Issue #240 – January 16, 2017

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

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
This past week I was on a conference call with some of our Canadian NACC members, and the question of the value of NACC membership arose. It was a good reflection of how chaplaincy is a ministry as well as a profession. Isn’t it remarkable how motivationally we experience the sense of being called to the spiritual care profession, and continuing the healing ministry of Jesus? That NACC is also a community of believers who are supported and inspired by one another who live out this call?

We know, as Catholics, we have entered a new year when we hear anew the readings of the Sunday following the end of the Christmas season (Second Sunday of Ordinary Time) that bring the wonderful variety of “call” readings from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Yesterday’s first reading from Isaiah 49 (3, 5-6) includes that powerful line, “Before birth the LORD called me, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.” The very first line of I Corinthians (1:1), begins, “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” And John the Baptist in the Gospel (John 1:29-34) humbly explains his purpose/call, “I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.”

However, I had not been struck before by a line from the Psalm 40 (40:4), “And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God.” I thought right away of my wife, Jackie, who drives about an hour to work each day, heading to Kenosha, Wisconsin, usually listening to K-Love radio, being nurtured by the songs. I find inspiration in her sense of being rooted in a call to be principal of All Saints Catholic School in Kenosha. She lives and breathes it.

So for us…it’s a good day to renew ourselves with the gift of being called to this ministry. So what was or what is the “new song in your mouth”? I remember at a certain point in my ministry when I was struggling deeply. It was coinciding with the time my dad was in home hospice and readying himself to leave this world. Tim Manion’s song, “One thing I ask, this alone I seek,” became my “new song” that embodied my sense of call and renewed me. I sang it the day of my dad’s funeral. It remains in many ways my “call song.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R5-_FHNH0E

Thank you for your call to this marvelous ministry. Can you relate to, “And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God”? Sing it to yourself (or another) again sometime this week…

Certainly, on the day commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we also are grateful for his call to leadership in our country. As his wife, Coretta Scott King, expressed the meaning of this holiday, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit. blogs.anl.gov/aaa-erg/2016/01/15/the-meaning-of-the-king-holiday-by-coretta-scott-king

Blessings,

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

2. DEADLINE FEBRUARY 15, 2017 – Initial Certification and Advanced Certification for Hospice Palliative Chaplain Application *
We are currently accepting application binders for initial certification and advanced certification for the February 2017 deadline. Please note the deadline for application binders is Wednesday, February 15, 2017. If you have any questions or would like informational materials on initial or advanced certification, please contact Ramona Zeb at rzeb@nacc.org or call (414)483-4898 Ext. 304. Please keep our applicants and those considering Board Certification in your prayers.

3. Learned recently of the death of former NACC member/leader, Ellen Radday *
We recently learned from the daughter of Ellen Radday of her mother’s death on July 3, 2016. We appreciated Elizabeth letting us know, as Ellen was one of the wonderful leaders of NACC in the 90’s. Elizabeth wrote, “We dearly miss our mother, but feel confident she’s with the God she so firmly believed him to be – a tender, forgiving, merciful God – whose love she shared tirelessly & tenderly with patients she cared for as a chaplain.” Ellen served on the NACC National Leadership Council (NLC) in 2000 when it accepted the proposal to restructure the NACC. To see Ellen in the photo of the NLC and read about the time, go to https://www.nacc.org/nacc-now/nn-issue-207/#9. To read Ellen’s obituary, please go to:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?pid=180848370

4. NACC offers members access to past World Day of the Sick Prayers for use this year.
Rather than providing our members new World Day of Sick Prayers for patients and care givers, we invite our members to access any of our past prayers for use. You can access them by going to https://www.nacc.org/resources/spirituality-and-prayer-resources/world-day-of-the-sick/archives/ and downloading and printing whichever ones you would like with no purchase necessary. For the 2017 World Day of the Sick message of Pope Francis, entitled, “Amazement at what God has accomplished: ‘The Almighty has done great things for me…’ (Lk 1:49)” go to: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/sick/documents/papa-francesco_20161208_giornata-malato.html

5. New Vision issue treats theme of ministering to families of patients/residents *
When David Lichter’s mother suffered a severe stroke, he and his brother saw first-hand what a difference spiritual care can make to a patient’s family members. To read his personal reflection in the new issue of Vision, dedicated to family ministry, click below.

https://www.nacc.org/vision/january-february-2017/spiritual-care-helped-son-say-goodbye/

6. Final NACC networking call in January *
If you wish to participate on this call and are not already on this particular call list, please contact Ramune Franitza at rfranitza@nacc.org.

Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. CT Palliative Care Group

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

7. What do you know about NACC 2017 Conference plenary speaker Dr. Megan McKenna, who is speaking on Saturday, April 30, 2017?
Dr. Megan A. McKenna, a native of New York City has lived, visited and gypsied through North and South America, Europe and Asia. She works with Indigenous groups, in base Christian Communities and with justice and peace groups as well as parishes, dioceses and religious communities. She has been on the United States National Board of Pax Christi. An internationally known author, theologian, storyteller and lecturer, she teaches at several colleges and universities and does retreats, workshops and parish missions. She has graduate degrees in Scripture, Adult Education and Literacy and a Masters in Systematic Theology. She is a lover of words: the Scriptures, stories and tales, poetry, images and phrases spoken aloud, written down and spun to make meaning and how these both convert and transform us and bring meaning and hope to the world. She has authored more than thirty books, including the recently released, Harm Not The Earth. She resides in Albuquerque.

8. Did you receive your Registration Brochure for the NACC 2017 Conference? *
If you haven’t received it yet, please contact the NACC office (conference@nacc.org) and let us know so we can mail you one. This flyer contains much of the key information regarding our 2017 conference. All other detailed information (like workshop descriptions) will be found on the NACC website. The conference webpages are a “one-stop shop” for all conference-related information. Can’t find something you are looking for? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions section on the website OR email us at conference@nacc.org and we will be happy to help.

9. Conference Registration and Payment Options
There are three options for registering and paying for the Conference.

Register online using the registration portal and pay with Visa or MasterCard.
Register online using the registration portal and indicate you wish to be billed and will mail your payment.
Register by completing a paper registration form and mail the form with your payment (check/money order) to the NACC office.

10. As you register, please consider a donation to the NACC Scholarship Fund.
Please consider a donation to the NACC Scholarship Fund. All donations received will help an NACC member to attend the NACC National Conference. Every dollar counts; no amount is too big or small. Thank you for your support.

11. American Red Cross Fundamentals in Disaster Spiritual Care – Training Course (Thursday, April 27, 2017)
If you are interested in learning more about supporting the needs of those impacted by disaster and mass casualties, please consider registering for this intensive five-hour training. More information on the session, prerequisites, and how to register can be found on the NACC website at www.nacc.org/conference/redcross

12. Roommate Referral Service
The NACC is pleased to again facilitate a Roommate Referral Service. Follow the link below to find out how to submit your information and get onto the list. We will send you a list of potential roommates. It will be up to you to contact individuals on the list to discuss the suitability of rooming together. The last date that names will be accepted is Wednesday, April 5, 2017. To sign up for Roommate Referral click here.

13. Please see more background on our 2017 Award Recipients!
You can go to www.nacc.org/about-nacc/annual-awards to read more about our 2017 Award Recipients:
• Distinguished Service: Nancy K. Cook, MDiv, MSW, BCC
• Outstanding Colleague: Cecille Allman Asekoff
• Outstanding Colleague Award: George Fitchett, DMin, PhD

14. Conference Schedule can be accessed.
Visit the NACC website to view the 2017 conference schedule. www.nacc.org/conference/schedule

15. Make your reservations at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM, for our April 28 – May 1, 2017 NACC Conference!
The April 28 – May 1, 2017 Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, just outside Albuquerque. It is in a beautiful setting ideal for our conference. Visit the NACC website to find out more about the hotel and how to make a reservation.

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

16. Don’t miss our first 2017 NACC Webinar on Social Justice and Chaplaincy in Settings Other Than Healthcare Presented by Barbara Sheehan, SP *
Thursday, January 26, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Program Summary
This webinar explores the intersectionality of social justice and chaplaincy. It identifies the dynamics of those whose primary crisis is social and reflects on the areas of spiritual assessment and effective responses by a chaplain/ caring practitioner.

Program Objectives
1. To increase participants’ awareness of chaplaincy beyond institutional healthcare facilities.
2. To provide helpful assessment tools in caring with those challenged with social crises.
3. To enhance the participants’ practice of care of the whole person.
4. To deepen participants’ connection of actions and faith in the healing ministry of care for today’s needs.

About the Presenter
Barbara Sheehan is a Sister of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Since August 1995 she is the ACPE Supervisor and Executive Director at Urban CPE Consortium, Inc., in Chicago, IL. She was fully certified as an ACPE Supervisor in 1986, and has spent 14 years as a Hospital/Medical Center Chaplain with foci on hospice, behavioral health (in-patient and aftercare), infant loss and general medical surgery. Sister Barbara earned a Masters in Theology from Xavier University, Cincinnati, and is the author of a book entitled Partners In Covenant: The Art of Spiritual Companionship, published by Pilgrim Press.

17. Sign up now for the entire series of NACC Webinars in 2017! *
The NACC webinar/audio conference program for 2017 is now complete. Following is our scheduled line-up for 2017.

