Issue #256 – August 28, 2017

Our prayers go out to all those impacted by Hurricane Harvey!

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
2. Members respond to NACC Board Statement on Charlottesville. One member’s reflection on being there. *
3. September 15 deadline fast approaching! Honor NACC Members, Professional Colleagues and Groups! *
4. September 15 Deadline fast approaching! Initial Certification Application. *
5. NACC Networking Calls for September/October 2017 *
6. From Vision: Interdisciplinary care helps behavioral patients in the ER *

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

APC/NACC 2018 CONFERENCE, Thursday, July 12, to Sunday, July 15, 2018!

7. Deadline September 15 fast approaching! Call for Professional Development Intensives (Pre-Conference Workshops) and Workshop Proposals! *
8. Meet our 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference Planning Committee and Subcommittee Members! *
9. 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference Planning Committee announces 2018 Conference Theme and Goals! *
10. 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference Logo *
11. Thursday, July 12, to Sunday, July 15, 2018, for APC/NACC Conference!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

12. Important research resource for you! Please sign up for this newsletter! *
13. Next NACC Webinar!! Thursday, September 14, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time, Gerard Magill, PhD, will present “Dignity in Dying: Catholic Approaches to End-of-Life Intervention”
14. Special NACC webinar: Thursday, September 21, 2017, “Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Catholic Health Care Perspectives”
15. Special Invitation to all chaplains! Take time to “Come Home to Yourself”!
16. Tuesday, October 17, 2017, Partners in Strengthening the Future of Spiritual Care
Symposium
17. NACC encourages setting local events around October 17 Symposium!
18. NACC Local Gatherings! *
19. For information on the remainder of our NACC 2017 Webinar Series, please go to:
www.nacc.org/education-resources/nacc-webinars-and-audio-conferences
20. Healing Tree: a request for prayers *
21. Recent job postings *

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter said in reply, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (Mt 16:15-16) This is it, isn’t it? This is what it ultimately comes down to, isn’t it? How do we relate to the Mystery? How personal or not is that Mystery to me? How real and hollow, how intimate or distant, how simple or complicated by abusive relationships or horrible losses that have distorted or destroyed any semblance of belief in a gracious Mystery is that Mystery to me? In our Christian world, answering that question, “But who do you say that I am?” echoes daily in my prayer and will be the question on my death bed. It is not a question of dogma, but spirituality. I can recite and believe the creed, but what do my relationships have to do with the Christ?

There remains a certain unanswerable character to the question as the answers are inexhaustible. They can change daily, hourly, as I experience life not just through the prism of faith, but the palpable, ever present person of Jesus. How do I relate to Him? I find the words of the doxology changed from “through Him, and with Him, and in Him,” to a prayer of “through You, and with You, and in You.” It is my life lived, and “on each of my dying shed Your light and Your love.” (in the words of David Fleming’s modern, poetic translation of the Anima Christi www.jesuitvolunteers.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Prayers_by_Jesuits.pdf

So Who is He? A voice in my ear or heart? A tap on my shoulder? A quiet, felt presence in silence? The look from the crucifix? The stoic person on the elevator? The cry on the phone? The grimace in the bed? The angst of a colleague? The laugh of my grandbaby? How do I describe Him? How does He come/call to me and invite me to repeat with love, “through You, and with You, and in You… and for You” I live my day, my life.

So how do I, do you, answer?

Blessings,

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

2. Members responded to NACC Board Statement on Charlottesville. One member’s reflection on being there. *
We received several responses from NACC members to the NACC Board’s statement on the events in Charlottesville. Please read this inspiring and challenging reflection that we were blessed to receive from our NACC member, Kathleen Kelleher, BCC, “Dear NACC, I want to share this reflection of why I went to Charlottesville with other NACC members…”

Why I Went to Charlottesville
God works in mysterious ways. At an Advent retreat last December I listened to an older woman struggle to make sense of the U.S. Presidential election. She said, “I don’t want to be a good person who does nothing.” I nodded in agreement, wondering what I would do with my own disbelief and foreboding. Fast forward to Lent; I was invited to offer a reflection at a Good Friday service. My station of the cross was Jesus is crucified. I began by singing the refrain from the African-American slave spiritual…Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? I then reflected the following.

