infirmed.

Rev. Torrence has secured donors to assist with rental assistance, utilities, medication and several other basic human needs.

He came to Key West in 1985 and immediately volunteered with the Key West Police Department as a reserve officer. He was sworn in as a full-time officer in 1999 and retired in 2019. He also served as the department’s chaplain and continues to do so today.

“It’s been an extraordinary journey of 38 years of pastoral ministry,” said Rev. Torrence. “This city has been my sanctuary among a backdrop of countless emergencies and challenges, from the AIDS epidemic to the devastation of hurricanes. Throughout, my mission has been to be a voice of those marginalized, those overlooked, those whose voices were drowned in the cacophony of larger narratives. I wanted to ensure in our quest for progress that no one was left behind.”

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