Social Justice and Chaplaincy in Settings Other Than Healthcare
Presented by Barbara Sheehan, SP
Thursday, January 26, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Opportunities for Chaplains
Presented by Jason Nieuwsma, PhD
Thursday, February 16, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Where’s the Evidence? Introduction to Research Literacy ~ Part 2
Presented by LaVera Crawley, MD, MPH
Thursday, March 23, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Promoting Inner Healing From Addiction
Presented by Rev. Victoria M. Kumorowski, JD, LLM, MJS, DMin
Thursday, May 25, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Self-care/compassion fatigue
Presented by Jim Manzardo, BCC
Thursday, June 15, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

ACE’s In Places – Adverse Childhood Experiences and their impact on Spiritual Care
Presented by Deacon Jack Conrad, BCC
Thursday, July 13, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Certification by the NACC
Presented by the NACC
Thursday, July 20, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Dementia and Growing Older
Presented by Sr. M. Peter Lillian Di Maria, O.Carm., BA, LNHA
Thursday, August 3, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Renewal of Certification by the NACC
Presented by NACC Certification Commissioners Dr. Jane W. Smith BCC and Austine O. Duru BCC
Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Dignity in Dying: Catholic Approaches to End-of-Life Intervention
Presented by Gerard Magill, PhD
Thursday, September 14, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Ministry in a World of Violence
Presented by Lori Kaufmann, BCC and Rev. Richard James
Thursday, October 19, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Moral distress
Presented by Dr. Rodger F. Accardi BCC and Karen Pugliese, MA, BCC
Thursday, November 16, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Certification by the NACC
Presented by the NACC
Thursday, November 2, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Developing & Competent Chaplains
Presented by Tom O’Connor, PhD
Thursday, December 14, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time

Registration for these webinars is now open; to register online please use this LINK. Please note that we are offering a package deal that encompasses all 2017 NACC webinars, available at a significant discount.
We encourage you to share this information with your friends and colleagues who may not be members of the NACC – all are welcome to participate in our webinars/audio conferences.

18. Always good to see news on spiritual care as integral to medical care. *
Did you see the recent brief news on spiritual care that quotes Dr. Puchalski, Michael Balboni, and others? Always good to circulate these items.
http://hppr.org/post/spiritual-care-beginning-be-recognized-important-aspect-medical-care

19. Request: A Call for Spiritual Care Research Volunteers
U.S. healthcare pay-for-performance necessitates objectification of the results of clinical pastoral/spiritual care in order to provide demonstrable, replicable, evidence-based best practices resulting in desired outcomes. Toward that end a content analysis of the 83 spiritual care case vignettes in The Pastoral Caregiver’s Casebook, Volume One (Judson, 2015) identified and italicized words and phrases suggesting effectiveness. The most effective five cases (six or more words and/or phrases indicating effectiveness) underwent a more thorough analysis. A generic evidence-based spiritual care best practice protocol toward replication of multiple instances of effectiveness was constructed from the material in the five vignettes indicating greatest effectiveness. It is hypothesized that when this generic evidence-based spiritual care best practice protocol is used by a similar number of experienced spiritual caregivers and clinical pastoral education students, a significantly higher ratio of effective results will be obtained when compared to the original 83 case vignettes.

Participants in this next research group—experienced spiritual caregivers and students alike—will emulate the qualities of the above-mentioned five most effective caregivers while following a six-step procedure in their interventions for the study. A minimum of 80 chaplains, community clergy, lay volunteers, and/or CPE students is needed. Your help will be most appreciated! Contact Rev. John (Jack) Gleason, DMin, BCC (retired), ACPE Supervisor Emeritus, at mariejohn50@att.net to ask questions and sign up. If you are a CPE Supervisor, please so indicate in your response.

20. Reminder! Request for participation in survey on education and training for chaplains to respond to trauma events! *
Recently, our members received a request from our NACC member, Alin Dogaru, BCC, to participate in a research survey on the education and training for chaplains to respond to trauma events. If you have not yet answered the survey, you can access it here at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TraumaChaplaincy
Thank you in advance for participating!

21. Reminder! Request for participation in Moral Injury Program Development Survey *
Brett Litz, PhD, and his colleagues at the Boston VA Healthcare System are conducting a program development and evaluation survey of individuals who provide care to Veterans and/or Service Members who have been exposed to different types of potentially morally injurious events. These are military or warzone experiences that transgressed or violated deeply held beliefs about right and wrong. Potentially morally injurious experiences may entail things that a Service Member did or failed to do (e.g., acts of perpetration of violence, mistakes, failing to stop unethical behavior, etc.) or they may entail transgressions of others that affected the service member (e.g., betrayal by trusted others, military sexual trauma, etc.). Dr. Litz and colleagues are asking chaplains and other providers across disciplines to summarize their observations of the diverse ways that potentially morally injurious experiences are affecting Veterans and/or Service Members who seek care. The aim is to gather ideas about the unique mental, behavioral, social, psychological, and spiritual outcomes associated with military and warzone transgressions, or moral injury.

