November/December 1998 Issue Highlights

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1998

National News

The Presidents and Presidents-Elect of four cognate pastoral care and counseling groups hold A Pastoral Care Family Reunion in Nashville, Tennessee, October 2-4, and issue a joint statement afterwards.

Michele LeDoux Sakurai, NACC's Commissioner to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Pastoral Services (JCAPS), gives a report on the annual meeting of JCAPS, August 20-22, 1998. Much of the meeting centered on the year's work by JCAPS with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) on standards for the provision of competent pastoral care as part of total health care. Ms. Marianna Grachek, Executive Director of JCAHO's Long Term Care Accreditation Services, attended the meeting and joined the discussion.

Happenings

News from the annual fall conferences in Region III and Region VII.

President's Report

NACC President Monica Ann Lucas, SC, shares the insights she gains at the annual fall conference of Region XII while listening to a speaker give a perspective on the spirituality and healing of chaplains as Helpers and Holders.

Heartbeat

NACC affiliate member, the Rev. John Miller, a prison chaplain, continues the series on "Forgiveness" featured in the October issue, sharing a story which exemplifies the transforming power of forgiveness in prison ministry.

Executive Director's Column

In his article, "How Far Do We Want to Move Outside the Walls?" Fr. Joe Driscoll questions his Irish luck when he is confronted by an urgent need for his ministry in an Irish pub in Nashville, Tennessee.

Special Feature

Mary T. O'Connor, Coordinator of Chaplaincy at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Massachusetts, describes her Ministry of Healing through Photographs. A talented photographer, Mary captures evocative images with her camera and helps patients get in touch with their spiritual side through the presentation of her photographs.

SUPER-Vision

The Dialogue Continues from the August/ September issue with nine more responses to the proposal published in the April 1998 issue for the NACC to discontinue supervisory education and the certification of Supervisors. CPE Supervisor Bob Struminski, SM, thinks the time is right for dialogue with ACPE and urges NACC to work with ACPE to ensure quality training. NACC Supervisor Angela M. Fellin, RSM, discusses some of the changes that have taken place since CPE programs began under the United States Catholic Conference and urges that NACC "take a deeper look at what we have before we let it go." Shirley Nugent, SCN, recently retired as a CPE supervisor and program director, cites several reasons in favor of NACC's maintaining and enhancing CPE centers and attracting and recruiting future CPE supervisors. Sr. Carol Atchity, BVM, says that NACC needs to increase, not close, CPE centers. Gordon Hilsman, a dually certified NACC/ACPE Supervisor, outlines several factors he believes point in the direction of discontinuing NACC training and certification of supervisors.

What's Coming in Future Issues
- The March 1999 issue of the Vision will feature a special section on Ministry to the Mentally Ill. Articles on this topic are invited. The deadline is Monday, January 11, 1999.