If you ever find yourself in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, it won’t be long before you encounter Rev. Dr. Shanon Sterringer. With two Masters degrees, a PhD, a DMin, and over 25 years of ministry experience under her belt, Rev. Shanon is a ministerial force in the community. For the past five years, Rev. Shanon has been living into the call of her vocation: founder and pastor of the Community of St. Hildegard, an independent Catholic community based in the holistic charism of Doctor of the Church Hildegard of Bingen. 

Rev. Shanon never intended to start a church. But after twenty-two years of ministry at a parish in a local diocese, she continued to feel a nudge to participate in ordained ministry. “My heart was on fire,” recalls Rev. Shanon. “I knew I had a call to ministry, I was just trying to figure out how to function with integrity.” While Rev. Shanon was pursuing her Ph.D. it just so happened that the church building of a local Byzantine Catholic Church in her neighborhood went up on the market. With the vision of creating a retreat and community center in the charism of St. Hildegard, Rev. Shanon called her husband. “You could hear a pin drop,” she laughs. But they ended up putting a bid on the building. Rev. Shanon’s future ministry was falling into place right before her eyes– she just couldn’t see it yet.  

After much discernment and prayer, and many more pushes from the Holy Spirit, Rev. Shanon made the big decision to pursue ordination in the Roman Catholic Women Priests. Knowing this meant some ties would be severed in her personal and professional life, this was not a decision that she made lightly.  “You can run from the call. You can put all these other things in place. Justify it, say I’m going to do this good work. But if it’s where God’s calling you and it’s an authentic call, you’re going to end up in Nineveh preaching to the Ninevites,” laughs Rev. Shanon. “I mean that’s just how it goes.” 

Though pursuing ordained ministry was in the cards for Rev. Shanon, it is clear to her that her calling has never been to leave the Roman Catholic Church. So when the Community of St. Hildegard began forming shortly after Rev. Shanon became ordained, it was important for it to remain rooted in Catholic tradition.  “There was never an intention of ‘we want to break away.’ It was more just that the Spirit– opening ourselves up to what was unfolding more so than us directing it.” 

Five years later, the Community of St. Hildegard is an in-person and online hybrid community that meets for Liturgy on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. With about 75 members online and 30 in-person, the community is spread out all over the country. But the online Liturgy has not been a barrier to community-building, Rev. Shanon reflects. “I remember being on zoom and engaging the social [after Liturgy] and talking to everybody, and when I signed off it was this overwhelming feeling that we had been in person. And in that moment I thought we formed as a community– this is the community of St. Hildegard.”

“the biggest grace is seeing the fruits of having created a space where people can be Catholic in a new way.”

Independent from the auspices of the diocese, the community relies on Catholic tradition, the wisdom of its members, and town hall discussions to ensure it is continuing to stay rooted in what is most important to the collective. “We’re trying to get back to more of a model of what the early church was like, combined with the fact that we’re living out our faith in much more of a model of the early church. It’s a tightrope walk in terms of how do we continue to introduce new ways of reading the Scriptures, new ways of praying, or new ways of worshiping and still not cross that Catholic line? We do that dance constantly.”

When reflecting more about that dance, Rev. Shanon adds, “we are still so deeply rooted in the traditions of the Church.” The Community follows the liturgical calendar, celebrates feast days, gathers for rosaries, and prays vespers. “What we’re really trying to do here at the Community of St. Hildegard is create a space for folks who are feeling disconnected from their parish contexts for whatever reason– maybe they haven’t been going, or they are still sitting in a pew somewhere but just haven’t been feeling that it resonates with them any longer, and yet don’t know where to go to worship. We’re trying to create that space where they can continue to live out that Catholic faith.”

When asked about the biggest grace of the Community, Rev. Shanon shares:

“the biggest grace is seeing the fruits of having created a space where people can be Catholic in a new way.”

Interested in learning more about the Community of St. Hildegard? For more information, check out their website: https://hildegardhaus.com/. 

Focus Questions

1. The Community of St. Hildegard seeks to remain rooted in its Catholic tradition. What parts of the Catholic tradition are important to your community’s identity? How do you live and celebrate those aspects?
2. The Community of St. Hildegard relies on the wisdom of its members through town hall discussions to make sure it lives into what is most important to the community. How does your community foster collective responsibility and decision making?

Do you know of or belong to a community that you would like to see highlighted? Reach out to Martha at martha@futurechurch.org.