Vision | NACC Now | Member Login | Giving | Contact Us | Site Map | Search
Click here to return to the main NACC Now page.
Contents:
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. Congratulations Jack Crabb, S.J.; thank you Fr. Dean Marek and Marie Polhamus!
3. NACC Finance Committee seeks additional member
4. Blessed Pastoral Care Week to all of you!
5. Spiritual Leadership Competencies identified by Care Services Task Force
6. Standards of Pastoral Practice in Acute Care available
7. Plans for Standards of Pastoral Practice for Long-Term Care
8. Looking for any information about home visiting protocol for Chaplains
9. Excellent resource for palliative care
10. HealthCare Chaplaincy notes importance of consensus documents
11. A couple of great spiritual resources for chaplains
12. There is still time to participate in the survey about chaplains' use of online communication tools with patients
13. You can still sign up for NACC fall audio conferences!
14. Video promoting the chaplaincy profession available
15. Local/regional event dates
16. Other educational events
17. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
18. Recent job posting
19. Positions wanted
As we begin Pastoral Care Week, we are reminded that our “supportive presence” is grounded in our beliefs that the Divine dwells in the midst of the disorienting and potentially discouraging life situations of the people we minister to. That the Holy hovers over the hellish and sometimes heartbreaking experiences these people undergo. Yet you are with them sometimes in silence, sometimes in prayer, your presence signaling a communion of care. What grounds and nourishes your ministry? In the past two weeks, I have been “given” three new authors that provide more food for our souls... (click here to continue reading on our website)
I have known Lynn Neu since high school. A bright, energetic, people-person, Lynn has dedicated her professional life to Church ministry. From high school teaching in Racine, Wisconsin, to directing the youth ministry program for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, to campus ministry at the University of California - San Diego, Lynn ministers with uncompromising compassion and hope. A few years ago, cancer interrupted, then transformed her. Being a chronic and contagious communicator, Lynn discovered throughout her news of, battle with, and ongoing recovery from cancer the healing and redemptive power of community through electronic communication. The God Box is filled with personal story, insightful reflection, numerous spiritual resources, and inspiring testimony. I have to think differently about the communion in communication. Learn more about Lynn and The God Box at inthegodbox.com/book.htm.
I just met Drew Leder at the Wisconsin Chaplaincy Association gathering this past week in Green Lake, Wisconsin. Drew was presenting on spirituality and aging. Drew, with both MD and Ph.D. credentials from distinguished schools, was unassumingly contemplative and a-muse-ing. He led the group in exploring the many images and archetypes of aging. His book on aging, Spiritual Passages: Embracing Life's Sacred Journey, views aging as a “spiritual curriculum.” However, I was also introduced to another of his books, Sparks of the Divine: Finding Inspiration in Our Everyday World, which is a delight as it draws from almost every religious tradition to help us see with new eyes our life and ministry. Learn more about Drew’s writings at evergreen.loyola.edu/dleder/www/.
Michael Crosby, OFM, Capuchin, for decades has been a voice for personal and social transformation, and the inseparable journey of those two. An untiring advocate for corporate and ecclesial, moral and ethical integrity, Michael has written and presented extensively on these topics. If you have met Michael, you remember his bright eyes, playful smile, charming wit, deep compassion, and critical insight. Recently Michael gave me the privilege to review his new DVD series, Choosing Compassion. The series is geared for individuals and groups serious about their spiritual growth. It’s a dynamic program aimed to invite participants to move from negative, control-based dynamics, to empowering, care-based ways of transformation. It is a perfect accompaniment for people involved in recovery and 12-Step spirituality, but also for staffs and groups of chaplains meeting for a renewal day. The six 20-minute videos with reflection/resource guides are very well done. I highly recommend the program, Choosing Compassion: www.choosingcompassion.net.
What are you using as food for your souls?
Appreciatively,
David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director
We congratulate Jack Crabb, S.J., for being elected by NACC members to join the NACC Board of Directors. We also thank Fr. Dean Marek and Marie Polhamus for their generosity and willingness to be candidates for the Board. Thanks also to all members who exercised their right and privilege to vote.
NACC Finance Committee seeks additional memberHave you had prior experience in finance and are now a chaplain? Are you a director of pastoral care or mission leader with finance experience? Are you looking for a way to contribute in a limited but critical way to NACC? We need you on our NACC Finance Committee! Please consider submitting your application for appointment to the Committee! For the Finance Committee roles and responsibilities and the application form, please click here. For questions about being a member of the Finance Committee, please contact the Finance Committee Chair, Karen Pugliese (Karen_Pugliese@cdh.org). Applications are to be received by Friday, November 6, 2009.
