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1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. Supporting chaplains in time of job loss
3. ACPE Supervisor Emeritus requests standards and best practices
4. What channels are you using?
5. Another Diversity Calendar
6. Second Annual National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) - April 16, 2009
7. Lenten resources for you
8. What is your diocese doing with pastoral care?
9. Writing for healing
10. Critical Bibliography for Healthcare Chaplains
11. Published Essays honoring Joan Hemenway
12. State liaisons provide energy, wisdom, and focus
13. Over 80 participants at the March 7th Chicago NACC Event
14. Other local/regional event dates!
15. Other educational events
16. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
17. Recent job postings
18. Positions wanted

As an adjunct instructor for Cardinal Stritch University’s College of Business and Management, one of the courses I teach is on non-western religions. As students discuss these religions they often turn to compare those religions to Christianity. When one asks, “What’s the core teaching of Christianity?” most often many respond, “The ten commandments.” Then another inevitably corrects them, “No, those commandments are at the heart of the Jewish religion!” “So what’s at the heart of Christianity?” another wonders. Then probing of the mark of Christianity goes on.

As yesterday’s first reading for the third Sunday of Lent from Exodus gave us the ten commandments, the second reading from 2 Corinthians named the heart of our Christianity, “we proclaim Christ crucified… to those who are called…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” In John’s gospel we find the disciples doing some ad hoc ministerial reflection on Jesus’ power and wisdom service style, as he created a scene in the temple, citing the verse “zeal for your house consumes me.”

What’s our ministerial reflection on Jesus’ power and wisdom, as we live out His healing ministry? When we are with patients, families, associates, and others, in the midst of the mystery and misery of their loss, pain, stress, and uncertainties, what does Christ the power and wisdom of God look like? Is He in our zeal to serve? Is the Servant suffering in and through them? Is His power in our humble awareness of our limitations while being humanly vulnerable with them, tenderly taking time rather than moving on?

For the next NACC Now, in the midst of the Lenten season, please share with me and your colleagues any reflection you have on “What does Christ the power and wisdom of God look like?” I will post them in the next NACC Now.

Also, Fr. Robin Ryan, a Paulist teaching at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, gave a thoughtful presentation on the mystery of suffering a week ago Saturday in Chicago. Take time to review his notes that can be found in #13 in this NACC Now. His reflections will take you further down this profound path that leads to the heart of our Christian faith in this Lenten season.

Appreciatively,
David Lichter, Executive Director

Since the last NACC Now, we have received the names of several chaplains who are willing to be available to other chaplains during their time of transitioning after job loss. If you would like the names of those who offered to be available, please contact dlichter@nacc.org.

Dear Association Member: If you are currently at work on a spiritual care, counseling and/or education project dealing with standards of practice, evidence, desired outcomes, and/or best practices, please send your name, the title of your project, a descriptive paragraph or two, and your e-mail address to Jack Gleason, ACPE Supervisor Emeritus, at mariejohn50@att.net for inclusion on a list to be shared with all responders and published as appropriate.

Many hospitals and systems use the well known The C.A.R.E. Channel®. NACC member, Rev. Francis Zlotkowski, SCS, UMC at Brackenridge, is interested to learn if any of your institutions use any other company, or have produced their own systems. If so, would you be willing to share that with Fr. Francis? He would be willing to share with respondents any list compiled. Please contact him at FZlotkowski@seton.org.

In response to the last NACC Now, Sr. Brenda Whelan, RSM, BCC, Director of Pastoral/Spiritual Care, Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, shared with us her newsletter that includes a calendar of diverse faith celebrations. We will keep these in our resource file for others to view at www.nacc.org/resources/interfaith.asp.

In less than one month, we will celebrate the second annual National Healthcare Decisions Day. What are your plans? For resources go to www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org.

Just a reminder to you that you can access Lenten resources for both personal and group reflection on the NACC website. Please consider gathering a group of chaplains/colleagues for a Lenten prayer or reflection group. If we can be of assistance to you in any way by including the information about your gathering on the NACC website, please contact Susanne at schaw@nacc.org.

Deanna Sass, Director of the Office of Pastoral Care, Trenton, NJ, is a member of NACC, and shares the Trenton Diocese’s website dedicated to pastoral care ministries: www.dioceseoftrenton.org/justice/pastoralcare.asp. If there is a diocesan office that serves as a liaison to your institution-based pastoral care ministry, please contact David Lichter at dlichter@nacc.org and Deanna Sass at Dsass@DioceseofTrenton.org. We hope to develop networking among those working with diocesan pastoral care ministry.

Linda F. Piotrowski, MTS, BCC, who ministers as pastoral care coordinator/chaplain for the Palliative Care Service at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, has had her poem, “Scientific Proof,” published in Lifelines 2008, a Dartmouth Medical School Literary and Art Journal. Linda, a trained Amherst Writers and Artists affiliate, facilitates “Writing for Healing” writing groups for cancer patients and survivors at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Linda serves on the NACC Editorial Advisory Panel and has led workshops on starting a writing group. For more information about Writing for Healing, contact Linda at: linda.f.piotrowski@hitchcock.org.