Fast forward again to the end of July. A colleague forwarded an email to me from a resident of Charlottesville; the city’s faith community was calling for a 1,000 clergy, Catholics in particular, to come stand against a planned Alt-Right/white supremacist rally. At first I thought the best use of my time would be to pass the information and request along to faith and social justice networks in Washington, D.C. However, as the days moved closer to the rally, the information coming out of Charlottesville was sobering if not frightening; violence was not only threatened but promised. I began to back off organizing others to go, and I discerned that I needed to go. My resolve grew as I considered the logistics and meaning of making the trip south. My courage was bolstered by a chaplain friend in faith who is no stranger to putting right faith into right action. We would journey together and, in word and deed, join with the Body of Christ that is once again being crucified by the coalescing of hearts and minds that have turned away from God. As the Irish political philosopher Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” So we two Catholic women went to be a prayerful presence, witness, and opposition to free speech that is hateful, false, and inciting. We carried signs that read, “The Body of Christ is present” and “Who is my sister, my brother?”

We went because we were asked, because we could, and because it was important to say, “This is not who we are.” We went for those who could not go, for those told to stay home or to go back home for their own safety. For those who fought this fight in the 1860s, 1940s, 1960s and for those who never stopped fighting because racism and anti-Semitism never stopped. For all people who are hated for who they are, for where they come from, for whom they love, and how they worship. For the Jewish woman who hasn’t gone home since July when her Charlottesville address was chanted outside her place of work, because nooses are being left in public places, because black men, innocent or not, are being shot dead in American streets. For my friend Harry from South Chicago, whose mother was on the bridge at Selma, for the memory of my friend Dave who labored on a chain-gang for registering blacks to vote. For friends and co-workers who could still be lynched, shot, fired, not hired, or denied housing because they do not look like me. For the University of Virginia student who screamed in panic, “Where are you America?” while tiki-torch bearing white supremacists marched through his campus. For Heather Heyer, whose last public posting read, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”

We went because it was the right stand to take at this time of national confusion, rage, false narratives and empty promises. We were told that it was not smart to go, but we did not go because it was smart. Is this a new moment in our American experiment? Can we be outraged and pay attention long enough to finally debride the wounds of racism and anti-Semitism, which only survive as long as they are taught and learned? America seems broken at this moment in time, and it is up to all who call her home to stand up and heal her.

Kathleen Kelleher, MDiv 2002
Hospital Chaplain, Quincy, MA
kelleherkathy@hotmail.com

3. September 15 deadline fast approaching! Honor NACC Members, Professional Colleagues and Groups! *
Send us your nominations for the NACC Distinguished Service Award, Emergent Leader Award, and Outstanding Colleague Award. Deadline is Friday, September 15. You can learn more and access the nomination forms at www.nacc.org/about-nacc/annual-awards.

Do you know someone who has inspired you in the work and profession of chaplaincy? We want to know. Now is your chance to express your gratitude and nominate this person. Two (2) awards, Distinguished Service Award and Emergent Leader Award, recognize NACC members for outstanding dedication and service to NACC or to the field of chaplaincy. One (1) award, Outstanding Colleague Award, is presented to a non-NACC member individual or group whose work has proven complementary to, supportive of, or otherwise has contributed to the advancement of the profession of chaplaincy.

Please consider nominating. These awards will be presented at our 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference July 12-15, 2018, in Anaheim, California.

4. September 15 Deadline fast approaching! Initial Certification Application. *
September 15 is the next certification application deadline. All materials must be postmarked no later than September 15, 2017, for consideration for a May 19 or 20, 2018 certification interview. For questions regarding the application process, please contact Ramona Zeb at rzeb@nacc.org or at (414) 483-4898 ext. 304. Best wishes to all those who are working to prepare their materials!

5. NACC Networking Calls for September/October 2017 *
If you wish to participate on any of these calls and are not already on that particular call list, please contact Ramune Franitza at rfranitza@nacc.org

• Outpatient Settings Networking Group Call; Monday, September 11 at 10 a.m. CT
• CPE Educators Networking Group Call; Friday, September 15 at 10 a.m. CT
• African Member Networking Group Call; Monday, September 18 at 2 p.m. CT
• Nurse Chaplain Networking Group Call; Wednesday September 20 at 2 p.m. CT
• Ambassadors Networking Group Call; Tuesday, September 26 at 10 a.m. CT
• Behavioral Health Networking Group Call; Wednesday, September 27 at 10 a.m. CT
• Canadian Networking Group Call; Wednesday, September 27 at 2 p.m. CT
• Palliative Care/Hospice Networking Group Call; Thursday, September 28 at 11 a.m. CT
• Correctional Chaplain Networking Group Call; Thursday, September 28 at 2 p.m. CT
• Deacon Chaplain Networking Group Call; Monday, October 2 at 10 a.m. CT
• State Liaison Networking Group Call; Monday, October 2 at 2 p.m. CT
  or Tuesday, October 3 at 10 a.m. CT
• Under 45 Member Networking Group Call; Tuesday, October 3 at 1 p.m. CT
• New Member Networking Group Call; Wednesday, October 4 at 2 p.m. CT
• One-Person Dept. Networking Group Call; Tuesday, October 10 at 10 a.m. CT
• Student Member Group Call Group Call; Tuesday, October 10 at 1 p.m. CT
• Long Term Care Chaplain Networking Group Call; Wednesday, October 11 at10 a.m. CT
• Retired/Emeritus Member Networking Group Call; Wednesday, October 11 at 2 p.m. CT
• Hispanic/Bilingual Networking Group Call; Thursday, October 12 at 10 a.m. CT
• Integrative Care Networking Group Call; Thursday, October 12 at 1 p.m. CT
• Directors of Spiritual Care Networking Group Call; Friday, October 13 at 10 a.m. CT

