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Contents:
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. Updates on Haiti from American Red Cross
3. Nominations for NACC Board of Directors Candidates
4. Please look for a Member Ethics Statement with your membership application or renewal
5. Seeking NACC Certified Members for Certification Interviews
6. 2010-Renewal of Certification Applications
7. 2010 Renewal of Certification Materials
8. Logging your Continuing Education Hours
9. How do I find a Peer Reviewer?
10. 2010 Renewal of Certification Fee
11. Renewal Contact Person
12. Contacting graduate programs in ministry regarding chaplaincy ministry
13. New positions for NACC members
14. Register today! Early Bird Registration deadline this Friday – NACC Conference 2010
15. Come, spend time in a field… NACC Conference 2010 reflection
16. Do’s and Don’ts of Registration for NACC Conference 2010
17. Seeking Items for the Silent Auction – NACC Conference 2010
18. Conference Hotel - NACC Conference 2010
19. Seeking priests for Sacrament of the Anointing of Sick – Conference 2010
20. 2010-2012 Spiritual Care and Ethics Champions Programs Announced
21. Planning for NACC 2010 Audio Conferences
22. In case you didn't get a chance to respond…
23. Lenten Resource – Sr. Joyce Rupp reflections
24. Training and using volunteers
25. Order your video promoting the chaplaincy profession
26. Local/regional event dates
27. Other education events
28. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
29. Recent job postings
30. Positions wanted
I was recently with a group of colleagues for a dinner. Our table talk led us to share some of our family roots, how long ago our families immigrated to the U.S., whether we learned our ancestors’ languages or they were never passed along, what it was like for them those early years. Sharing our history helped us more deeply appreciate one another and created a deeper bond among us. When I recently returned to the 40th Anniversary book of NACC, I felt now, after two and one half years with you, a deeper bond with and appreciation for you. This is becoming for me every day a “shared history” that commits us more deeply to a common future.
Next Sunday’s first reading for the first Sunday of Lent touches on learning more about our shared religious history to deepen our bond and appreciation for who we are as people of faith. We are reminded of the first fruits ritual of our Hebrew brothers and sisters. As they take that offering to the priest, they declare before the Lord that “My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong and numerous.” It reminded them of who they were then to strengthen who they are now. The temptations of Christ in next Sunday’s Gospel can also be seen as the test of identity, the taunting of Jesus to forgo and forget His bond to His people and His Father.
Perhaps for me this Lent, this emphasis on embracing anew my own roots to deepen bonds with God and others can be a good reflection. How do I embrace anew my family roots, my Catholic roots, my ministerial roots, my growing roots with NACC?
For us, as members of NACC, we fortunately have our 2010 NACC Conference during this Lent. It will give us a chance to celebrate our 45 years as a valuable and vital association that has prepared and supported thousands of spiritual care ministers! What a history! What a bond! We want to recognize those who have been the grandparents of NACC, the many generational leaders who have grown NACC from a small household to a vibrant organization. I am greatly aware that many, many, many members will not be able to join us in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the conference, but you will be remembered, as we reflect on our remarkable history, as part of our rich “today” and our “tomorrow.”
May this Lent lead us more deeply into our sharing in the Pascal Mystery of Christ in which He fully revealed His bond with, embracing of, and redemption of our humanity and history.
What are your thoughts about this?
Appreciatively,
David Lichter, Executive Director
Tim Serban, our NACC member and member of the American Red Cross’ Spiritual Care Response Team (SRT), provides us with an update on the Red Cross efforts in Haiti. You can read them at www.nacc.org/resources/emergency/haiti.asp.
Nominations for NACC Board of Directors CandidatesThe NACC Nominations Panel is in the process of identifying potential candidates for the NACC Board of Directors for 2011. If you are interested in being a candidate or want to nominate someone (with their permission) please have the Board Application Form completed and sent to Jim Letourneau (letournj@trinity-health.org), chair of Nominations Panel, by this coming Friday, February 19, 2010. Click here for a link to the Board’s Roles, Responsibilities, and Criteria document and the application form.
