COLLABORATION FOR MINISTRY INITIATIVE
The Collaboration for Ministry Initiative (CMI) seeks to develop collaborations among women religious and between them and their lay “co-ministers” that advance their mission of serving the people of God. CMI engages in convening, research, and grants for planning and implementation of collaborative projects to address a community need. With education and communications, CMI also seeks to build awareness of the work, contributions, and challenges of women religious in ministry.
CMI grew from Foundation-supported research in 2001 that identified challenges to ministry from the aging of Sisters and limited resources of congregations to support ministries. That research identified collaboration as a way to strengthen existing ministries and even develop new ways for Sisters to respond to unmet community needs.
The Foundation’s most recent research on women religious in the Cleveland area is found in the report: Women Religious in a Changing Urban Landscape: The Work of Catholic Sisters in Metropolitan Cleveland by Rob Fischer, Ph.D. and Jenni Bartholomew of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. This research involved a survey of close to 300 Sisters in ministry in Cuyahoga County, with particular attention paid to the impact of the reconfiguration of parishes in Cleveland.
"The quiet heroes in many poor neighborhoods are Catholic nuns, who work long hours and at a fraction of the wages of their lay counterparts," the survey reported. Sisters serving in Cuyahoga County play a vital role in education and social services in Northeast Ohio's poorest urban areas. Over the decades, sisters have founded dozens of local social service agencies, schools, hospitals and other organizations.
The Collaboration for Ministry Initiative also partners with its parallel initiative at the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, which connects and supports women religious across the state of South Carolina.
Models of Collaboration
Several collaborative ministries are now operating in Northeast Ohio. Here are a few that were spotlighted by the Conference of Religious Leaders:
Beatitude House ― Humility of Mary Housing, Inc.
Beatitude House, a ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, provides community housing and supportive services for disadvantaged women and children in he Youngstown area. Humility of Mary Housing provides transitional housing for families, including case management, youth advocacy, and emergency assistance, in Youngstown and nearby Girard, OH.
Together, these ministries of 2 congregations have collaborated to strengthen programming and improve operations in sites across Mahoning and Trumbull counties. These efficiencies are essential to improving the lives of women and their children in need of housing and support in a particularly challenged economic environment.
Light of Hearts Villa ― co-sponsored by the Sisters of Charity Health System & the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati
This high-quality, faith-inspired residence for independent and assisted living in Bedford, OH emerged from the missions of both the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. In 2004, Light of Hearts added a Community Services Program for seniors in the surrounding community. Since that time the facility has served more than 600 clients with social services, including transportation arrangements, food, and referrals to other community services through its Seton Safety Net program.
Regina Health Center ― the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine
Regina Health Center was established in 1993 through a renovation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine motherhouse. Designed to address the increasing need of aging religious for extended nursing care, the facility provides a full range of geriatric services in a faith-centered atmosphere to retired members of 14 congregations of women religious in addition to diocesan clergy and laity.