If you have experience working with veterans and/or service members in this context, and are willing to participate in this foundational survey, please complete the attached survey form and return the completed form to Dr. Litz at brett.litz@va.gov. The survey will take approximately 30-60 minutes to complete. The information you provide will be culled with others’ responses and no individual responses to the survey will be connected to you. This is a program development project, not a research study. Your participation is completely voluntary. These survey results will be used to generate ideas for honing the definition of moral injury as a multidimensional outcome and generating ideas for future research. Thank you very much in advance for your participation, and for sharing your expertise and knowledge.

To obtain the survey form please click here.

Please contact Dr. Litz, or John Schultz, Chaplain-Fellow, NYHHS VA, schultz.john5@va.org, with any questions.

22. Consider contributing to a new issue on chaplain case studies!
Health and Social Care Chaplaincy is planning a special issue on chaplain case studies (Issue 5:2, 2017). Steve Nolan and George Fitchett will be the guest editors. “>Please click here to read the flyer describing the issue. Instructions for how chaplains can contribute are attached. It would be a gift to the profession for one or more of our NACC members to submit cases for consideration. Please contact George Fitchett (“>see flyer) for more information.

23. Reminder! Request for participation in this survey on behalf of an NACC member.
Our NACC member, Fr. Celestine Afugwobi, is conducting a survey on the importance of the skills of “presence” and “listening” in the pastoral care ministry as part of his Master’s Project in Pastoral Counseling. If you are able to complete the survey, please click the link below:
The Importance of Presence and Listening Skills In Pastoral Care Ministry
(https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/?sm=iIv_2BLXKnpzF2Cnp_2FahNDfQ_3D_3D)
Fr. Celestine deeply appreciates your willingness to complete this brief survey.

24. Healing Tree: a request for prayers *
Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. We will leave the person’s name on the Healing Tree list for three months, unless you ask us to remove your or the person’s name earlier. You can always request us to leave the name on longer.

We continue to pray for: Fr. Jude Nwachukwu (on the unexpected death of his sister on New Year’s Eve), Frances Langdon (wife of member Jerry Kaelin: prayerful thanks for successful cancer surgery, an experience of realized eschatology this Advent), Sr. Ramona Nowak, OP, Charlotte Leas (on the death of her 97-year-old Mother, Bernyce Paltani), Sr. MariaTheresa Hronec, Sr. Mary Thecla Kuhnline, Fr. Jim Radde, SJ, Mason Richter, Shane Rebholtz, Rosemary Benya BCC, Sr. Nancy Beckenhauer, Linda Dickey, 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 Teresa Sullivan); Julie Bablin, Marie Coglianese, Nancy and Sheila Amrich (nieces-in-law of NACC member Sr. Paracleta Amrich), Isabelita Boquiren, Sister Patricia Watkins, GNSH, Sister Stephanie Morales, FMI, Susan Balling, Maria Meneses, Sister M. Dianna Hell, Betty and Louis Skonieczny, Thomas Smiley (brother of member Diane Smiley), Marga Halala, Glenn and Pat Teske, Sr. Mary Clare Boland, SP, Gloria Troxler, and Kelly Elizabeth Sexton (daughter of NACC member Melyssa Sexton).

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

CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Blue Springs and Kansas City, MO – St. Mary’s Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Medical Center

CPE SUPERVISOR
Orange, California – St. Joseph Hospital

CHAPLAIN
Hinsdale and Chicago, Illinois – RML Specialty Hospital

DIRECTOR of PASTORAL CARE
Tampa, Florida – St. Joseph’s Hospitals and John Knox Village

CPE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND LEARNING
Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, WI

PASTORAL CARE – Part-Time, Days – Flexible position
Chicago, Illinois: Palos Health

ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST – CHAPLAIN (Full Time Days)
Albany, New York – St. Peter’s Hospital

FULL-TIME CHAPLAIN OPPORTUNITY
Redding, California – Mercy Medical Center Redding

SUPERVISOR – PASTORAL CARE
Lincoln, Nebraska – CHI Health

CHAPLAIN
Sioux Falls, South Dakota – Avera McKennan Hospital & University Center

CPE STUDENT
Boise, Idaho – St. Luke’s Health System

FT PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Paterson, New Jersey – St. Joseph’s Healthcare System

CHAPLAIN – PER DIEM
Worcester, Massachusetts – Notre Dame Long Term Care Center

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

NACC Now #240

Issue #240 – January 16, 2017

NACC

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

Issue #240 – January 16, 2017

NACC

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2017

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

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