1. Executive Director’s reflection
2. Thank you for your thoughts
3. 2008 Annual Appeal
4. Lenten resources
5. Singers still needed for the National Conference
6. NACC seeks input about and from volunteers
7. Don’t miss out on your chance to donate to the first ever NACC Silent Auction!
8. CHA audio conference

Today, February 11th is the World Day of the Sick, “The Eucharist, Lourdes, and Pastoral Care for the Sick. ” So many of you ordered the NACC prayer cards to share with your staffs and patients to commemorate this day. Many of you are leading or participating in prayer services this day. Some of them are recognizing and blessing your ministry. Blessings on your ministry! It is a very powerful day to reflect on the mystery of sickness, suffering, and Christ’s healing and redemptive love.

Many years ago, the pastor of my home parish in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Fr. Bob Glisch, at a weekday mass, was offering a homily on one of the healing miracles of Jesus. All of a sudden he said tersely with conviction from his core, “Sickness is not the worst thing in the world; sin is. Health is not the greatest thing in the world; God is.” Bob suffered from severe Parkinson’s disease. You questioned if he would make it through mass. Every sentence took effort. His face contorted and his shaking had him clasp tenaciously the pulpit. That conviction of faith was forged through sleepless nights and years of struggle against the relentless, ravaging disease. Sickness sets all of us on edge; distracts us from life’s purpose; and tempts our reverent resolves to be faithful. So often a rote prayer or a mantra gets us through, and our only spontaneity is “Help me, God…!” Today, Lord, help us to be with the sick this day. You are the Greatest.

Also thanks to many of you who sent the quotes you use on your e-mails. Keep them coming! You can access this treasury here.

Wow! What a wonderful response! Thank you for participating in the one-hour conference calls that provided us feedback on the three questions. 1. What would improve the value of NACC membership? 2. What recruitment strategy for chaplaincy for your age group would be most effective? 3. What one area for professional development most interests you? We had almost 100 members express interest and more than 80 that participated in the calls. Also over ten members just sent their written responses to the questions. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Many fine ideas were offered as responses to these questions. We look forward to sharing them with you in the next NACC Now, as well as sharing them with the task forces that are meeting on these subjects. We apologize that the times offered were so soon after the announcement, and did not provide you with much planning. All on calls wanted to set more calls, and we will. We also still welcome your thoughts on these questions. Please, e-mail dlichter@nacc.org with your comments on these questions.

Thanks to so many of you who have already contributed to NACC’s Annual Appeal. Since this is my first time inviting you to participate, I was not sure what to expect. Your response has been very gratifying. Many of you are repeat givers, some of you send with the donation a kind note, expressing gratitude for NACC. Every gift is greatly appreciated. As mentioned in the appeal letter, one of the first question donors or granters ask is, “What level of support do members offer?” You might feel you have little to give, you have already pay dues, or you are not now getting your monies worth from NACC. I pray as 2008 continues you might receive a gift personally or experience NACC differently, or a grateful patient might say, “How can I say thank you for your help?” In those moments you might personally consider a gift to the Appeal or invite a grateful patient to contribute to NACC. Again, every gift is appreciated.

Over the past few days, since the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday, prayers have been used to reflect on our Lenten season. We are including them here. You’ll find a prayer and a link to more Lenten resources. Please share your resources with our members, by sending them to webmaster@nacc.org.

In the spirit of "bringing gifts that differ in splendid, varied ways", Chaplain Carey Landry, who is coordinating the music for the national conference, requests your help. He would like to form a small choir of ten people from the NACC membership to lead the music for three Masses and two prayer services during the conference. This will be the first time the music is led by our own membership and we are excited about that! Here are requirements for anyone interested in becoming part of the choir:

• Arrive at the conference site in Indianapolis by 7:00 pm on Friday, April 4th, for a three-hour rehearsal. There will also be a two-hour rehearsal on Saturday morning, April 5th.
• Be currently part of a parish choir, music ministry or community choir or have had recent experience in choral singing.
• Be able to attend the entire conference, as the final liturgy is on Tuesday, April 8th.

Please e-mail Chaplain Carey Landry directly at jclandry@stvincent.org by February 15th, 2008, if you are interested. If you are interested but cannot meet all or part of the above requirements, feel free to e-mail Carey anyway

We would like to learn about how you may be training volunteers in your particular area or facility, and to assist in developing and sharing among members some best practices based on those ideas. Also, if you are an NACC member who serves as a volunteer, we would like to hear your thoughts too! Please send your leadership modules, ideas, curricula, or comments to Susanne at schaw@nacc.org

Some of the items already donated include; a basket of multicultural resources including a piece by a Texan artist, a painting by a Wisconsin artist, a basket of home made jams, jellies and preserves, a hand knit afghan from Ohio, an original hand crafted set of a necklace, bracelet and earrings from New Hampshire, a quilted wall hanging from New Hampshire, and an oil painting from New Hampshire. You still have time to craft something for the silent auction! Handmade pottery, prayer shawls, books, artwork, nonperishable regional foods, and other, yet-to-be-discovered items all are welcome. Do you have a friend or colleague who is an artist or photographer, knitter, woodworker or basket maker? Know someone who sews or does quilting? Invite them to donate something for the NACC silent auction. Not able to attend the conference this year? You can ship your donation directly to the conference site. To donate an item or get more details about the auction contact Linda.f.piotrowski@hitchcock.org. Help us to make this first auction a success!

Please note that CHA will be offering an audio conference on Feb. 20 and 22 (repeat). The title is "The Chaplain as Provider of Holistic Care". The CHA site indicates the dates/time and speaker information. Registration for the program will be available on the web. For more information visit the CHA website.