URMC / Psychiatry / Culture / Community Engagement / Clergy Mental Health Collaborative

Clergy Mental Health Collaborative

The Clergy Mental Health Collaborative (CMHC), formed in the Fall of 2017, meets monthly at various sites to have lunch and plan community participation events. A collaborative team of clergy members from diverse faith communities in the Rochester community working together to address issues critical to the community, particularly regarding the overall health of the poor community, especially mental health. Public events to raise awareness and provide resources have been their focus.

Clergy Mental Health Collaborative Members

Minister Earl Green, MA, Children’s Institute
(The North Street Church of Christ)

Pastor Linda Strickland-Wyatt,
Church of Life Ministries

Rev. Dr. Richard Douglass, Pastor,
Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. J. Esther Rowe, Minister,
Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church

Deacon Relton Roland,
Christian Friendship Missionary Baptist Church

Minister Kenneth Muhammad

Pastor Keith Patterson,
The Episcopal Church of St. Luke’s/St. Simons Cyrene

Amanda Lai,
URMC Psychiatry, Communications Specialist

Phyllis Jackson, RN,
Common Ground Health

Patricia Cathey,
Common Ground Health

Myra Mathis, MD,
Associate Professor, URMC Psychiatry

Tribute to Rev. Dr. John S. Walker and his words on Black Classical Music and Mental Health

A beloved member of the Department of Psychiatry, CMHC, US Army Veteran, champion of social justice and equitable health care passed away on December 28, 2022.

Suicide prevention in the Black, Hispanic and wider community

The panel featured local speakers: April Aycock, EdD, Eric Caine, MD, Minister Earl Greene, MA, Rudy Rivera, and Melanie Funchess.

View Mental Health Resources

The Intersections Between the Civil Rights Movement, the Faith Community, and Mental Health (Part I & II)

Speakers: Myra Mathis, MD, Rev. John Walker, PhD and Rev. James H. Evans, Jr. PhD. LittD, Bishop

Past Events

A health event was held in 2018 at one of the participating churches.
A panel discussion on African American protest literature featuring the writings of Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison was held on October 3, 2019. The panel brought to light aspects of each writer’s views on mental health.