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Contents:
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. June 24, 2009, Praying…Witnessing…Gathering for Health Care for All
3. CHA/NACC seek samples of using volunteers in healthcare settings
4. Please note change in Fr. Robin Ryan’s audio conference
5. You can still sign-up for the July NACC Audio Conferences
6. Local/regional event dates
7. Other educational events
8. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
9. Positions Wanted
The 2009 Catholic Health Association Assembly in New Orleans opened with Beth Nielsen Chapman. Chapman, a breast cancer survivor and a nationally known, Grammy-nominated, singer/songwriter, performed three songs. One of the performed songs was her famous Sand and Water, which you can listen to her performing at a concert in Dublin, Ireland, on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9z1Fc7hUYs. The song’s lyrics are powerful reflections on loss, the depth of suffering, and the unending presence of and search for meaning after the death of a loved one. May they provide you with fruitful meditation. Beth Nielsen Chapman wrote them after the death of her husband.
All alone I didn't like the feeling
All alone I sat and cried
All alone I had to find some meaning
In the center of the pain I felt inside
All alone I came into this world
All alone I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water, and a million years gone by
I will see you in the light of a thousand suns
I will hear you in the sound of the waves
I will know you when I come, as we all will come
Through the doors beyond the grave
All alone I heal this heart of sorrow
All alone I raise this child
Flesh and bone, he's just
Bursting towards tomorrow
And his laughter fills my world and wears your smile
I will see you in the light of a thousand suns
I will hear you in the sound of the waves
I will know you when I come, as we all will come
Through the doors beyond the grave
All alone I came into this world
All alone I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water and a million years gone by
(Lyrics reprinted by permission. Visit www.bethnielsenchapman.com)
Also, as you are so well aware, these weeks of June through the summer are marked by intense activity in Washington, DC as legislatures craft healthcare reform proposals. Different faith-based and social reform organizations have been working diligently and tirelessly to voice the need for reform, as well as seek support on different bills being proposed to Congress. This week of June 19-26, 2009 has been dedicated as Interfaith Week of Prayer for Health Care. It’s so important for us in the spiritual care ministry to both be informed about and active in these efforts. In recent editions of NACC Now I have included the announcement about the June 24th interfaith service of witness and prayer being held in Washington, DC. I hope many of our members who live in the area can participate in this important event.
The NACC does not have the research or government relations expertise to study and determine a stance regarding the many initiatives currently being brought forth. We are grateful for the expertise and counsel of, and communication with, Catholic Health Association’s (CHA) government relations personnel. They have been very responsive and helpful to us as we try to evaluate how to respond. While all our NACC members are not in healthcare settings represented by CHA, CHA’s values and agenda represent soundly our Catholic social teachings vis-à-vis health care. To learn more about CHA’s advocacy efforts go to www.chausa.org/Pub/MainNav/Advocacy/ for its advocacy page and to www.chausa.org/Pub/MainNav/Advocacy/0708advoagenda.htm for its agenda.
If you have questions about or recommendations on how NACC should be involved in these advocacy efforts, please let me know.
Appreciatively,
David A. Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director
Many faith-based associations are joining together to plan and hold an interfaith service of witness and prayer as an expression of support for healthcare reform now. What: An Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer. When: 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Where: Washington, D.C. (Freedom Plaza, Pennsylvania Ave. and 13th St.). As people of faith, we recognize the moral imperative of working for a healthcare future that includes everyone and works well for all of us. For more information click here to view the flyer (PDF file) or visit www.webelievetogether.org.
CHA/NACC seek samples of using volunteers in healthcare settingsCHA and NACC are working together on reviewing current practices and trends regarding the use of volunteers in spiritual care staffing models. If you are willing to share your policies on the use of volunteers within your staff structure and your practices on (we already asked for this last year – I would focus on the use rather than the training) introducing, using, and supervising volunteers, please send them to Cindy at cbridges@nacc.org. We look to provide information/education on these trends/practices in the near future.
Please note change in Fr. Robin Ryan’s audio conferenceRev. Ryan’s second audio conference session has now been rescheduled to Friday, June 26, at 12:00 p.m. noon central. The time of third option session still remains this coming Thursday, June 25th at 12:00 p.m. noon. These audio conferences were so popular that our maximum 150 lines were full. We had many who were disappointed that we had to set a limit. We plan to offer this series again in the very near future.
You can still sign-up for the July NACC Audio ConferencesJust a reminder to you that you can still register for the July Audio Conferences. Participants only need a telephone line to participate. For those participants who will have multiple participants on their one line, they will need a speaker phone. Pricing for the audio conference is per line. The NACC will provide you with a toll-free telephone number and conference pass-code in order to access the audio conferences. The number will be sent to you ahead of time along with presentation materials for review. Anyone can participate in our audio conferences. They are not limited to NACC members only. Please join your colleagues in this excellent offering.
More local gatherings are being set. Please review the list below, and mark your calendars. More details of events will be in future NACC Nows.
We have been alerted to other educational events that you can find on the NACC website. They include:
Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. We continue to pray for Kelly Elizabeth Sexton (cancer: daughter of NACC member Melyssa Sexton), Raymond Kelleher (heart surgery); Fr. Bill Spacek (detached retina and other eye issues); Sr. Nancy Crane, OP (cancer treatment); Sr. Hilda Mallet, MHS (cancer treatment); Sr. Rita Rzeppa, IBVM (recovering/rehab from knee surgery), and Dennis Eldridge (Kathy's husband, for cancer treatment).
Positions WantedIn 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.