Issue #227 – July 11, 2016

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(Items marked with a * are new or updated items)

NACC

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
2. Our chaplain cognate partners’ national leadership met June 25, 2016 *
3. Please nominate candidates for the three NACC awards! *
4. Welcome new NACC members who joined us in June! *
5. Retired Member Status and Maintaining Chaplain Board Certification *
6. Please contribute to the NACC 2016 Annual Member Campaign! *
7. Tomorrow, July 12, support the NACC by shopping at smile.amazon.com! *
8. Deaths of current and former NACC Members *
9. Seeking applicants for additional NACC leadership positions *
10. Interviewer Recruitment for the October 8-9, 2016 Interviews Continue in July! *
11. Please look for the July-August Vision Issue on Leadership! *
12. Seeking Vision writers for the September-October issue on ministering to cultural and religious diversity. *
13. Seeking Vision writers for the November-December issue on the mental and behavioral health ministry. *

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

14. Mark your calendar for April 28-May 1, 2017 NACC Conference in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM!
15. 2017 NACC Conference Planning Task Force is working on conference theme! *

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

16. Learning from Chaplains: The Role of Spirituality in Medical Education *
17. Last chance to register for THIS Thursday’s July NACC Webinar addressing the role of chaplains in nurturing employee resilience in healthcare institutions. *
18. The other July NACC Webinar – July 28, Certification by NACC! *
19. The future 2016 NACC Webinars! *
20. Healing Tree: a request for prayers *
22. Recent job postings *

 

1. Executive Director’s Reflection
This past week has been a painful one for our country as we could watch the horrifying deaths of Philando Castile in St. Paul, MN, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Disbelief and inner revolt erupted within us, as we realized these killings bring home to us a profound wound of disregard for (some) human life. Who matters remains a human question. What has made it so hard to answer? What in our society allows us to be so callous towards some people and so sensitive to others?

Yesterday’s first reading from Deuteronomy 30: 10-14 has always been an embarrassing one for me, as Moses makes it clear that the voice of the Lord is not too mysterious or remote. We don’t have to go up to the sky to get it, because it is already in our mouths and hearts. We just have to carry it out. Why do we make this following God’s call to recognize human respect and dignity so complex?

Then the story of the Good Samaritan also takes away the complexity of the question, “Who is my neighbor? Who deserves dignity and respect? Jesus makes it clear here through the classic example of a parable as His listeners’ hearts are opened to the obvious that has been hidden by social and cultural biases. In this case it was a “scholar” who wanted to trick him with the neighbor question. We know in every story we want to identify with someone in the story – usually the good guy. Here Jesus’ audience will want to identify with the priest but he passes by the victim. Then there were high hopes for the Levite but he also has no interest in helping. Certainly one can’t identify with the Samaritan who is a non-person, an outcast because of historical, religious, and cultural reasons. So now it’s a dilemma for the listener who has no one left in the story with whom to identify except the victim of the assault and robbery. The answer becomes simple as the listener feels him or herself in the victim’s circumstances. Now the Samaritan’s help looks appreciated and welcomed – the person toward whom society and religious bias made it imperative to despise is now the face of humanity welcomed for compassion and love.

The killing of the five police officers in Dallas was also deeply painful, and our society’s outcry raged against this senseless and despicable act was so justified, as again violence was met by more violence. We are all reeling from this cycle of inhumanity toward one another. So, yesterday’s readings seem to shout, “Folks, our humanity is sacred; we are loved and embraced; it’s not that complicated; we need to act on it!” Yet, we experience a certain helplessness regarding the next step and how to speak about this in society and with one another. Our next “carrying out of inclusiveness, care, outreach, offer of dignity to “our outcast” will help us further regain and be renewed by the realization that it is not too “mysterious or remote.”

I pray that our ministry of healing embodies daily a freedom to act out of the simplicity and clarity of God’s call to human dignity, and we can live daily in the victim’s world as Jesus invited the “scholar” to do.

