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1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. NACC Nomination Panel established to assist with NACC leadership need
3. Certification Applications for Spring 2010 Interviews
4. Results of SCC Survey of Cognate Members now available to NACC members
5. HealthCare Chaplaincy launches new site; featured on PBS’ “Faith and Brain”
6. Common Standards of Practice in Acute Care Settings available on SCC Site
7. The Vigil Project Soon Gets Underway
8. Resources from NACC Hospice and Palliative Care Conference Calls available
9. NACC chaplain shares his experience of promoting the chaplaincy vocation
10. Today is last day to nominate individuals for our NACC awards!
11. A new video resource promotes the chaplaincy profession
12. NACC Fall Audio Conferences Schedule to be announced later this week!
13. Local/regional event dates
14. Other educational events
15. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
16. Recent job postings
17. Positions wanted

I have had several communications from members regarding the healthcare reform process, asking whether NACC is taking stances regarding any legislation. I respond by emphasizing that NACC aligns with Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHAUSA) and its vision for healthcare reform, and its advocacy efforts. For CHAUSA’s August 28, 2009 update: www.chausa.org/Pub/MainNav/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2009/r090828a.htm. Concerns have been expressed that our voices join the voice of bishops who are speaking against the inclusion of abortion services in the health reform bill, and want to see the health reform bill scrapped. I believe we need to be the voice for those identified in Sr. Carol Keehan’s July 30, 2009 letter to the Honorable Henry Waxman, Chairman, Energy and Commerce Committee: “The 47 million individuals without insurance, the 16 million individuals who are underinsured, and the insured who have trouble affording their coverage are all counting on your continued effort to reform our health care system.” Yet, as Catholics, we also have to remain a voice for the rights and dignity of those at life’s beginning and end. This delicate and unavoidable balance tests our will and our reasoning, yet we press on. Some argue, “Scrap the plan and start over.” Others press ahead for political compromise. We are at our best when we add our voices to those most in need.

Wouldn’t it be remarkable if the words of yesterday’s first reading from Deuteronomy come true in our era, and nations of the world could look to the U.S. and say, “This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent”? So what am I doing? What are you doing in this time? How and to whom are we expressing our voices? Rev. Peggy Muncie also raises these questions for all of us in the August 19, 2009 edition of PlainViews with her article, “Where are the Chaplains Voices in Health Care Reform?” www.plainviews.org/Advocacy.php

Hopefully, each of us is finding our way to take the admonition of James (from yesterday’s second reading) to heart: “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.”

Vision
The September/October Vision Issue is a hefty 32 pages, filled with substantive articles on diverse professional topics. “Chaplains in Outpatient Ministry” is its primary focus. We have aimed to continually improve Vision’s quality of articles and its overall content. In the past two years I have heard from a diverse segment of our membership, and other readers, that Vision has improved. I want to take the opportunity to thank both Laurie Hanson Cardona, who took over as Vision Editor in January 2008 after David Lewellen left, and the Editorial Advisory Panel. Laurie built on David’s fine work, and has worked closely with the Panel through bi-monthly calls to determine each edition’s professional theme, and enlisted writers to address the topic. We are deeply appreciative of their leadership, commitment, and contributions!

Voting
In the next couple of weeks you will be hearing more about this fall’s election for the NACC Board of Director’s open position. We are grateful to Dean Marek, Marie Polhamus, and Jack Crabb for offering to be candidates for this open position. Each of the three would bring unique and valued experience and skills to the Board.

As mentioned in prior communications, this year we are implementing an online voting procedure, utilizing Votenet Solutions (www.votenet.com), a highly reputable firm, that has served a broad range of clients, including many associations. Our voting will begin two weeks from today, September 14th, and continue for four weeks. For members without e-mail addresses we will be alerting them by mail of the voting process, and telling them how to access the voting website. Research indicates that electronic voting has increased the percentage of voter participation. We hope that will also be the case for NACC.