Blessed Pastoral Care Week to all of you!The NACC staff extends a special prayer of gratitude and blessing to our NACC members and all serving in pastoral care during this Pastoral Care Week of October 25-31, 2009, "PASTORAL CARE: Supportive Presence.” If you still want to use the new NACC video, “Chaplaincy Ministry,” as a communication tool during this week, you can access it on the NACC website at this link.
Spiritual Leadership Competencies identified by Care Services Task ForceThe Pastoral Care Summit Care Services/Staff Development Task Force has identified the Spiritual Leadership Competencies needed by a chaplain considering leadership roles in pastoral care. These will be disseminated widely as a resource for our members and a source of dialogues among our partners, e.g., CHA and the SCC. To access them click here.
Standards of Pastoral Practice in Acute Care availableThe NACC Board of Directors reviewed and endorsed the Standards of Practice for Acute Care that had been developed by the APC Commission on Quality in Pastoral Services. Other cognate groups of the Spiritual Care Collaborative are also endorsing them. Please begin to share and use them in your local settings. You can access them here.
Plans for Standards of Pastoral Practice for Long-Term CareThe APC Commission on Quality in Pastoral Services is now beginning its work on Standards of Practice for Long-Term Care (SOP LTC). NACC chaplains participated in the development of the Standards of Practice for Acute Care. NACC chaplains are invited to participate in this process as well. Mark Larocca-Pitts and Jon Overvold are the co-chairs of the project. They need chaplains with long experience in LTC -- independent, assisted, skilled, transitional, etc. -- or CCRC (continuing care retirement communities) who can work well with others to be the subject matter experts. If you want to be considered for this project, please e-mail David Lichter, dlichter@nacc.org with your request and professional background. Also, NACC wants to create a small “review team” of our LTC chaplains to review the draft of the document when it is completed. Please indicate if you would also like to be part of that review team.
Looking for any information about home visiting protocol for ChaplainsJeanne Childs was awarded a fellowship to begin a home visiting program for frail elderly at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. She has been tasked to research information and help write a protocol which will include an effective screening and semantics for the referral process for the nurse, physician and social worker in this program; an effective assessment tool to communicate findings and develop care plan with the team; outcome measurements and evaluation methods; a safety protocol including chaplain safety and proper response to medical events which might occur during the visit (e.g. vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness in the patient, etc.). Gratefully open to all suggestions and experience! Jeanne Childs, MA, jeanne.childs@comcast.net, (603) 643-4440.
Excellent resource for palliative careThe Journal of Palliative Medicine has published the Special Report “Improving the Quality of Spiritual Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care: The Report of the Consensus Conference.” This is an excellent resource. To read the Special Report, visit this page.
HealthCare Chaplaincy notes importance of consensus documentsIn the recent PlainViews, Rev. George Handzo’s article, “Board Certified Chaplaincy Integration through Consensus,” highlights the importance of consensus documents, such as the one on palliative care noted in #8 above, for establishing chaplaincy among the healthcare professions. www.plainviews.org/Advocacy.php
A couple of great spiritual resources for chaplainsThe newly released Choosing Compassion: the Paradox of Power by Michael H. Crosby, OFM Cap., a six-session DVD set with guide, is an excellent resource for education days and staff retreats. Go to www.choosingcompassion.net/index.php. Mike is also leading the NACC Conference 2010 retreat. Also, The God Box: Hope Strength Courage @ Your Fingertips, by Lynn Neu, a mature and experienced Church minister and cancer survivor, offers a fascinating, practical, and creative reflection on the use of cyberspace in creating our people in need of communities of courage and strength. inthegodbox.com/index.htm.
There is still time to participate in the survey about chaplains' use of online communication tools with patientsIn this Pastoral Care Week, please help the profession. Take a few moments to respond to an anonymous survey about use of the Internet in chaplain-patient communications. Go to: this link. Questions/ concerns? Chaplain Mary E. Johnson can help at Johnson.mary3@mayo.edu.
You can still sign up for NACC fall audio conferences!You can still sign up for these two Audio Conferences.
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.
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.
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.
Local/regional event datesMore 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.
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 Fr. Bob Nee BCC, LICSW, CT (intractable epilepsy), Kelly Elizabeth Sexton (cancer: daughter of NACC member Melyssa Sexton), 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).
Recent job postingThe following position has been posted in the last two weeks. Please go to our online job board for more information.
CHAPLAIN II
Albuquerque, NM -- UNM Hospitals
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.