Please look for a Member Ethics Statement with your membership application or renewalUpon the recommendation of the NACC Board of Directors, all NACC members, whether you are becoming a new member or renewing your current membership, will now be asked to acknowledge by your signature that you have familiarized yourself with and agree to abide by the NACC Code of Ethics found in the NACC Standards for Ethics, Certification, and Renewal of Certification, Part Two, Section 100, Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals. Please note that this is a different statement than the Ethics Accountability Statement signed for certification and renewal of certification. Our NACC membership application now has a statement on this, and with your membership renewal notice you will be receiving a form to read, sign, and return with your membership renewal form. Thank you in advance for responding to this request.
Seeking NACC Certified Members for Certification InterviewsWe are looking for members to train to be certification interviewers for this coming fall. Interviews will be held October 2-3, 2010. If you are attending the 2010 conference in St. Paul, there is an opportunity to receive training on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at our special NACC workshop. Please see the conference brochure for details. With the growth of male applicants for certification, we are especially seeking certified male NACC members to train to be interviewers. Our tentative locations for the fall are Portland, OR; Milwaukee, WI; Boston, MA; and St. Louis, MO. Please contact Susanne at schaw@nacc.org if you are interested or have questions.
2010-Renewal of Certification ApplicationsRenewal Reminder Letters were mailed to those members due to renew their certification by 12/31/2010.
Thank you to members who submitted 2010 Renewal of Certification Applications early. These renewal materials will be reviewed at our upcoming Certification Commission meeting, which will be held in March 18-20, 2010 (St. Paul, MN). And Notification Letters will be mailed, via U.S. Postal Service, by April 19, 2010.
For those of you working on your Renewal of Certification Application and materials, please note there is still time to submit. Items received by March 1, 2010 will be reviewed at our March 2010 Certification Commission meeting.
Renewal of Certification Applications received by June 24, 2010 will be reviewed at the July 8-11, 2010 meeting (Milwaukee, WI) with notification mailed out by August 10, 2010.
*Please Note: For those members requiring notification prior to December 31, 2010, it will be necessary to submit your Renewal Application and materials in time to be reviewed at our last Commission meeting of the year (October 2010). Although you have until December 31, 2010, to complete the process, we urge you not to wait until November or December unless you are okay with waiting until mid 2011 for your notification letter.
2010 Renewal of Certification MaterialsPlease be sure to visit www.nacc.org/certification/renewal.asp to print your renewal of certification materials.
Logging your Continuing Education HoursWhen logging your Continuing Education Hours (CEHs), please be sure to use a separate Education Report Form for each year. So, you will have a total of five (5) Education Report Forms to submit with your application/materials. If you have an abundance of CEHs to record, then please use the Education Report Form (longer version), which will allow more entries.
How do I find a Peer Reviewer?To select a Peer Reviewer (an active or retired certified NACC member) to complete your one (1) hour peer review session, please visit the NACC Online Membership Directory (sorted by US State of residence), Enter your Username (your Member #) and your Password (your last name in lowercase letters). You will be able to scroll down the list to find your state’s abbreviation and view the members in your area. (Must also see the Peer Review Process located in the Certification Procedures Manual on our website.)
2010 Renewal of Certification FeeThe 2010 Fee for Renewal of Certification is $160.00, made payable to the NACC.
Renewal Contact PersonIf you have questions or concerns regarding the renewal process, please contact Becky Evans, Certification Assistant at bevans@nacc.org or (414) 483-4898 ext. 310.
Contacting graduate programs in ministry regarding chaplaincy ministryOver the past weeks, we have been contacting graduate programs in ministry about the chaplaincy ministry, sending links to our NACC website, and brochures to share with students. If you have a nearby college or grad program you want to partner with us to contact, share materials, and potentially offer a presentation on the chaplaincy ministry, please let us know by contacting David Lichter (dlichter@nacc.org).
New positions for NACC membersJust a reminder to you, please let us know if you have accepted a new position/responsibility. E-mail Cindy Bridges (cbridges@nacc.org). We want to congratulate you and let others know, too. Below is our current list of updates from members:
Chaplain Patricia Harrison
I am working again with Kaiser Permanente but in Roseville, California at the hospital. I do love being back in a hospital, though I loved my many years with hospice.