If you have any comments on any of my above reflections, please contact me at dlichter@nacc.org.

Appreciatively,

David Lichter
Executive Director

The NACC Board of Directors has established a Nomination Panel to assist with identifying/recommending candidates for the NACC Board, Commissions, and Panels. The Panel will seek candidates, communicate with the diverse leadership bodies regarding their leadership needs, and report to the Governance Committee. We are grateful to our members who have accepted to launch/lead this Nomination Panel. For the Panel’s roles, responsibilities, criteria, and members, go to www.nacc.org/aboutnacc/nominationpanel.asp.

September 15, 2009 is the postmark deadline for supportive materials for the May 1-2, 2010, certification interviews. (“Postmark” means the actual day the postal service date stamps your parcel.) To best prepare for the certification process, please familiarize yourself with the current Standards and Procedures, located at www.nacc.org/certification/standards-and-procedures.asp. Please print out these 3 documents that pertain to you:

• Standards: You will write your Narrative Statement citing each of the Standards listed in Section 300-Standards for Certification of Chaplains (Standards 302 through 305.6).
• Certification Procedures Manual: Chaplain Certification Procedures CP11 through CP133.5j pertains to you.
• Ethics Procedures Manual: See Ethics Accountability Statement Procedures. Read thoroughly and sign Page-7 Ethics Accountability Statement for Initial Certification. If you wish to remain a member of the NACC, but are unable to sign the Ethics Accountability Statement (Page-7) because of a recent or a pending complaint, then you would refer to EP14 for the required written process.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the certification process, please contact Rose Mary Blanco-Alvarado, Certification Specialist, at the NACC National Office, (414) 483-4898 Ext. 308

In December 2008, members of the SCC cognate groups (AAPC, ACPE, NACC, APC, NAJC, CAPPE) were invited to participate in a survey designed to gather important information for the cognate groups and for the SCC leadership as it sets strategic direction for its future. The results of the survey have been summarized, and will assist SCC and each cognate group in identifying the most effective ways to advocate for the profession and attend to the needs of its members. NACC members, with their membership code, can access this summary on the NACC website: www.nacc.org/resources/fm/SCC-Executivesummary.asp.

HealthCare Chaplaincy launched its new website, www.healthcarechaplaincy.org. It was also featured on PBS’ series on “Faith and Brain” with George Handzo being interviewed. Link: www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-17-2009/faith-and-the-brain/3597/. Congratulations to Walter Smith, S.J., and all the HCC staff! We value HealthCare Chaplaincy’s leadership and partnership!

The Spiritual Care Collaborative Steering Committee recently affirmed the Standards of Practice for Professional Chaplains in Acute Care Settings that were developed by the APC Commission on Quality in Pastoral Services. We applaud their work on behalf of our profession. www.spiritualcarecollaborative.org/standards_of_practice.asp

As chaplains we often have the opportunity to witness end-of-life bedside vigils. You will soon be invited to share your stories of these vigils. Stories from across the U.S. and Canada are being collected. These stories will become The Vigil Project, a theatrical presentation designed to educate other healthcare providers and the public about the power and richness of these vigil times. Questions? Contact Chaplain Mary E. Johnson at johnson.mary3@mayo.edu and stay tuned!

Over the past months, we have hosted conference calls with members ministering in hospice and palliative care settings. They have been providing resources for one another as needs are identified on the calls. These resources will be able to be accessed by our members by the next NACC Now through your membership code on the resources pages. We are grateful to those who have shared, and invite others to share their wealth and wisdom as well!

In the last NACC Now, we alerted members to Blair Holtey’s article on his strategy, approach, and content for giving a parish presentation on chaplaincy as a vocation. Some were not able to access it. So here is the link again. Please read his story, and consider promoting the ministry. Go to www.nacc.org/resources/e-news/holtey_recruit_talk.asp. You can contact Blair at blair.holtey@baycare.org.

