Click here to return to the main NACC Now page.

1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. USCCB updated bulletin requests our action
3. Thanks for the feedback on Vision! Keep it coming!
4. Research-oriented?
5. Facebook for NACC?
6. Recent PlainViews features NACC’s Tim Serban’s Red Cross reflections
7. A request to participate in a survey
8. A way to use the Spiritual Leadership Competencies
9. Survey about chaplains' use of online communication tools with patients
10. You can still sign up for final NACC fall audio conference!
11. Have you received your NACC Conference 2010 brochure yet?
12. Have you ordered your World Day of the Sick Prayer Cards yet?
13. Have you ordered your video promoting the chaplaincy profession?
14. Southern California NACC members meet with their local bishop
15. Local/regional event dates
16. Other educational events
17. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
18. Recent Job Posting
19. Positions wanted

A blessed Thanksgiving feast to all of you! Most of us are familiar with the gifted writer, Brother David Steindl-Rast, who wrote on gratitude. “Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more.” Simple statement, isn’t it? True? I believe so. I have found myself reflecting on the challenge of gratefulness being a key to a happy life that we do not hold in our hands. In the past year, I am aware of members experiencing many losses: jobs, loved ones, health, staff, income, and you can name more. Aren’t those the part of life we no longer hold in our hands? Buddha is quoted as teaching: “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” Seems rather reductionist, doesn’t it? “We must have something left we are grateful for!” It is making me reflect on gratitude itself as a gift, not based on what we hold or do not hold. Perhaps, it is the grace of “being held” rather than in “holding”. It’s the grace stance of knowing I am loved and held, not of how it has shown itself to me. Just a thought, as we celebrate this thanksgiving. Blessings to you!

We are grateful for the life you have brought to NACC!

You, the members, are a constant source of gratitude. All you who have volunteered and been engaged over the months. You who: came on special ministry conference calls to share and learn; participated in the 40 and under and deaconate calls; planned, led prayer at, brought treats to, participated in local gatherings; were an interviewer, ITE, or host for certification interviews; wrote for Vision or NACC Now; responded to a member's request for materials, ideas, and programs when he or she requested it in NACC Now; prayed for members when they were sick or sent a card or a caring e-mail; participated in listservs; attended and/or helped plan the Summit 2009; are planning Conference 2010; contributed through being a special representative or on a panel, task force, committee, commission, and/or NACC board of directors; encouraged and provided your wisdom/feedback/counsel to one another, NACC representatives and NACC staff; and many, many more ways.

THANK YOU ALL!

Blessed Thanksgiving to you!

David A. Lichter
Executive Director

As the health care reform bills move through the political process, the USCCB asks us to continue to make with our representatives a moral case for genuine healthcare reform that will protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Go to www.usccb.org/healthcare/UPDATED-bulletin-insert.pdf for more information.

We have received more than 100 responses so far to the 4-minute survey that provides your opinions on shaping the future of Vision. Your responses will assist us to gauge members’ satisfaction with Vision in its current form, as well as to plan for upcoming issues. Please take time right now to share your ideas. Thank you!
-- NACC Editorial Advisory Panel and Laurie Hansen Cardona, Vision Editor.
Take the survey here: tinyurl.com/ykxh2mm

Vision seeks individuals who enjoy research and are willing to read a Research Update article prior to publication in Vision, then write a brief two-paragraph article about how that research article has direct application to their ministry/pastoral care. The brief article would appear alongside Research Update. Writing turnaround time would be about one week. We hope to create a panel of research-savvy individuals to share the task, so volunteers may be asked to write only once or twice a year. If interested, please contact Laurie Hansen Cardona, Vision editor, at lcardona@nacc.org. Many thanks!

Guess what? NACC now has a Facebook page. Interested? Visit our main page www.nacc.org and click the link on the lower left of the page. Logged-in Facebook members will see a “become a fan” option when they arrive at our page. Others will have the option to join Facebook; or to log in if they are already members. It’s your Facebook!

The most recent PlainViews published our NACC's Tim Serban’s reflections on his ministry with the Red Cross Spiritual Care Response Team (SRT) while completing a hardship deployment to help in response efforts following the earthquake and tsunami in American Samoa. Click here.

