Issue #290 – January 2, 2019

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

1. Executive Director’s Reflection
We have all received many well wishes for 2019. They are offered with deep care and genuine affection. Gratitude fills us these days as we enter another new year. Blessings on your 2019!

You will notice at the top of this NACC Now that this is issue #290. That’s a lot of news over the past 11 plus years! As I reflect back on these past years, each year held its treasures and tragedies, nationally, professionally, personally. As we look together to 2019, we know this year also will hold its treasures and tragedies.

However, we enter the new year as people of wonder and hope. We seek and expect to be amazed by God’s goodness and graciousness, and we hope we will be alert and responsive when God invites us into deeper longing for the More for our lives, and into deeper love for the humanity God’s Son gave His life.

Personally, as Executive Director, I enter this new year with a wonder-filled appreciation for 2018, and I look forward to capturing the key accomplishments of NACC in our NACC Annual Report. However, for this first Executive Director reflection of 2019, I want to emphasize what an important year this 2019 will be for NACC. This is the central and pivotal year of our 2018-2020 Strategic Plan. Let me note three critical elements for us in 2019.

Our Priority One Goal is To leverage relations with Strategic Partners for spiritual care to advance the profession, and source and implement a major marketing initiative to increase awareness among Catholics of the vital vocation of chaplaincy. We are in very intentional discussion with APC, ACPE, NAJC, and CASC on how we can best combine our efforts to advance the profession. We formalized these efforts through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that states specific outcomes desired. These include combining our ethics procedures, joining our advocacy efforts, and determining how best to organizationally structure our associations for efficiency and impact while respecting our diverse missions. This is not a business as usual effort. While we are collaborating on a joint 2020 Conference, we are also committed to the desired outcomes of the MOU.
Secondly, the Priority One Goal included implementing a major marketing initiative to increase awareness among Catholics of the vital vocation of chaplaincy. We began this in the latter part of 2018, as we developed “Choose Chaplaincy” materials and messaging, and a landing page on our NACC website on chaplaincy for the younger population. Then we sent these materials to over 1500 campus ministry and Newman centers. We will continue in 2019 to develop more materials for the younger generation, as well as for our mid-career folk, like most of us.
I can’t emphasize enough how critical it is right now, and it has been for several years, to replenish our Catholic Board-certified Catholic pool. My singular disappointment over the past decade as Executive Director has been our inability to attract men and women to choose chaplaincy. When I became Executive Director in August 2007, we had over 2900 members; we now have 1950! We had 1,650 full BCC; we now have 972! We had 1,075 sisters; we now have 385. We had 930 lay women; we now have 796. We had 289 lay men; we now have 315. We had 474 priests; we now have 358. We had 94 deacons; we now have 62. These are dramatic numbers.

While the retirement of our sisters (and priests) is understandable, we have had an alarming decrease in our lay women chaplains, and only incremental net growth in our lay men! I regularly hear from our leaders in Catholic health care that they are not receiving applications from eligible board certified or certifiable Catholics. While we can create materials and encourage you, our members, to promote chaplaincy and encourage individuals you know to choose chaplaincy, we need you, our members to secure our next generation of Catholic chaplains! Please make this a 2019 priority for you also! What if each of us encouraged at least one person this year and secured one new member for NACC?
Our Priority Two Goal is To lead the strengthening of the Church’s pastoral care ministry. Its first Key Outcome is: Collaborations with Catholic Partners for Pastoral Care Ministry to provide national competencies, resources for leading practice formation programs, a nationally available/accessible foundational training program for pastoral care ministries, networking among those responsible for diocesan programs, and a 2019 Pastoral Care Summit. THIS IS THE MAJOR EMPHASIS FOR 2019, and where most of my time and energy will be devoted.
Some may ask how this will help and support the first two points above. The core marketing assumption in our Strategic Plan is: Future board-certified chaplains will be reached mainly though the hundreds of Catholics who are being attracted to, already involved in, or affected by some form of pastoral care ministry in the Church. The NACC will support the formation and development of all those entering or serving in this type of ministry. Many of you, our members who became board certified, were first exposed to chaplaincy through some form of pastoral care. We need to reach many others who are providing some form of pastoral care, most in a volunteer way, to alert them to the career and profession of chaplaincy. Again, we need you to encourage them!

Most likely you already read our September-October 2018 Vision that was dedicated to this initiative. You will notice that our 2019 Conference’s theme is Partners in the Pastoral Care Ministry.

As we enter 2019 together, I am personally excited and passionate about our focus and priorities for this year. I hope you are too. You have my full-hearted commitment to NACC, and I hope we also have yours. This is a remarkable, blessed, and vital ministry of the Church. Thank you for your ministry and membership!

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

2. Welcome to our new members who joined us in December 2018!
Please join us in welcoming our new NACC members who joined us in December 2018!