6. From Vision: Interdisciplinary care helps behavioral patients in the ER *
Behavioral health patients consume such a disproportionate share of emergency department resources that Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Milton, MA, set up an interdisciplinary team to address the problem. In the current issue of Vision, Chaplain Anne Millington writes about how she and other team members have collaborated to help an underserved population.
www.nacc.org/vision/july-august-2017/behavioral-health-patients-emergency-department-get-interdisciplinary-approach

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

APC/NACC 2018 CONFERENCE, Thursday, July 12, to Sunday, July 15, 2018!

7. September 15 deadline fast approaching! Call for Professional Development Intensives (Pre-Conference Workshops) and Workshop Proposals! *
APC and NACC are inviting proposals for Intensives and Workshops. Deadline is September 15! Please go to www.nacc.org/conference/call-for-proposals to access information and application forms for submitting your proposals.

8. Meet our 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference Planning Committee and Subcommittee Members!
We are grateful to the members of NACC and APC who are currently serving on our Joint Conference Planning Committee and Subcommittees. Visit the website to see who is representing the NACC membership.

9. 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference Planning Committee announces 2018 Conference Theme and Goals! *
The Joint Conference Planning Committee (LINK to the Committee page) is pleased to announce the theme for the 2018 Joint Conference is “Partners in Shaping the Future.”

Our goals at the 2018 Joint Conference will be:

• Leading with Professionalism and Integrity
• Collaborating with other Professions to Serve Those in our Care
• Empowering the Profession through Research
• Supporting Diversity and Inclusiveness

10. 2018 APC/NACC Joint Conference Logo *
Visit the NACC website to get a first look at the 2018 Joint Conference Logo.

11. Thursday, July 12, to Sunday, July 15, 2018, for APC/NACC Conference!
Mark your calendars for the APC/NACC Conference in 2018! This conference will be held Thursday, July 12, through Sunday, July 15, 2018, at the Anaheim Marriot in Anaheim, California. It will be preceded by preconference workshops and our NACC retreat. Plan to join us!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

12. Important research resource for you! Please sign up for this newsletter! *
As you know, the NACC collaborates with our other Strategic Partners in chaplaincy in both the Transforming Chaplaincy initiative (https://www.transformchaplaincy.org/), represented by our member, Catarina Mako, BCC, and the international Joint Research Committee, represented by our member, Kate Piderman, PhD, BCC. We now invite and encourage you to receive the newsletter of Transforming Chaplaincy, an international think tank with a mission to promote research literacy for improved patient outcomes. This is a very important and valuable resource to help our members fulfill our professional Certification Competency (ITP6, “Articulate how primary research and research literature inform the profession of chaplaincy and one’s spiritual care practice.”), as well as to provide the opportunity for continued education by reading the newsletter.

We are grateful for the service provided by our Joint Research Committee members. The newsletter will include relevant research articles, helpful information on educating chaplains both in the classroom and through CPE, and useful resources for healthcare administrators and other professionals to incorporate chaplaincy into their institutions.

We look forward to the news, useful research, and other information that will be published in the newsletter that is currently being designed. The newsletter will accompany the launch of the new website dedicated to this purpose. The number of newsletter issues to be published per year will not exceed 12 issues.

However, it will be offered strictly on an opt-in basis. Therefore, unless you respond by subscribing to the newsletter, you will not receive it or any further communication from Transforming Chaplaincy.

We hope all of you reading this will subscribe to this valuable newsletter. NACC’s collaboration with our other Strategic Partners has been an incredibly helpful asset in guiding the establishment and future of Transforming Chaplaincy We are eager to continue working together.

