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1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. Vote now in the NACC election for position on Board of Directors
3. Mary Johnson to receive NACC’s 2010 Distinguished Service Award
4. Sr. Kay Sheskaitis to receive NACC’s 2010 Outstanding Colleague Award
5. APC announces the hire of new executive director!
6. NACC Ethics Commission seeks new member
7. Calling NACC writers and poets
8. Sign up now for NACC fall audio conferences
9. Please participate in the survey about chaplains' use of online communication tools with patients
10. Please invite your nursing colleagues to participate in survey
11. Healthcare Chaplaincy offers excellent summary on healthcare reform
12. Video promoting the chaplaincy profession available
13. Local/regional event dates
14. Other educational events
15. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
16. Recent job postings
17. Positions wanted

In the previous NACC Now I reflected on the Vianney performance I saw, and the way Satan was portrayed tempting St. John Vianney with “messages” that we also most likely hear. Then I invited you to share the debilitating "messages" that you receive in pastoral ministry. Thanks to all of you who shared. Let me offer you a couple I received.

Cathy Wottreng, SSND, a Catholic Chaplain working in long-term care, offered her reflections through the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is dear to her heart, as Ignatius aided us to listen to the “movements of the spirits” that offer consolation or desolation. She delineated her observations as:

Desolation, not of God:

• Internal messages:
• I didn't do enough.
• I am not enough.
• I didn't see enough people today.
• Leading at Prayer Services and it wasn't perfect.
• I should have seen the person before they died.
• External messages:
• Resident: "You didn't come to see me lately. Where have you been?" Internalized as guilt.
• Resident: "You're busy. I can't bother you."

Consolation, of God:

• Internal messages: Rewriting the internal messages above:
• I did do enough.
• I am enough.
• It is God's work and I am only helping.
• The family / residents thought it went well.
• Trust. They are in God's hands / heart.
• External messages:
• Resident: "You came when I needed you most."
• Resident: "Your coming helps me know God has not forgotten me."
• Resident: "You do come to see me."

Thank you, Cathy!

Chaplain Mary Pauluk wrote that the most notable voices that are temptations for her are the ones that say: "You aren't a real minister or real chaplain - if you were a man and ordained THEN you would be real." She described herself as 48, a married laywoman and mother, and a certified NACC chaplain who just celebrated 10 years of ministry at her current place of ministry “which seems very real.” Her spiritual director suggested she move her NACC certificate of certification to a visible spot. She thought, "That seems so showy." However her director commented, "You move it so YOU can see it. You're the only one who doesn't seem to recognize your call." She ended by writing: “Ok, I love the little gold seal 'Catholic Chaplain' I know it is goofy - but looking at it overrides the voice.” Yes, Mary, your ministry is real and you are a blessing to all of us!

Speaking of blessings… Thank you for your generosity this year!
Last fall NACC set a goal for the Annual Appeal, $35,000. I was anxious given the state of the economy. The message tempting me was saying, “The many financial and work stresses our members experience will make such a goal unreachable.” However, we are very near our goal already! We have had a remarkable increase in the number of people giving over the past two years! In 2007- 240 gave, in 2008 - 324 donated, and this year so far more than 420 have donated. THANK YOU! This tremendous increase in the number of members giving is the biggest “gift” to the NACC. Each and every gift has been a blessing to us. As I stressed in the request letters, your gifts this year provide us the ability to support more and more education offerings at low costs so more and more members can access programs. Also the higher percentage of members donating signals to anyone not a member who is thinking about supporting the NACC that our members believe in what we are doing. I did receive some letters and e-mails from members who let me know about their inability to give or their disturbance in being asked again. Our hearts go out to all members who are experiencing financial constraints. And for those who were upset with my asking again, I am sorry. I did it for the NACC and its future. I will ask again on your behalf. If you would like to make your first or second gift before the end of the year, we welcome it. We will put aside any gifts sent in October through December as scholarship money for our 2010 National Conference March 20-23rd. We will be good stewards. I promise.

Gratefully,
David Lichter, Executive Director

Please join your colleagues in voting! It takes less than a minute to vote today in the election for the position on the NACC Board of Directors. Just click here. All you need is your membership number. Vote now through NACC Now! Thank you!

We are pleased to announce that Mary E. Johnson, MA, BCC and CPE supervisor, will receive the NACC’s 2010 Distinguished Service Award at our 2010 National Conference. Mary has been a chaplain at the Mayo Clinic since 1980, and has devoted many years in service of professional chaplaincy and the NACC. For more background on Mary’s achievements, click here.

We are also pleased to announce that Sister Kay L. Sheskaitis, I.H.M, the executive director of United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Commission on Certification and Accreditation (USCCB/CCA), will receive NACC's 2010 Outstanding Colleague Award at our 2010 National Conference. Sister Kay became executive director of the USCCB/CCA in 1991, and has guided the Commission’s efforts through remarkable years. For more details about Sister Kay’s contributions, click here.

We received news from Sue Wintz, President of the APC Board, that the APC Board of Directors has selected Patricia Appelhans, JD, as their new executive director. NACC, as a member of the SCC, is delighted to welcome Pat as a colleague and leader to the SCC and our stewardship of professional chaplaincy. For more information about Pat please go to www.nacc.org/advancing/scc.asp.