Affiliate Members
Rev. Stacey L. Jutila (Duluth, MN)

Full Members
Mr. Thomas Anderson (Skaneateles, NY)
Rev. Kenneth O. Ekekwe (Chicago, IL)
Mr. Brendan D. Keenan (Arvada, CO)
Mr. Michael W. Millard (Hot Springs, AZ)
Mr. Christopher P. Morgan (Denver, CO)
Mrs. Sandra J. Spencer (Pierre, SD)

Student Members
Mrs. Nannette O. Coons (Magnolia, TX)
Ms. Ruth A. Payne (Milwaukee, WI)
Mr. Jerome M. Schneider (Augusta, GA)

3. Thanks to all who helped us surpass our NACC 2018 Annual Campaign goal!
We are very grateful to all of our members and other donors who gave to our 2018 member campaign. Our 2018 Annual Campaign has received 508 gifts of $59,117 compared to 509 gifts of $61,525 in 2017.

4. Now Accepting 2019 Certification Applications!

We are now accepting applications for the following:

Initial Board Certification – The postmark deadline to apply for initial certification is February 15, 2019. You may find application materials here:
www.nacc.org/certification/board-certified-chaplain/initial-certification-materials.

Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (PCHAC) – Our Advanced Certification is now in collaboration with APC and BCCi. We have two tracks available. Track one includes written materials and an interview. Track two is an Action Reflection workshop which is being held in Milwaukee, WI, on April 5 & 6, 2019. The next postmark deadline to apply for either of these two tracks is February 15, 2019. You may find the application materials and more information here:
www.nacc.org/certification/palliative-care-and-hospice-advanced-certification.

Certified Associate Chaplaincy (CAC) – We are accepting six applicants for this pilot process. The postmark deadline for this process is March 15, 2019. One of the prerequisites is to have the equivalent of 32 hours of graduate-level theological education. In order to assess this prerequisite, we have an application form that needs to be filled out, with accompanying evidentiary documentation, approximately nine (9) weeks before application. You will find the application materials and more information here: www.nacc.org/certification/initial-cac-certification-materials

For more information on any of these application processes, please contact the Administrative Specialist, Certification, at rzeb@nacc.org or (414) 483-4898 Ext. 304.

5. Graduate Degree Equivalency for Certification applications has been updated.
The Graduate Degree Equivalency application process has been revised to include other forms of theological education and experience. A Graduate Degree Equivalency may be applied for at any time throughout the year. You may find the application materials and more information here:
www.nacc.org/certification/board-certified-chaplain/applying-for-certification/graduate-degree-equivalency.

For more information on this process, please contact the Administrative Specialist, Certification, at rzeb@nacc.org or (414) 483-4898 Ext. 304.

6. In Vision: Ministry in a detention center from the inside out
What is it like to be a volunteer chaplain inside an immigrant detention center? In the current issue of Vision, Maggie Finley talks to Esmeralda Saltos about her ministry at a privately-operated prison in Tacoma, WA. www.nacc.org/vision/november-december-2018/ministry-in-a-detention-center-from-the-inside-out/

7. January-February 2019 Vision on Ministry at the end of life is now available on line!
The new issue of Vision is posted at our website, with many articles about the end of life. Topics include anointing of the sick, advance directives, palliative care, money as the elephant in the room, and former Vision editor Becky Evans’ personal reflection on her own mortality at the age of 88. Please visit www.nacc.org/vision/january-february-2019/

8. NACC Networking calls for January/February/March 2019
Beginning with our 2019 Networking calls, NACC will be using Zoom as its conferencing software.
As the time of the call gets closer and you have replied that you will participate, I will forward both passcodes for a visual connection via internet or, if you prefer, you can still call in via a phone line.
Monday, January 14, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC Corrections Networking Call
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT NACC Long Term Care Networking Call
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT NACC New Member Networking Call
Monday, January 21, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC Behavioral Health Networking Call
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 1 p.m. CT NACC Hispanic Chaplain Networking Call
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 1 p.m. CT NACC Canadian Chaplain Networking Call
Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 12 p.m. CT NACC Palliative Care/Hospice Networking Call
Monday, January 28, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC State Liaison Networking Call
Or
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT NACC State Liaison Networking Call
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT NACC Retired/Emeritus Networking Call
Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC African Member Networking Call
Monday, February 4, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC Pediatric Networking Call
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 1 p.m. CT NACC One-Person Dept. Networking Call
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC Directors of Spiritual Care Networking Call
Monday, February 11, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC Outpatient Settings Networking Call
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 3 p.m. CT NACC Deacon/Chaplain Networking Call
Monday, February 18, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC <45 Member Networking Call Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 3 p.m. CT NACC Student Networking Call Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 1 p.m. CT NACC Ambassador Networking Call Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 12 p.m. CT NACC Palliative Care/Hospice Networking Call Monday, March 11, 2019 at 1 p.m. CT NACC CPE-E Community of Practice Networking Call Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT NACC Nurse Networking Call Registering for the call, even if you cannot participate, will allow you to receive notes of the conversation and resources shared. NACC realizes the value of networking and appreciates members taking time out of their schedules to share and lend support to others who are ministering in the same area. Unfortunately, the calls lose value if there are few participants, limiting the sharing that could take place. In order for the call to have the most value for participants, we will postpone a call until the next quarter if there are fewer than 5 participants who have registered for the call a week prior to its scheduled date. To sign up, contact Ramune Franitza at rfranitza@nacc.org for more information, questions, comments or concerns.