Rev. Martin Montonye, DMin, ACPE Supervisor, APC Board Certified Chaplain, requests our members to participate in a 10-15 minute survey designed to gather important information about leadership and our profession. This survey is designed to help professionals answer the question, "Am I keeping up to date in my practice?" The data will be used to inform us how we are doing in practice, and to identify ongoing professional development needs.

Rev. Martin writes:
Recent survey data by the Carnegie Foundation indicates 80% of former seminary students report significant practice gaps in their preparation for ministry. Seminary alumni/ae report not feeling adequately prepared to address some of the pastoral concerns they faced, including the leadership and management roles they assumed after graduation.

Because many of us who are trained as clinicians and chaplains are now being called upon to demonstrate competency (knowledge and skills) in management and organizational leadership, I am seeking to find out where you received training (if you did), and if you did not receive explicit training, what leadership knowledge and skills you need in your current practice.

The results of this national survey will be presented at the 2010 APC and ACPE national conferences. The results will also be distributed to the participating organizations and made available upon request. Your contribution will add an important voice to the future of our professional learning community.

This survey is administered through a web-based survey. It is completely confidential and your email address will not be required. It will take approximately 10-15 minutes of your time to complete.

The survey is located at this link.

At the end of the survey you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $50 gift card to Amazon.com. For those wishing to enter the drawing, you will need to include your email address. After the drawing your email address will be deleted. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this survey, please contact me at mmontonye@healthcarechaplaincy.org

Thank you in advance for your participation.
Rev. Martin Montonye, DMin, ACPE Supervisor, APC Board Certified Chaplain, Director of Clinical Pastoral Education, T 212-644-1111 x232 | F 212-486-1440, mmontonye@healthcarechaplaincy.org 307 East 60th Street | New York, NY 10022

In the prior NACC Now we provided you The Pastoral Care Summit Care Services/Staff Development Task Force’s Spiritual Leadership Competencies that a chaplain needs for leadership roles in pastoral care. One NACC member, Michele LeDoux Sakurai, BCC, offers a way they were used in her setting to interview potential candidates for such positions. See how Michele found them helpful: . To access these competencies go to www.nacc.org/advancing/pctask.asp.

You can still participate. Take a few moments to respond to an anonymous survey about use of the Internet in chaplain-patient communications. Go to: tinyurl.com/ygt7xo7. Questions/concerns? Chaplain Mary E. Johnson can help at Johnson.mary3@mayo.edu.

You can still sign up for the final fall Audio Conference.

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.

The March 20-23, 2010, NACC 2010 Conference brochures were sent out a few days ago. Many members have already received them. Did you? Hope you can come. Many members are already calling the NACC office about the Conference. Bring a friend or colleague!

As you know, the NACC publishes, both in English and Spanish, two prayer cards, one for the care giver and one for the person sick. You can order them now by going to www.nacc.org/resources/wds/ to download the order form.

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.

We certainly encourage relationship-building with your local bishops. Recently several NACC members of the diocese of Orange, CA, set an appointment with their bishop, Most Reverend Tod Brown, who endorses them. While it was a brief meeting, both NACC members and the bishop valued the meeting. He also makes a point to meet with each of them individually before each endorsement. Have other NACC members done this? Let David Lichter know at dlichter@nacc.org.

Here is their handsome group picture (click to view larger):

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.

• Saturday, December 5, 2009, Chicago, IL. See details.
• Friday, January 22, 2009, Miami, FL. Details to follow.
• Saturday-Sunday, January 30-31, 2010, Austin, TX. Details to follow.
• Monday, February 8, 2010, St. Louis, MO, Details to follow.

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

• Friday, January 15, 2010, CHA Webinar, “Caring for Persons Who Are Memory Impaired in Catholic Long-Term Facilities. See details.

Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. We continue to pray for Sr. Micheletta McGee, RSM (pancreatic cancer), Lourdes B. Ruta (wife of Peter Ruta, in recovery), 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), 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).

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

PRIEST CHAPLAIN (FULL-TIME)
     Northridge, CA - Northridge Hospital Medical Center

PRIEST
     Wilmington, DE - St. Francis Healthcare Services

DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL CARE
     West Islip, NY - Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center

MISSION INTEGRATION COORDINATOR
     Topeka, KS - St. Francis Health Center

CHAPLAIN
     Duluth, MN - Itasca Hospice

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.