Care Is Always First
Kelly Herron is executive director of St.
Frances Cabrini Clinic of Most Holy
Trinity Church in Detroit. She earned
her Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies
from Sacred Heart in 2003. Kelly lives
in Lake Orion with her husband, Tom,
and their five children. Some of their
time is spent raising Mason bees for
their apple orchard up north.
Alumni Advancing the New Evangelization
INTO THE VINEYARD
ost journeys that people choose begin with a clear
plan. A person selects a destination and, nowadays, looks at their GPS to check the route.
and serving. The people come for compassionate care for their mind, body, and soul;
the students come to learn about medicine in
a poor, inner-city clinic; the volunteer health
care professionals come to serve people who
are marginalized and in need. The foundation of care at Cabrini is rooted in Catholic
social teaching, the foundational teaching
that I first learned at Sacred Heart. Every person who comes through the door becomes
family. For some, we are all they have.
Every person is cared about first, and then
we figure out the rest. Compassion before
tasks. I remember this every day: Care first;
the privilege of relationship is a gift from
God. Of course, I didn’t think that up on
my own. It is all rooted in Scripture, especially Matthew 25 and Matthew 11:30: service,
care, and sharing burdens.
In between St. Columban and now, I
have learned much and, hopefully, grown a
lot. It has been quite a journey, one in which
Sacred Heart was a big contributor.
I’m so appreciative I was open to letting
God make the plan for my life, instead of me
making the plan.
M
That is not the case when the journey is
God’s choice. God has a myriad of ways to
say, “Just start. No need for GPS. Discern
the steps as you go. I’ll guide you.”
In 1998, as a mom of toddlers, the last
thing I thought of was going to seminary.
However, I was asking the question, “How
can I help?” I was living in Pontiac and
had recently become involved with the
Cursillo movement. I told myself, “There
has to be something I can do to help the
Church, help Christians, and help people
living in poverty.”
The answer came in an invitation to formation. I began studying at Sacred Heart
in 1999. It was quite an adventure; one of
a kind and very rich for my spiritual and academic formation. I graduated with an MA
degree in pastoral studies and began work at
St. Columban Parish in Birmingham. How-
ever, I was on a journey with no clear plan.
Where was I headed? What path would
it take? What would I learn along the way?
Thankfully, God’s grace is enough. I
suspended my need to know and relied on
God to guide my steps. I let God speak to
me through others, prayer, and my daily
life—even through my growing kids. I didn’t
just pray and read. I prayed with others and
read the best books on God and service. My
seminary formation had prepared me well
for discernment, community, and service.
Today, I am executive director of St.
Frances Cabrini Clinic of Most Holy Trinity
Church in the Corktown neighborhood of
Detroit. It is the oldest free clinic in the
country, started by Fr. Clement Kern in
1950 to serve immigrants, orphans, and
people living in poverty.
At Cabrini, we focus on caring, learning,
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