Issue 2 of the series Practical Bearings: The Critical Bibliography for Health Care Chaplains is now online at HealthCare Chaplaincy’s website: www.healthcarechaplaincy.org/practicalbearings. In “To Want to Learn: Educational Theory for Supervision and Training,” Jackson Kytle, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs at HealthCare Chaplaincy provides an annotated bibliography and commentary for key texts on motivation and learning and other leading educators. He addresses, “What do chaplains in health care need to know about motivation and learning? Why do they need these ideas and theories?” “Practical Bearings” offers the most thorough and current resources for pastoral educators and pastoral practitioners through the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation and HealthCare Chaplaincy. For more information, please contact: Rev. Dr. Leonard M. Hummel, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, 61 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, PA 17325, email: lhummel@ltsg.edu, Office Phone: 717-338-3000, ext. 2157.

Journal of Pastoral Care Publications, Inc. recently published a volume entitled, Expanding the Circle; Essays in Honor of Joan Hemenway. Joan was a loyal supporter of NACC and trained many of our members over the years. Please see the flyer for more information. To order this volume see this link.

During this past week, 47 state liaisons met on three conference calls to review and provide feedback on materials to support their efforts, to provide more ideas on how the NACC staff can help them, to share experiences and ideas for local gatherings, and to inform one another of their plans for 2009. While they seek to learn what other educational offerings are being planned for their area, they rely on all of us to alert NACC to events that can be beneficial to members. Please go to NACC website’s state liaison page for a summary of their discussions, to discover who your state liaison is, and to contact him/her.

Over 80 participants already enjoyed a rich morning with Fr. Robin Ryan, CP, on “The Mystery of God and Human Suffering: Implications for Ministry to the Sick and Dying.” For a copy of his handout click here. Many thanks to Illinois State Liaisons, Tim Doody, DeeDee VanDyck, and Michael Doyle, and to Loyola University Hospital for hosting the event!

Several state liaison groups are working to finalize details for other gatherings. Please review the list below, and mark your calendars. More details of events will be in future NACC Now's.

• Friday, April 17, 2009, Centennial, CO. Joint APC/NACC.
• Friday, April 24, 2009, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Atlanta, GA
• Monday, May 18, 2009, Assumption College, Worcester, MA.
• Tuesday, June 9, 2009, New Orleans, LA. Details to follow.
• Thursday, July 23, 2009, Omaha, NE. Joint APC/NACC. Details to follow.

In the past two weeks we have been alerted to other educational events that you can find on the NACC website. They include:

• April 16-17, 2009, St. Anthony Retreat Center, Marathon, WI, The Soul of Caring VI, The Ethic of Narrative in Palliative Care, Palliative Care Retreat
• April 15, 2009, Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University, Chicago, An Evening with James Carroll and his new book, Practicing Catholic
• April 24-26, 2009, St. Raphaela Retreat Center, Haverford, PA, A Tincture of Healing: a Weekend for Women Survivors
• May 8, 2009, Lakewood, NY, First Pastoral Care Conference, “Spiritual & Medical Care: Partners in Healing”
• June 5 , 2009, Trenton, NJ, Day of Reflection for those who Care for the Sick & Dying, “Pastoral Care through the Eyes of Saints Francis and Clare”

Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. We continue to pray for Fr. Bill Spacek (detached retina and other eye issues); Sr. Nancy Crane, OP (cancer treatment); Bro. Brian Boyle, CPPS (broken foot), Rev. Jim Radde, SJ (recovering from surgery), Sr. Hilda Mallet, MHS (cancer treatment), Sr. Rita Rzeppa, IBVM (recovering/rehab from knee surgery), and Dennis Eldridge (Kathy's husband, for cancer treatment).

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

FULL-TIME PRIEST CHAPLAIN
     Wheeling, WV –Wheeling Hospital

CHAPLAIN
     Wilmington, DE –St. Francis Hospital

PRIEST/CHAPLAIN
     Maywood, IL –Loyola University Medical Center

SPIRITUAL CARE COORDINATOR
     Lenox, MA –Providence Care Center of Lenox

PRIEST CHAPLAIN
     Madison, WI –St. Mary's

CPE RESIDENT
     La Crosse, WI –Gundersen Lutheran Health System

In this time of change and uncertainty it is more important than ever to use every resource available. If you have lost your job recently, if you’re just seeking a new or better position, or if you are an employer seeking a chaplain for your organization, be sure to visit our Positions Wanted webpage. NACC members can take advantage of this free service by placing a job-seeking ad, for free, which will run for 60 days. To see the ads, visit www.nacc.org/positions/wanted.asp

To place your own ad, send an email to Phil Paradowski: pparadowski@nacc.org.