Dr. Michele Le Doux Sakurai
As of January 18, 2010 I will assume the position of Manager, Spiritual/Pastoral Care and Mission at Providence Mount Carmel/St. Joseph's/Dominicare in Colville, WA.
Nancy Cook
I was promoted within CHW from the Manger of Spiritual Care in Sacramento at Mercy General Hospital to the Director of Spiritual Care for CHW Phoenix East Valley Area (Chandler Regional Medical Center and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Arizona).
Ernest J. (Skip) Dalle Molle
A CPE classmate of mine will be taking the reigns of Trinity Ministries (presently in Dallas and moving to Duncanville, TX just south of Dallas). He asked me to come on board as the Administrative Officer. I will be there effective January 10, 2010. I also hope to pick up some volunteer hospital chaplain or fire department chaplain time while I am there. Prayers are requested as my wife, Barbara, who will not be joining me for a spell...she will stay in Illinois and I will stay in a campground.
Rev. Ralph Lepley
I am completing certification through North Carolina State University's Executive Business & Professional Coaching (ICF) Program in Raleigh, NC. I'm utilizing this certification in my position as a member of The Board of Directors at NC Baptist Hospital's Samaritan Carenet Counseling Center in Statesville, NC. I'd like to network with interested persons in the Southeastern USA who might be interested in learning more about coaching.
James Letourneau
Effective January 4, 2010, I will have a new role and new contact information. My new role will be Director of Mission and Spirituality for Trinity Health in Livonia, MI.
Raymond Maher
I have been hired as a full-time Catholic Chaplain at the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, Maine. My start date is January 19, 2009.
Father Herb Wheatley
I was recently elected to the Presbyteral Council for the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. It is for a 3 year term.
Sr. Irma Odabashian, CSJ
My name is Sr. Irma Odabashian, CSJ. I am an NACC member, ministering as a Chaplain at Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson, AZ, a member of Carondelet Health Network, Sponsored by Ascension Health.
I am happy to let the Association know that I was just appointed to the Board of Directors of Holy Cross Hospital, in Nogales, AZ., which is also a Carondelet Health Network hospital, Sponsored by Ascension Health. Thank you.
Rev John T. (Jack) Crabb
Director of Pastoral Care and (Founding) Director of CPE, Mercy Hospital, Portland Maine, beginning February 1, 2010. Mercy Hospital is a brand new NACC and ACPE CPE Center; only Catholic CPE Center in Maine.
Shafi Thomas
This is to let you know that I have two new responsibilities. One is a member of the Institutional Review Board for 2 years for the Sage College in Troy, NY. The second is:
Recently I have been appointed by the Bishop of the Albany Diocese a member of the Pastoral Care Commission of the Diocese of Albany, NY.
Fr. Eugene Pocernich, BCC, Columbia-St. Mary's Hospital
I have recently been appointed to the Priests' Wellness Council of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Louise C. Gregg
This is just to let you know about my new position. I am NACC certified as a Chaplain; ACPE as Supervisor. I started Nov. 2, 2009 as Supervisor and Coordinator of the CPE Program. Washington Hospital Center, Spiritual Care Department, Clinical Pastoral Education Coordinator, ACPE Supervisor
Frank Beazley
I just want to bring you up to date with where I am these days as a Director. I will be assuming the position of Director of Pastoral Care at Providence Hospital in Washington DC. It is part of the Ascension Health System and I am very excited about the challenges and opportunities that exist at Providence.
My time here at Lourdes as been a true blessing, and I leave with mixed feelings. I have been very fortunate to have had Sister Marilyn Perkins (VP Mission) mentor me for the past 3-years and she will be missed. I prepare to assume my new duties on March 1st.
Registrations for the NACC Conference 2010 are coming in. Early Bird deadline is this Friday, February 19, 2010! Please join us! Bring a colleague or friend. Click here for details.