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

 

2. Our chaplain cognate partners’ national leadership met June 25, 2016
Our professional chaplain cognate partners’ national leadership met in person this past Saturday, June 25, 2016, at the APC Annual Conference in Orlando. Moving forward – moving together for professional chaplaincy!

Please go here to see the latest communication from our cognate partners.

 

3. Please nominate candidates for the three NACC awards!
The NACC Annual Awards Advisory Panel invites NACC members to nominate NACC members who exemplify the award criteria both for the Distinguished Service Award and for the Emergent Leader Award (for an NACC member 50 years of age or younger who is serving NACC in some leadership capacity). Also, the Panel invites you to nominate a non-NACC member professional colleague who embodies the award criteria for the Outstanding Colleague Award. These awards will be presented at our 2017 Annual Conference. Criteria and nomination forms can be found here. Please send in your nominations by Friday, August 12. For questions, please contact Tim Charek (tcharek@nacc.org).

 

4. Welcome new NACC members who joined us in June!
Please join in welcoming all our new NACC members who joined us in June!

Full Members
Rev. Anthony A. Aduaka (Kentwood, MI)
Deacon Lawrence J. Duffy KHS (Far Hills, NJ)
Mr. Rolando Hernandez Lizcano (Hartford, CT)
Mary G. Kaufmann BS, MS, MA CSD (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Sr. Kim Loan Thi Nguyen FMM (Brighton, MA)
Sr. Regis C. Nwosu HFSN, RSN (Cumming, GA)
Sr. Jennifer M. Otuonye DMMM (San Bernadino, CA)
Rev. David A. Sandoval-Ballesteros DFM (Sacramento, CA)
Mrs. Kelly J. Schmidt (Portland, OR)
Mr. Jeffrey R. Wilson (Jacksonville, FL)

Student Members
Rev. Alfred E. Amos (Livermore, CA)
Ms. Evelyn M. Friel (Charlestown, MA)
Mrs. Dawn M. Harris (Pegram, TN)

Associate Member
Ms. Eileen T. McNichols (Evergreen Park, IL)

 

5. Retired Member Status and Maintaining Chaplain Board Certification
This past week the NACC national office mailed to all NACC Certified members information relative to maintaining certification during retirement. The communication outlines the Board of Directors decision to reduce the requirements for renewal of certification for those Retired members of the association. Watch your mail box for this communication and please contact Jeanine Annunziato at the NACC National Office with any questions (jannunziato@nacc.org). We look forward to being blessed by retired chaplains/supervisors who renew their certification under the revised guidelines and we welcome their continued service to the NACC.

 

6. Please contribute to the NACC 2016 Annual Member Campaign!
We are deeply grateful to those who have already given to the 2016 Annual Member Campaign! We are more than halfway to our goal already! As of June 30, 2016 we have received over $30,600 in gifts. Thank you!

If you have not yet contributed, please do so as soon as you can either by sending your gift in the donation envelope provided to you, or you can go right now to our NACC website and contribute online at https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/forms/donation.

If you are not an NACC member (more than 1,600 non-NACC members subscribe to NACC Now), we also invite and encourage you to contribute to this year’s Campaign, by going to: https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/forms/donation. Your contribution helps us provide what we do, including this NACC Now and all NACC resources. Thank you in advance for your commitment and generosity!

 

7. Tomorrow, July 12, support the NACC by shopping at smile.amazon.com!
The NACC is now listed as one of the charitable organizations you can designate for your AmazonSmile purchases. Support us every time you shop on Amazon! Just select the NACC as your AmazonSmile charity of choice and we’ll receive a donation every time you shop. Amazon’s second-annual Prime Day is tomorrow, July 12, and will feature more than 100,000 deals exclusively for Prime members, making it one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

When you #StartWithaSmile on #PrimeDay, Amazon donates to National Assoc of Catholic Chaplains. Shop for great deals at http://smile.amazon.com/gp/charity/homepage.html?orig=%2Fgp%2Fbrowse.html%3Fnode%3D11448061011&ein=39-1368967

