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1. Executive Director's Reflection
2. Care Services/Staff Development Seeks Help
3. Liaisons to Key Organizations Leverage NACC Influence
4. Vision Seeks researchers, writers
5. APC/NACC Co-sponsored Educational Event in Omaha a Success
6. Healing Tree: A request for prayers
7. Recent Job Postings
8. Please go to the NACC website for these local gatherings

First of all, I thank all of you who offered me over the past couple weeks your many expressions of sympathy and prayer at the death of my mother after I reflected on her death in my last Executive Director’s notes. My hope was to highlight the comforting and ever-present ministry of spiritual care that was extended to my family. Both the care around my mother’s death, and now the prayerful reflections that have some our way, reaffirm that this ministry truly continues the healing ministry of Jesus.

Your ministry is alive! Over the past weeks I have heard from several members about their presentations on chaplaincy or more informal conversations they have had with people about chaplaincy. One chaplain mentioned his meeting with new physicians to describe chaplaincy services.

We had our Pastoral Summit Recruitment task force call this past week. We could affirm the steps taken, as we now have on the website: a Consider Chaplaincy section, a collection of chaplains’ stories, special resources describing chaplaincy, a chaplaincy PowerPoint presentation, one new brochure (copies are available for order), and several sample brochures and other materials from members showing how they present chaplaincy (very useful for members to review as they develop their own). Thanks to all you have helped build our resources! If you have, or your place of employment has, other samples of brochures/materials that explain chaplaincy to others and would like to share them, send them to Cindy Bridges.

However, we have a ways to go yet! We still have plans to complete another brochure on “What is a Chaplain?”, a few more PowerPoint presentation options that members can download and use, materials for higher education that show how pastoral studies programs align with the standards for certification, and also over the next year a video on chaplaincy that can be used for presentation. More than one healthcare system is offering to partner with us on some pieces of these materials. If you or your system wants to partner as well, please contact cbridges@nacc.org. We welcome the collaboration!

In the meantime, you all are signs to one another and others of Christ’s real presence in our midst through your compassionate presence in ministry. Thank you!

The Pastoral Care Summit Care Services/Staff Development Task Force has been developing Pastoral Care Standards for Chaplains that can be used by healthcare entities. The first draft was reviewed by leaders in Catholic healthcare settings. The Task Force now seeks to identify Pastoral/Spiritual Care leaders in non-Catholic healthcare institutions to whom they could send the draft standards for review. If you are working in a non-Catholic healthcare entity and either are or know a Pastoral/Spiritual Care leader to whom we could send the draft, please send the name and contact information by this coming Friday, July 25th, to cbridges@nacc.org. Thank you for assisting us!

As you know, NACC Goal V is “To engage strategic partners in collaborative work to live out our mission.” Working with Catholic Health Association and the Spiritual Care Collaborative are vital efforts. We also have special representatives and liaisons with several other entities. If you are a member of another organization that you believe can be a valued partner with NACC, please let us know by contacting cbridges@nacc.org.

In the past weeks Paul Buche, who serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for Vision, has noticed that some researchers have contacted him about research, having discovered the NACC and the Vision on the web. We want to encourage research writing for our Vision column: Research Update, as well as encourage other writers to submit their theological reflections for our Seeking/Finding column. Please click here to see the request for researchers, academics and writers to contribute to our chaplaincy conversation.

APC and NACC co-sponsored an education day this past Thursday, July 17, held at Children’s Hospital in Omaha, NE. Art Lucas, Director, Spiritual Care Services, Barnes/Barnes-Jewish Hospital, BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, presented on “The Discipline for Pastoral Care.” Among those participating were NACC members who met afterward to get to know each other, and begin planning how they want to communicate and organize for future networking and events. View the list of participants here.

Please continue to keep in prayer Sr. Joyce Troyer, CSC (recovering from surgery), Sr. Albertine Kramer, CSC (recovering from extensive surgery, is in rehabilitation, and is in transition after serving for 18 years at St. Joseph Medical Center in South Bend, IN), Sr. Paula Jacobs, SSM (terminal cancer), Dennis Eldridge (Kathy’s husband), for cancer treatment, Sr. Mary Skopal, SSJ (recovering from back surgery), Sr. Mary Anna Euring, OP (bout with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), and Sr. Alice Smitherman, OSB (recovering from heart surgery). Also please keep in prayer the family of Sr. Nancy Flaig, OSB, as they grieve the recent loss of Nancy’s mother.

The following positions have been posted in the last two weeks. Please go to our Positions Available page for more information about them.

STAFF CHAPLAIN
     Spokane, WA – Sacred Heart Medical Center
CPE RESIDENCY
     La Crosse, WI – Gundersen Lutheran Health System
SUPERVISOR, CPE PROGRAM
     Charleston, SC – Roper Saint Francis Healthcare
CHAPLAINS
     Seattle, WA – Providence Hospice of Seattle
CHAPLAIN
     Springfield, OH – Springfield Regional Medical Center
CATHOLIC PRIEST
     South Bend, IN – Trinity Senior Living Communities

Our local gathering list is growing. Therefore, we ask you to use our NACC calendar for more information on:

Portland, OR, September 19-20, 2008
Alexandria, MN, September 25-26, 2008
Green Lake, WI, October 26-28, 2008
St. Louis, MO, November 4, 2008
Baltimore, MD, November 12, 2008