Wouldn’t it be good to recognize an NACC member or professional colleague for what they are doing for the spiritual care profession? The NACC Awards Task Force is accepting nominations for the Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Colleague Award only until September 1, 2009. Recipients of these awards will be honored at the NACC 2010 Conference. Please go to www.nacc.org/aboutnacc/awards.asp for more details about the awards, their criteria, and the process of submission.

With the sponsorship of Ascension Health, the expertise of St. Thomas Health Services Media Operations (Nashville, TN), the able guidance of Jim Castello, BCC, and other NACC members, we are pleased to make available to you a twelve-minute video on the chaplaincy ministry. We have both a recruitment version (that begins and ends with “Is God Calling You?”) and a version without this question. Those who have viewed it (NACC and APC chaplains, and some healthcare leaders) were very positive about it. It will be available in DVD form. We will charge just $6.00, the cost of production and shipping. You may preview the video below or at this link. To order copies please click here for the order form.

We are finalizing details for this fall’s NACC audio conferences. We will send a special e-mail later this week announcing the schedule and providing the details. We are excited about the topics and presenters. Watch for the announcement in your e-mail!

More local gatherings are being set. Please review the list below, and mark your calendars. More details of events will be in future NACC Now's.

• Wednesday, September 16, 2009, Phoenix, AZ. See details.
• Friday, September 18, 2009, Spokane, WA, See details.
• Thursday-Friday, September 24-25, 2009, Alexandria, MN, North Central Prairie, See details.
• Friday, October 9, Buffalo, NY, See details.
• Saturday, October 10, Nazareth, KY, See details.
• Saturday, October 17, 2009, Boston, MA, See details.
• Sunday-Tuesday, October 18-20, Green Lake, WI, See details.
• Thursday, October 22, 2009, Sacramento, CA. See details/register.
• Friday, October 30, 2009, Charleston, SC, See details.
• Sunday, November 15, 2009, Washington, DC, details to come.
• Saturday, December 5, 2009, Chicago, IL, details to come.

We have been alerted to other educational events that you can find on the NACC website. They include:

• Tuesday, September 29, Chicago, IL, “Vatican II – Now More Than Ever.” Chicago, IL Click here for details.
• Wednesday, September 30, Thursday, October 1, 2009, Washington, D.C., “Foundations of Catholic Healthcare Leadership Program.” Click here for details.
• Saturday, October 3, 2009, Lisle, IL, “Spirituality in the New Millennium” with Rev. Richard Rohr, OFM. See details/register.
• Friday, October 9, 2009, Albuquerque, NM, “Health and Wholeness: Finding Harmony in a Stressful World.” See details/register.
• Monday-Tuesday, October 26-27, 2009, Mahwah, NJ, “RTS Bereavement Training in Early Pregnancy Loss, Stillbirth & Neonatal Death.” See details/register.
• Monday-Tuesday, November 2-3, 2009, Springfield, VA, 11th Annual Josefina Magno Conference "Pain Has a Measure: Suffering Has a Story." See details.
• Tuesday, November 3, 2009, Hartford, CT, Rabbi Bonita Taylor and Rabbi David Zucker, “Using Lamentations to Lament,” Connecticut Chaplains. See details.
• Thursday, November 19, 2009, Milwaukee, WI, Dr. Daniel P. Sulmasy, OFM, the Bartholomew Lecture Series, Cardinal Stritch University. See details/register.
• Los Angeles, CA, Loyola University Marymount offers certificate and degrees in bioethics. See details.

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); 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).

The following positions have been posted in the last two weeks. Please go to www.nacc.org/positions/available.asp for more information about them.

CHAPLAIN (ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST)
     Pittsburgh, PA – UPMC Mercy

CHAPLAIN
     Burbank/Tarzana, CA – Providence

PRIEST/CHAPLAIN
     Austin, TX – The Seton Family of Hospitals

CHAPLAIN
     Dowagiac, MI – Borgess-Lee Memorial

DIRECTOR, PASTORAL CARE
     Washington, DC – Providence Hospital

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.