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Saturday, March 20 – Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Winds of Change, Spirit of Promise
Crowne Plaza St. Paul – Riverfront |
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Come, spend time in a field… NACC Conference 2010 reflection
Linda F. Piotrowski, MTS, BCC, offers us a reflection for NACC Conference 2010. Thank you, Linda!
2010 Conference Reflection
by Linda F. Piotrowski, MTS BCC
February 2010
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” The Essential Rumi. Coleman Barks. (1997) Harper
In a playful way, Rumi invites us to meet him in a field beyond our preconceived notions of God to explore the presence of the Divine within ourselves. In a similar way the conference planning committee, our board and NACC leadership invites us to St. Paul, Minnesota for our annual conference, “Winds of Change, Spirit of Promise,” to spend time in a field where challenge and promise co-exist.
Great thought leaders have accepted our invitation to be with us, to engage and inspire. A number of our colleagues have stepped forward offering their time and talents to highlight what is possible when we use imagination and hard work in service of the healing ministry of Jesus.
The publication of “Improving the Quality of Spiritual Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care: The Report of the Consensus Conference” in The Journal of Palliative Medicine is must reading for all chaplains. Perhaps more than anything in recent publishing it issues a challenge for spiritual care professionals to take the lead in inviting others to partner with us in the important work of reasserting the rightful place of spirituality in the constellation of healing therapies offered to patients and their loved ones while caught up in the medical system.
Recently I presented the article to the interdisciplinary journal club at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where I am the chaplain on the palliative care service. It afforded me the opportunity to digest the article fully in order to rearticulate its message. Initially, I found myself resistant to what felt like a dissection of the sacred work of uncovering the presence of God in the midst of suffering and uncertainty. This is, in fact, what the article does. As we discussed the article we talked about our respective roles on the team. Donna Soltura, MSW, my social work colleague, said, “I think of what I do as public and secular while what you do is private and sacred.” Our service’s clinical director, Sharona Sachs, MD contributed, “You, Linda, are caught. You are in a discipline that is struggling to assert its place at the table. You are serving in palliative care, a medical specialty that is also struggling to assert its rightful place within medicine.” She went on to remind the team and me that unless we are willing to dissect our work, to describe and define what it is and to teach others how to do it we will never have standing within the medical world.
To demystify is not to destroy. It is to clarify for ourselves and invite others into understanding and companioning. To share the mystery of our work does not demean it. It enhances it.
When we gather in St. Paul we will learn to enhance our work and develop new skills. We will also have many opportunities to strengthen our faith and our deep devotion to our ministry by way of holy conversations with colleagues over meals. The beautifully and prayerfully prepared liturgies and prayer celebrations will bring us together as people of faith. Preconference and conference workshops beckon as chances to learn from our colleagues who have bravely stepped forward as if to say, “Here is how I have studied my work, dissected it and defined it. There is a process for how to reach the alcoholic, the mourning, and the broken-hearted. Here is one way you can do this. Adapt it. Use it. Teach others. Change lives.”
Come to St. Paul this March. Together we will work hard, play and pray together. You will go home refreshed and renewed. This is a promise you can count on.
Do’s and Don’ts of Registration for NACC Conference 2010Ministry Focus Groups/Optional Box Lunch
If you have checked any of the Ministry Focus group selections on your conference registration page 2, please check also whether or not you are interested in the optional box lunch that will be provided for a cost of $25.00.
Selecting workshops
Below is the INCORRECT WAY to complete your workshop choices
Please indicate your three choices for each workshop per session using a 1, 2, and 3.
Saturday, March 20, 2010, 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.: | _1_N1 | ___N2 | ___N3 | ___N4 | ___N5 | ||
Sunday, March 21, 2010, 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.: | ___S1 | _1_S2 | ___S3 | ___S4 | ___S5 | ___S6 | ___S7 |
Sunday, March 21, 2010, 2:45 – 4:00 p.m.: | ___S8 | ___S9 | _1_S10 | ___S11 | ___S12 | ___S13 | ___S14 |
Monday, March 22, 2010, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.: | ___M1 | ___M2 | ___M3 | ___M4 | ___M5 | _1_M6 | ___M7 |
Below is the CORRECT WAY to complete your workshop choices
Please indicate your three choices for each workshop per session using a 1, 2, and 3.