To sign up for the newsletter, simply contact skaggsmichaela@gmail.com directly, or visit the following address: http://eepurl.com/c0osWT

13. Next NACC Webinar!! Thursday, September 14, 2017 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time, Gerard Magill, PhD, will present Dignity in Dying: Catholic Approaches to End-of-Life Intervention.

If you have not already done so, it is still not too late to register for this webinar.

Program Summary
The presentation discusses dying in dignity to present Catholic approaches to end-of-life interventions. Three related perspectives are examined. First, there is an explanation of the guiding ethical principles in the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (5th ed. USCC, Washington, DC, 2009). Second, there is a consideration of Palliative Care as crucial for life-limiting chronic diseases as part of end-of-life care, especially when challenged by increasing policy support for assisted suicide. Third, several ethically puzzling end-of-life issues are discussed, including terminal sedation, donation after cardiac death, and posthumous pregnancy.

Program Objectives
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

About the Presenter
In 2007 Professor Gerard Magill was appointed as the the Vernon F. Gallagher Chair for the Integration of Science, Theology, Philosophy, and Law at Duquesne University. He is a tenured Professor in Duquesne University’s Center for Healthcare Ethics. He graduated with the following degrees: Gregorian University, Rome, Italy (1969-1976), Bachelor Degree in Philosophy (PhB); Bachelor Degree in Theology (STB); Master’s Degree in Theological Ethics (STL); Edinburgh University, Scotland (1987), PhD degree in Theological Ethics. He is completing a book on Governance Ethics for Boards of Directors in Healthcare. His most recent book is Religious Morality in John Henry Newman: Hermeneutics of the Imagination, Springer, 2015.

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

To register for this webinar, as well as for any other NACC 2017 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, and also a link enabling you to register online and pay by credit card.

14. Special NACC webinar: Thursday, September 21, 2017, “Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Catholic Health Care Perspectives”
In collaboration with our Canadian members, the National Association of Catholic Chaplains is offering a special webinar entitled Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Catholic Health Care Perspectives, presented by Dr. Christopher De Bono, PhD, MDiv.

The webinar will take place on September 21, 2017, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm (CST)
(1:00 pm – 2:30 pm ET; 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm CT, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm MT; 10:00 am – 11:30 am PT).

Program Summary
What does Medical Assistance in Dying (aka Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide) look like in Canada? What does it mean for the Catholic Health Care community and beyond? This workshop will provide the critical historical context on MAiD. It will focus on the tensions as well as opportunities that MAiD represents in both acute and residential care settings. Clinical, ethical and pastoral theological lenses will be brought to bear on the phenomenon.

Program Objectives
Participants will:

• Learn what Medical Assistance in Dying means for Canadian Catholic health care in acute and residential care settings
• Learn why Medical Assistance is dying is both a tension and an opportunity
• Learn what practical steps a Catholic health system/Catholic sponsor can take in responding to Medical Assistance in Dying
• Learn what Medical Assistance in Dying looks like in Canada.

For more information, and to register for this event, please visit our website at this link: REGISTER.

15. Special Invitation to all chaplains! Take time to “Come Home to Yourself”!
We invite you to join with other chaplains for a refreshing time of spiritual support to recenter, reconnect and recharge. We will quiet our minds, open our hearts and listen together for the Spirit in our lives. Using the conference call format, each session will hold a combination of prayer readings, meditation, music, and sharing, designed to create a nourishing space for spiritual movement. The monthly meetings, September 2017 – June 2018, will be facilitated by members who are also experienced Chaplains and Spiritual Directors. We hope the shared community will sustain, refresh, and enliven our call to ministry as we come together in Love.

The goal of the sessions is to facilitate 30-40 minutes of centering, slowing down, reflection and a brief engagement with participants.
Fee to cover administrative costs, conference call, etc: $45 per conference line (for all 10 sessions).
Date/ time: second Thursday of the month, at 4:00 p.m. ET; 3:00 p.m. CT; 2:00 p.m. MT; 1:00 p.m. PT

Facilitators:

• Marylee Ferranti, BCC, has been involved in chaplaincy since 1999 and trained in Spiritual Direction at Mercy Center, Burlingame, CA. She is experienced in meditation, guided imagery, healing touch and has a special interest in care for caregivers.
• Lisa Irish, MEd, MA, BCC, trained in both Spiritual Direction and Retreat Leadership at Mercy-by-the-Sea in Madison, CT. She currently sees directees in Madison and at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT. Her work also includes grief support, writing and programs to affirm those in ministry.
• Mary T O’Neill, BCC, DMin, LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist) is currently retired from over 30 years of CPE Education and Supervision. She has a strong conviction about the interconnectedness between our self-care and our genuine care for those we serve.

