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

Clergy Mental Health Collaborative

Formed in the Fall of 2017, CMHC 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

John S. Walker, MDiv, PhD, (Facilitator) Associate Professor, URMC Psychiatry, Faith Christian Center

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

Rev. James H. Evans Jr. PhD, LITT.D. Bishop,
St. Luke Tabernacle Community Church

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

Zena Shuber
URMC Psychiatry, Director of Community Relations

Amanda Lai,
URMC Psychiatry, Communications Specialist

Phyllis Jackson, RN,
Common Ground Health

Patricia Cathey,
Common Ground Health

Myra Mathis, MD,
Associate Professor, URMC Psychiatry

On May 1st, 2021, the collaborative held a virtual panel focusing on suicide prevention in the Black, Hispanic and wider community. Presentation Resources View PDF

The panel featured local speakers:
April Aycock, EdD, Director, Monroe County Office of Mental Health
Eric Caine, MD, Professor Emeritus, University of Rochester Medical Center
Minister Earl Greene, MA, Director of Family Engagement and Equity, Children’s Institute
Rudy Rivera, Executive Director, Fr. Laurence Tracy Advocacy Center
Melanie Funchess, President, Ubuntu Village Works, LLC.

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

Speakers:
Myra Mathis, MD
Rev. John Walker, PhD
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.