Saturday, March 20, 2010, 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.: | _1_N1 | _3_N2 | _2_N3 | ___N4 | ___N5 | ||
Sunday, March 21, 2010, 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.: | ___S1 | ___S2 | _1_S3 | ___S4 | _3_S5 | ___S6 | _2_S7 |
Sunday, March 21, 2010, 2:45 – 4:00 p.m.: | _1_S8 | ___S9 | ___S10 | _3_S11 | ___S12 | _2_S13 | ___S14 |
Monday, March 22, 2010, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.: | ___M1 | _3_M2 | ___M3 | ___M4 | _2_M5 | ___M6 | _1_M7 |
Please contact the national office if you have any questions.
Seeking Items for the Silent Auction – NACC Conference 2010We can still use more items for the silent auction for Conference 2010. Please consider bringing handmade or other types of items, including items from your institution, for our silent auction. Share your talents and gifts to benefit other members! Proceeds will go towards future conference scholarships. If you can contribute an item, please contact Susanne at schaw@nacc.org.
Conference Hotel - NACC Conference 2010There is still room at the inn! The Crowne Plaza St. Paul – Riverfront still has rooms available for the conference. For reservations or inquiries, call the Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront at (651) 605-0197 and ask for Stephanie Guidera. If you should have any difficulty when booking a room with the hotel, please contact Jeanine (jannunziato@nacc.org) or Susanne (schaw@nacc.org) immediately for assistance.
Seeking priests for Sacrament of the Anointing of Sick – Conference 2010If you are a priest attending our 2010 Conference and would like to assist with the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, please contact Jeanine at jannunziato@nacc.org.
The NACC was grateful to have worked closely with the leaders of several Catholic health systems to help plan the 2010-2012 Spiritual Care Champions System. All NACC members are invited to participate. Please click here to learn about both the Spiritual Care and Ethics Champions programs, their features, and how to register for the programs by March 15, 2010, or individually in the future.
Planning for NACC 2010 Audio ConferencesAs mentioned in the prior NACC Now, the NACC Education Advisory Panel will be meeting on February 18th to evaluate the NACC 2009 audio conferences and assist with the choosing of topics for 2010. We plan to offer some specific theological content audio conferences to complement the excellent Spiritual Care Champion Series. Please let Jeanine Annunziato (jannunziato@nacc.org), our Administrative Specialist Education Programs, know of theological topics you would like to see treated.
In case you didn't get a chance to respond…Don't miss your final opportunity to respond to a survey about your use of the Internet in patient care. Please go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/XPY89X7 and take a brief survey. Questions? Contact Chaplain Mary E. Johnson at johnson.mary3@mayo.edu or (507) 255-5544.
Lenten Resource – Sr. Joyce Rupp reflectionsPopular writer, retreat leader and spiritual director Sr. Joyce Rupp will be offering the 2010 Lenten Reflections at NCRonline.org. Beginning the week of Ash Wednesday, a link to her reflections will be delivered via this email. Please click here to sign up for weekly emails.
Training and using volunteersNACC, during the latter half of 2009, requested information from membership about the training, orientation, and use of volunteers. This information gathering is a work in progress. We offer you a general summary of what was collected and who sent information so far. If you have programs you want to provide information about, please send to David Lichter (dlichter@nacc.org).
Order your video promoting the chaplaincy professionOur 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.
Here are other events for our members:
Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. We continue to pray for: Sr. Barbara M. Link, FSPA (chemotherapy treatment), Fr. Kevin Ikpah (eye troubles), 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).
Recent job postingsThe following positions have been posted in the last two weeks. Please go to www.nacc.org/positions/available.asp for more information.
CHAPLAIN
Waterloo, IA - Covenant Medical Center
PRIEST/CHAPLAIN
Huntington, WV - St. Mary's Medical Center
PRIEST/CHAPLAIN
Darby, PA - Mercy Fitzgerald 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.