 

8. Deaths of current and former NACC Members
We learned today from the husband of our member Kathleen B. Brown that Kathleen passed away this past June 8.
You can read her obituary here: http://www.leadertelegram.com/obituaries/2016/06/19/Kathleen-Brown.html

We only recently learned of the death last year of our former member, Fr. Gerald U. Onuoha, who died April 16, 2015, and was buried May 9, 2015, in Nigeria. A link to his obituary: theleaderassumpta.com/tag/fr-gerald-onuoha

May they both enjoy the fullness of God’s peace!

 

9. Seeking applicants for additional NACC leadership positions
The Board of Directors election process has concluded for 2016. The Nominations Panel is now focusing its efforts on the NACC leadership positions that will be open January 1, 2017. Currently identified openings are:

Certification Appeals Panel (1)
Certification Commission (2)
Editorial Advisory Panel (1)
Educational Advisory Panel (2)
Ethics Appeals Panel (2)
Finance Committee (1)
Governance Committee (1)
Nominations Panel (1)
Standards Commission (2)

You can access the Roles, Responsibilities and Criteria for the various committees, commissions, and panels on the NACC Website at www.nacc.org/about-nacc/leadership/association-leadership. Make a difference and get involved, as NACC is a membership-directed organization! Please contact Tim Charek (tcharek@nacc.org) at the national office for more information.

 

10. Interviewer Recruitment for the October 8-9, 2016 Interviews Continue in July!
Please check your email if you are interested in being an interviewer this Fall. Interviews are being held in Portland, OR; Omaha, NE; Milwaukee, WI; and a yet-to-be-determined site in the Northeast. We start our recruitment within the interview state and then move recruitment to surrounding states. We will be looking for a commitment from about 22 experienced interviewers and 11 new interviewers. If you would like to sign up to be an interviewer, please email Ramona Zeb at rzeb@nacc.org by July 20th.

 

11. Please look for the July-August Vision Issue on Leadership!
The July-August issue of Vision has been posted! Articles that relate to our theme of leadership include former NACC conference speaker Ann Garrido on managing conflict; an interview with Bridget Deegan-Krause on the chaplain as entrepreneur; Michele Sakurai on paths to leadership; and Jennifer Paquette’s suggestions on how to form a strategic plan for your pastoral care department. To read these articles and much more, visit www.nacc.org/vision.

 

12. Seeking Vision writers for the September-October issue on ministering to cultural and religious diversity.
The September-October issue of Vision will center on ministering to cultural and religious diversity, and as always, we welcome your contributions. We are particularly interested in articles to cover ministering to those of no religion; training staff in religious and cultural awareness; and triaging referrals for non-Christian patients. If you would like to write about these ideas, or others, please send a note to Vision editor David Lewellen at dlewellen@nacc.org. The copy deadline is August 8.

 

13. Seeking Vision writers for the November-December issue on the mental and behavioral health ministry.
We are considering a theme of mental and behavioral health ministry for the November-December issue of Vision. Relatively few of our members work exclusively in mental health settings, but the topic has wide relevance to the work of spiritual care. If you have ideas for an article related to this theme, please send a note to Vision editor David Lewellen at dlewellen@nacc.org.

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

 

14. Mark your calendar for April 28-May 1, 2017 NACC Conference in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM!
The NACC is pleased to announce that the 2017 Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, just outside Albuquerque (tamaya.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html). Mark your calendars for April 28 – May 1, 2017. More information on the conference will be available in the coming months. We hope you can join us.

 

15. 2017 NACC Conference Planning Task Force is working on conference theme! *
The 2017 Conference Planning Task Force, including Beth Lenegan as chair, Tom Chirdo for plenary speakers, Alex Chamtcheu-Tchamtcheu for workshops, Fr. Rich Bartoszek for liturgies, and Mary Ann Casey and Eve Kelly Corcoran for local events, are meeting to develop the conference theme and objectives, and look forward to announcing this in the next NACC Now.