Deacon Pat Bradley, Chair, NACC Ethics Commission, on behalf of the Ethics Commission, would like to thank D.W. Donovan for his service to the commission over the past years. Donovan will complete two terms on the commission at the end of this year. Also, Patricia Melesco will complete one term and has said that although she is willing to serve a second term she feels that we have other members who would like to serve on this important commission. Members of the Ethics Commission must be board certified chaplains in good standing with the association. Some background or education in ethics is desirable. The Commission only deals with issues of ethical conduct by our members as set out in the Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals. The Code is found in the Standards for Ethics, Certification, and Renewal of Certification. Over the past several years the Ethics Commission has only been asked to investigate two Ethics Complaints. They do, however, meet by teleconference periodically. If you have an interest in serving your association a member of the Ethics Commission, please submit a letter of application stating your qualifications to Deacon Pat Bradley at tpbradley@bresnan.net.

Every year, the NACC prints prayer cards for World Day of the Sick, for use in hospitals, hospices, long-term care facilities, parishes, and anyone else interested in the spiritual needs of sick persons and caregivers

We would like to invite our members to consider writing a prayer to be used on the prayer cards for 2010. We will publish two cards: Prayer for Sick Persons and Prayer for the Caregiver. You may submit prayers for either or both.

Prayers may be written in any style or format you like, but they should be no more than 32 lines long, with an average line length of not more than 10 syllables. To see examples of past prayers, visit www.nacc.org/resources/wds/pastPrayerCards.asp.

All submissions must be received at the NACC office by Oct. 15. We will notify the person(s) whose prayers will be used by Nov. 9. We are not able to offer payment, but the authors will be credited. We will share a total of two prayers in print, although some runners-up may be featured on our website later in the year.

NACC is happy to announce the Fall series of Audio Conferences.

(1) October 8 and October 15, 2009 – Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA presents the Book of Job: Loss, Personal Suffering, and our Pastoral Care Ministry.
These audio conferences (2) will provide participants with an overview of the most recent studies on the Book of Job and its key insights that can help those who minister to individuals experiencing loss or grief.

For more information and to register, click here.

(2) November 12 and November 19, 2009 – Dr. Susan K. Wood, SCL presents Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: Insights and Implications for Pastoral Care Ministry.
These audio conferences (2) will provide participants a background on Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. Dr. Wood will offer an overview of its contributions, ongoing discussions on church ministry and the formation and authorization of lay ecclesial ministers, and some implications for the specialized ministry of pastoral care.

For more information and to register, click here.

(3) December 3 and December 10, 2009 – Fr. Peter Fink, SJ presents Healing Ministry and the Sacraments: A Contemporary Understanding of Sacraments Can Enrich our Pastoral Care Ministry.
These audio conferences (2) will provide participants with an excellent update on the theology of sacraments, particularly the sacraments of anointing and reconciliation.

For more information and to register, click here.

Register for audio conferences two, three, and four and save $5. For more information and to register, click here.

Please take a few moments to respond to an anonymous survey about use of the Internet in chaplain-patient communications. Thank you so much. The survey is located here: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=EYtEVDWItcZ5GWrkGbvm9A_3d_3d Questions/concerns? Chaplain Mary E. Johnson can help at Johnson.mary3@mayo.edu.

Chaplains Linda Piotrowski and Karen Pugliese seek your help in getting feedback from your nursing colleagues about how nurses perceive chaplains and their availability, willingness to work as a team, and whether or not nurses read chaplaincy charted notes. We ask that you either share this item from NACC Now or copy and paste the following web address along with a personal note from you into an e-mail and send it to one or more nursing colleagues. We will report the results in future issues of Vision. The web address is www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BcIroyCBl_2bHDOnPgVz1okA_3d_3d For further details please read "Chaplains, Nurse Colleague Present at Oncology Nurse Forum" in the September/October 2009 issue of Vision.

Recently, HealthCare Chaplaincy PlainViews offered Walter Smith, S.J.’s excellent summary on the healthcare reform issues. Don’t miss the valuable resource. Go to www.plainviews.org. The summary is at this link.

Our video on Chaplaincy, both a recruitment version (that begins and ends with “Is God Calling You?”) and a version without this question, are available in DVD format. The charge is just $6.00, the cost of production and shipping. You may preview the video at this link. To order copies please email Cindy Bridges for instructions.

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.

• 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. See details.
• Friday, December 11, 2009, Florida. 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.
• Saturday, October 24, 2009, Cohasset, MA, “Spiritual Companioning: Holy Listening, 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 Fr. Bob Nee BCC, LICSW, CT (intractable epilepsy), Joyce Fink (heart attack/recovery from open heart surgery), Judy Novak (brain surgery and recovery), Mike J. Murphy (cancer treatment), 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).

SUPERVISOR, SPIRITUAL SUPPORT SERVICES
      Detroit, MI - Henry Ford Hospital

CHAPLAIN
      Mt. Vernon, IL - St. Mary's Good Samaritan

DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL SERVICES
      Joliet, IL - Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home

DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL CARE
      Saranac Lake, NY - Adirondack Medical Center

CPE RESIDENT, SUMMER INTERN, FALL INTERN
      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.