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Support and Education
- Annual Mass for persons with Mental Illness, their families, friends, and mental healthcare workers
- Regional Masses (Held periodically throughout the archdiocese with parish sponsorship)
- Workshops -- Educational workshops for clergy and lay persons
- DVD called "Welcomed and Valued" with first person accounts of how faith
and church have been important to people with mental illness, their families, and professionals. We have speakers who
lead the discussion of this excellent DVD
Speakers who will address parish groups/organizations
- Connie Rakitan has a Bachelor of Science degree in education (Western Illinois University, Macomb, 1973) and a Masters Degree in
Pastoral Studies (Loyola University, Chicago, 1990) specializing in faith formation with persons with cognitive and psychiatric disabilities.
In 1979, Mrs. Rakitan founded and is author of the content for sessions of Faith and Fellowship. Mrs. Rakitan serves as co-chair for the Chicago
Archdiocesan Commission on Mental Illness, and is a founding member and co-chair of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Council on Mental Illness.
She has given workshops and presentations for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, the
Archdiocese of Chicago, and for church groups and agencies across the country. Her articles and poetry have appeared in New Theology Review, the National Catholic Reporter, and the on-line NCPD MI Network News, among others.
Connie may be contacted at cmr1551@comcast.net or 708-383-9276
- Deacon Tom Lambert - Tom's oldest daughter has a mental illness. In 1983 ordained a
Deacon for the Archdiocese of Chicago, currently on staff at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish in Chicago. Serves as co-chair of the National Catholic Partnership
on Disability’s Council on Mental Illness. Founding member (1990) and current co-chair of the Archdiocesan Commission for Mental Illness and
President of Faith and Fellowship, Oak Park, Ill, a Faith based outreach program for people with a mental illness; board member Pathways To Promise, an
interfaith resource for out reach to people with mental illness and their families, and advisory board member for NAMI Faithnet. In 2000, Tom completed
serving 10 years on the Board of Directors for the State of Illinois’ National Alliance on Mental Illness including a 2 year term as President.
Leads workshops educating clergy, religious and laity about mental illness and retreats and days of reflection for people with mental illness and their families.
Editor of NCPD’s MI Network News; wrote the booklet “Mental Illness and Faith Community Outreach” and spoken nationally about how
Faith Communities can get involved in outreach, advocacy, and justice issues. Tom can be reached at olmcinfo2@aol.com or 773-525-0453 x21
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The following resources can be downloaded in a PDF format
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