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

 

16. Learning from Chaplains: The Role of Spirituality in Medical Education
Vision editor David Lewellen wrote a story for the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school magazine, about a program that lets first-year med students shadow a chaplain for a night and what they learn — the power of silence, of listening, of making sure patients feel heard and respected. Read it here:
www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/publications/PENNMedicine/files/summer_2016_learning.pdf

 

17. Last chance to register for THIS Thursday’s July NACC Webinar addressing the role of chaplains in nurturing employee resilience in healthcare institutions.
Don’t miss this next NACC webinar in our 2016 program which is scheduled for THIS Thursday, July 14, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time. Charles Ceronsky, BCC, Director Spiritual Care Services, and Judy Connolly, BCC, DMin, Chaplain, will present “Chaplaincy Support for Employee Resilience: A Work of Improvisation”.

If you have not already done so, it is still not too late to register for this webinar. To register for this webinar please visit the webinar page on our website by clicking on this LINK. The web page contains a link to a downloadable paper registration form, but you can also register online by clicking on REGISTER.

Across the country, healthcare reform is demonstrating the need for more robust staff engagement even as the stress associated with rapid change mounts. The science of resilience is advancing in ways that suggest that the skillset of professional chaplains is particularly important and timely in that regard. As part of a system-wide strategic planning three years ago, Spiritual Health Services at University of Minnesota Health decided to move beyond mere availability to staff and declare nurturing staff resilience a strategic initiative. This webinar offers a case study of efforts and outcomes that are now fueling new thinking and creative openings for the role of chaplaincy in the support of staff and providers.

Program Objectives

1. Summarize the research that underlines the value of building resiliency in healthcare organizations.
2. Discuss the role of a strategic planning process to generate insight and resolve to prioritize staff resiliency work.
3. Describe the relationship of this initiative with institutional priorities for clinical excellence, patient satisfaction, and employee engagement.
4. Review specific strategies and interventions to consider for your setting.

Participants qualify for 2.0 CEHs total for the session (which includes 90 minutes for the webinar plus 30 minutes preparation time)

 

18. The other July NACC Webinar – July 28, Certification by NACC!
Also this month will be a webinar of particular interest to those who are working towards certification as a Board Certified Chaplain:

Please note that this webinar is offered at no charge, but you still need to register in order to receive information on how to access both the webinar materials and the webinar itself. To register for this webinar is the same as for any other NACC 2016 webinars, please visit the webinar page on our website by clicking on this LINK. The web page contains a link to a downloadable paper registration form, but you can also register online by clicking on REGISTER.

 

19. The future 2016 NACC Webinars!
Certification by the NACC
Presented by the NACC
Thursday, July 28, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Renewal of Certification by the NACC
Presented by NACC Certification Commissioners: Augustine (Austine) Duru, MA, MDiv, BCC, Kathleen M. Ponce, MAPS, BCC, and Jane W. Smith, DMin, BCC, AADP
Thursday, August 18, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Metrics for Spiritual Care Interventions: a CHI Kentucky One Initiative
Presented by Rabbi Dr. Nadia Siritsky, MSSW, BCC
Thursday, September 22, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

What Every Chaplain Should Know About the Business of Health Care
Presented by Tim Crowley, MHA, MAPM, LFACHE
Thursday, October 13, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Ethical Issues Facing Our Healthcare Settings, and Implications for Spiritual Care
Presented by Rev. Thomas A. Nairn, OFM, PhD
Thursday, November 10, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Certification by the NACC
Presented by the NACC
Thursday, November 17, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Chaplaincy and the Ritual Ministry: Its Role and Value
Presented by Jim Letourneau, BCC and Linda Bronersky, BCC-S
Thursday, December 8, 2016 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

To register for these webinar, please visit the webinar page on our website by clicking on this LINK. The web page contains a link to a downloadable paper registration form, but you can also register online by clicking on REGISTER.

