1. A Pastoral Care Week message
2. "Frontline" looks at death and grieving
3. Think of our friends in California

We walk by faith, not by sight (II Cor. 5:7)
Dear members and friends of the NACC: As this year’s Pastoral Care Week celebrations wind down, we hope you have had a happy and recognition-filled week. The work you do never stops; the praise and recognition sometimes concentrates on times like this. We celebrate “healing faith” this week, but perhaps it is in the other 51 weeks of the year when we most call upon and need that faith. Faith manifests in many forms: a clasped hand, a quiet prayer, a calm presence at the bedside. And healing comes in many forms — not necessarily in miracle cures, but also in acceptance, reconciliation, and peace. The faith you share, in your words and especially in your deeds, offers healing to those whose faith is badly shaken or dormant. Whatever you find upon your rounds, the NACC celebrates and mourns with you, this week and every week.

Your National Staff
The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

On October 30, the PBS television series “Frontline” will premiere “The Undertaking,” a new program that enters the world of Thomas Lynch, a poet and undertaker whose family for three generations has cared for both the living and the dead in a small Michigan town. You may already know Thomas Lynch as the author of the book “The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade.” “Frontline’s” broadcast mixes readings of Lynch’s essays with the true stories of the families that he assists through the burial process. It’s a very compelling story of families coming to terms with grief and mortality with the help of professionals such as funeral directors and hospice workers. For more information, visit Frontline at pbs.org.

As fires rage in Southern California, we ask your thoughts and prayers for all those who are in harm’s way. According to Tim Serban, our NACC liaison to the Red Cross Spiritual Care Response Team, local clergy and chaplains are fully staffing the shelters. “The local resources have currently been able to meet the local short-term needs, and we are in close contact with our cognate partners and the National Red Cross and others related to the need,” he reports. “However, we are very aware that our members and colleagues in California have been impacted, and we are joining in prayer with all of those affected by this disaster.”