Sister Barbara Sheehan receives Distinguished Service Award

Sister Barbara Sheehan with Urban CPE Consortium, Inc., Board President Matt Smucker. In the background to the right is Sister Barbara’s brother, Tom Sheehan.

Recognizing her outstanding service, The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) the North Central Region, recently honored Sister of Providence Sister Barbara Sheehan with its Distinguished Service Award.
Sister Barbara received the award on Oct. 20.

The Rev. Gary Sartain, ACPE North Central Regional Director, said the annual award is given to a “deserving recipient chosen by our regional board of directors.”

“The award was established as a way to recognize contributions of members on a variety of criteria, including long-term service, outstanding service, innovative program practice or development, leadership and recognition for contributions to related organizations,” Rev. Sartain said. He added that Sister Barbara was very deserving of the award.

Sister Barbara was recognized for being an innovator, a person of social justice, calling others and ACPE to greater awareness, a spiritually oriented woman, a prophet, a risk-taker, a woman of integrity and a leader.
Sister Barbara ministers as the executive director of Urban Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Consortium, Inc., Chicago.

“Our dual mission is compassionate care and advocacy with the most vulnerable and the formation of persons in the art of urban pastoral care,” she said.

Sister Barbara said the CPE Consortium was created in 2005 under her leadership with many theological educators and social agencies serving the poor.

The agency’s goals are personal, relational and institutional transformation for people facing poverty, violence, addictions, homelessness, grief and loss.

“In this ministry, I am an experiential theological educator of persons of all faith/spiritual traditions,” she said. “I journey with them as they reflect on their actions, attitudes, assumptions, gifts and development needs in caring among the marginalized and oppressed.

“This journey includes individual clinical supervision, peer/group supervision, direct teaching and hours of practice at one of our member social agencies.”

“She has a legacy of students who have valued their experience with her,” Rev. Sartain said. “And she is a strong, committed, vital and prophetic voice in the Church as a dedicated Sister of Providence.”

In 2003, Sister Barbara also received the Anna E. and William F. Madges Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Church and Society from Xavier University for the ministry.

In an official statement, North Central Regional ACPE said they were “grateful for all Sister Barbara has given, is giving and will give in the future.”

While she was officially recognized on Oct. 20, Sister Barbara will also be recognized on Thursday, March 19, 2015, at the Urban CPE Benefit, which will take place at St. Paul’s House, Chicago.