 

20. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
We continue to pray for: Rosemary Benya BCC, Sr. Nancy Beckenhauer, Charlotte Leas, Mara Kujawa (very good friend of NACC staffer Sue Walker), Jeanine and Jim Annunziato (at the death of Jim’s father and mother), Marilyn and Chuck Silkey (sister and brother-in-law of NACC member Kathy Ponce), Dr. David Nile (Husband of recently deceased NACC member Lucy G. Nile BCC),Amy in Redwood City, CA (friend of NACC member Theresa Sullivan), Julie Bablin, the family of Dale Dewitt, Fr. Douglas F. Faraci, Maritza Ramos-Pratt, Jane Chiamaka Onuoha (very young baby of our NACC member Michael Onuoha), Kathleen (Kate) Sullivan, Sandy Tiefenbrun (spouse of Anita Barni), Marie Coglianese, Nancy and Sheila Amrich (nieces-in-law of NACC member Sr. Paracleta Amrich), Isabelita Boquiren, Sister Patricia Watkins, GNSH, Rev. Gerald U. Onuoha, David Markiewicz (grandson of recently deceased NACC member Roberta Markiewicz), Sister Stephanie Morales, FMI, Marybeth Harmon, Renato Fallico, Susan Balling, Maria Meneses, Chaplain Julia Mary Sweeney (mourning the death of her sister, Margaret Maureen Lewis, BA Honors), Sr. Sheila Prendeville, CPPS, Sister M. Dianna Hell, Sister Maria Theresa Hronec, Betty and Louis Skonieczny, Jim Castello, Jeff Michel (brother-in-law of David Lichter), Thomas from Chicago (12 years old), Thomas Smiley (brother of member Diane Smiley), Marga Halala, Donn Renfro (son-in-law of Karen Pugliese), Thomas (grandson of NACC member Ginny Grimes Allen), Beth from Boston (friend of NACC member Dana Sandlin), Sr. Janet Bielmann, Elizabeth A. Walsh, Francesco Marshall, Glenn and Pat Teske, Susan Murphy, Fr. Jim Radde, SJ, Sr. Mary Clare Boland, SP, Sr. Phyllis Ann DiRenzo, Kathy Brier (daughter of NACC member Theresa Brier), Gloria Troxler, Fr. Kevin Ikpah, and Kelly Elizabeth Sexton (daughter of NACC member Melyssa Sexton).

 

21. Recent job postings*
The following positions have been posted recently on our Positions Available page.
For more information go to www.nacc.org/resources/positions.

CHAPLAIN CATHOLIC
New Mexico – UNM Hospitals

CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
New York City, NY – Mount Sinai Health System

CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION SUPERVISOR
Peoria, IL – OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

CERTIFIED CHAPLAIN
Baltimore, Maryland – Mercy Medical Center

REGIONAL DIRECTOR – MISSION, ETHICS AND PASTORAL CARE
Jefferson City, Missouri – St. Mary’s Hospital

FULL-TIME STAFF CHAPLAIN – ROMAN CATHOLIC
St. Paul, Minnesota – St. Joseph’s Hospital

CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Grand Rapids, Michigan – Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, hospital campus

STAFF CHAPLAIN AND COORDINATOR OF CATHOLIC MINISTRIES
La Crosse, Wisconsin – Gundersen Health System

ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
St. Louis, Missouri – Mercy Hospital

CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Blue Springs and Kansas City, Missouri – Prime Healthcare

HOSPICE CHAPLAIN
DePere, Wisconsin – Unity Hospice

DIRECTOR, MISSION INTEGRATION & SPIRITUAL CARE
Medford, Oregon – Providence Medford Medical Center

SPIRITUAL CARE MANAGER
Vancouver/Longview, Washington – PeaceHealth

View these jobs and more at: www.nacc.org/resources/positions.