To register for this event, please visit our website at this LINK.

16. Tuesday, October 17, 2017, Partners in Strengthening the Future of Spiritual Care
Symposium
The leading organizations in the field of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care have come together to offer a joint symposium, “Partners in Strengthening the Future of Spiritual Care.” This symposium will cover a range of information including partnerships, collaboration and research pertinent for those in the field of Spiritual Care. In addition, attendees will qualify for 4.5 hours of applicable Continuing Education credits towards their respective certifications.

Hosted by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC), National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC), and Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC), this learning event is geared towards all chaplains, spiritual caregivers, directors of spiritual care, mission leaders, healthcare leaders, and all engaged in, or having responsibility for, spiritual care in your institutions.

Please join us for a vital program that will leave you informed, inspired, and equipped to strengthen spiritual care in your setting.

The symposium (presented from the APC headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois) will be accessible via streaming video to remote audiences via high-speed internet. Primary participation will take place online at registered sites, but limited seats will be available for in-person attendees.

Participants will:

• Gain insights from Dr. Christina Puchalski into the vital role of spiritual care in current healthcare environment, and the critical partnerships needed to strengthen spiritual care for the future;
• Hear from the presidents of the five major associations on the key challenges to professional chaplaincy, and the collaborative efforts undertaken by these strategic partners to address these challenges;
• Receive the most recent resources and research for positioning and strengthening spiritual care within one’s place of work.

The program consists of three 90-minute presentations. The program qualifies for 4.5 CE hours for maintenance of ACPE, BCCI®, CASC, NACC, NAJC Certification. An additional 1.5 CE hours could be added with the use of guided discussions.

For more information, and to register for this event, please visit our website at this link: REGISTER.

17. NACC encourages setting local events around October 17 Symposium! *
As our members plan for local events this fall, please consider setting the gathering to participate in the October 17 symposium.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Andris Kursietis at: akursietis@nacc.org.
We hope you will accept this opportunity to enhance your learning and to meet with fellow chaplains in your region. Please invite your colleagues, even if they are not members of the NACC – all are welcome.

18. NACC Local Gatherings! *

• Milwaukee, WI, Friday, September 15, 2017. The NACC is holding a local educational gathering on Friday, September 15, at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. The topic to be presented will be Chaplains and Research. Those of you in the Midwest region who would be interested in attending, please click on the following link for more information and the opportunity to register, either online or with the option of using a paper registration form: REGISTER.
• Alexandria, MN, 2017, September 21-22, 2017, Fall Chaplains’ Conference. The subject of this year’s event is Moving Beyond Our Comfort Zone: Understanding Behavioral Health for the Provision of Spiritual Care, with Rev. Michele Guest Lowery as the guest speaker. For more information, and to register for this event, please visit our website at this link: REGISTER.
• Local Events being planned for October 17, 2017, Partners in Strengthening the Future of Spiritual Care Symposium *
  • New Jersey, Freehold.
  • Michigan, St. Claire Shores.
  • Washington, DC, Medstar Georgetown, details soon!
• Cincinnati, OH, Thursday, November 9, 2017. The NACC and Mercy Health are co-sponsoring a morning education event on the topic of The New NACC Qualifications and Competencies at the Cincinnati Marriott Northeast. Please click on the following link for more information and the opportunity to register, either online or with the option of using a paper registration form: REGISTER.
• Baltimore, MD, Tuesday, November 14, 2017, Afternoon Program, details soon!

19. For information on the remainder of our NACC 2017 Webinar Series, please go to:
www.nacc.org/education-resources/nacc-webinars-and-audio-conferences

20. 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: Russ (husband of NACC member Linda Bronersky), Mary Columbo Reichert and family, Betty and Louis Skonieczny, Anne Murphy, Sr. Mary Clare Boland SP, Sr. Romona Nowak, OP, Fr. Jim Radde, SJ, Julie Bablin, Sheila Amrich (niece-in-law of NACC member Sr. Paracleta Amrich), Isabelita Boquiren, Susan Balling, Jim and Frances Castello.

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.

LEAD CHAPLAIN
Sturgeon Bay, WI – Door County Medical Center

SPIRITUAL CARE LEADER
Lake Oswego, OR – Mary’s Woods

HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN
Waterloo, Iowa – Covenant Medical Center

PASTORAL CARE CHAPLAIN
Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Sisters

INTERFAITH CHAPLAIN
Burlington, Vermont – University of Vermont Medical Center