9. Have you visited our NACC Choose Chaplaincy site?
As part of our outreach efforts to make younger Catholics aware of chaplaincy as a profession and a ministry of the Church, our NACC Marketing Advisory Panel, along with Westwords Consulting, have been working over the past months on materials and a web presence for this population.
It can be reached at https://www.nacc.org/about-nacc/choose-chaplaincy/
AND from http://choosechaplaincy.org/ or http://choosechaplaincy.com/

You might have seen for some years on our website home page the “Consider Chaplaincy” link to a webpage on materials for promoting chaplaincy. This Choose Chaplaincy (much more direct than ‘consider’!) site replaces that.

Also, we recently sent posters and brochures on chaplaincy to over 1500 Catholic campus ministry and Newman Centers.

Please share this link and these materials with those you know. If you know of a program that could use this information, please let Ramune Franitza know at rfranitza@nacc.org.

2019 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, MAY 31 – JUNE 3, 2019

10. Friday, May 31, to Monday, June 3, 2019, for NACC National Conference
Mark your calendars for the NACC Conference in 2019! This conference will be held Friday, May 31, to Monday, June 3, 2019, at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Conference Center in Mundelein, IL. It will be preceded by preconference workshops and our NACC retreat. Plan to join us!

11. NACC announces plenary speakers for the 2019 NACC Conference!
We are excited to announce our plenary speakers for the 2019 Conference! Both will speak on Saturday, June 1, 2019.

Mr. Robert G. Mundle MDiv, STM, ThM, is a certified spiritual care practitioner, registered psychotherapist, qualitative researcher, and author from Toronto, Canada. (https://robertmundle.com/)

Zeni Fox PhD, is Professor of Theology at the Seton Hall University School of Theology in South Orange, NJ. (https://www.shu.edu/profiles/zenifox.cfm)

More information about our speakers will be coming soon.

12. Conference Registration Types and Rates
Visit the NACC website to find out about the different types of registration available, as well as the registration rates.

13. Conference Sleeping Room Options
The NACC is pleased to offer four (4) options for accommodations for your time at the 2019 Conference.

1. University of St. Mary of the Lake (USML)
2. Cardinal Stritch Retreat House
3. Marytown Franciscan Retreat Center
4. Doubletree by Hilton Hotel

Space is limited, so make your reservation early!

Visit the NACC website for more information about each option and how to make your reservation.
If you are looking for a roommate, please use the NACC roommate referral service to facilitate your search.

14. Important Dates and Policies
Do you want to know when registration will open or when sleeping rooms will be available to reserve? All important “date” information is available on the NACC website at www.nacc.org/conference/important-dates/.

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

15. Did you see this article on “Chaplaincy for the 21st Century, for people of all religions and none?”
The BMJ health journal published this article on “Chaplaincy for the 21st Century, for people of all religions and none.” It’s worth a read. www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5223/related

16. Did you view yet the Spiritual Care Podcast?
David Freudberg’s Human Media’s Spiritual Care Podcast featured an episode on “What the Research Shows” www.humanmedia.org/product/spiritual-care/#11. The episode reviews recent research findings from studies by the American Cancer Society, the Mayo Clinic, Pew and other resources. Perspectives are offered by George Fitchett and Karen Steinhauser.

17. Registration is now open for the 2019 NACC webinar series!
You can now register for the 2019 NACC webinar series! This year the series comprises 12 webinars, instead of the 11 per year that has been the norm during the past few years, plus the usual free webinars on Certification with the NACC and Renewal of Certification. Details of each of the webinars and information on how to register for them are available on our website: www.nacc.org/education-resources/nacc-webinars-and-audio-conferences/

For NACC members the registration fee for each individual webinar is $40 per connection for the live sessions or $40 to purchase access to the recordings. There is a special rate of $20 per webinar for those who have NACC student membership. For non-members the registration fee is $55 per connection for the live sessions or $55 to purchase access to the recordings. We are offering a special package that includes all twelve of our regular January – December 2019 webinars at a discounted rate of $340 for NACC members ($170 for NACC student members) and $450 for non-members.

To register online and pay by credit card, please visit the registration page by clicking on this LINK. NACC student members wishing to register online should use the following special link: STUDENTS. If you prefer to register using a paper registration form and pay by check, a downloadable registration form can be accessed at this LINK.

NOTE: All of the NACC webinars are recorded, and online access to the recordings is made available to all registrants. If you cannot participate live, you still have the opportunity to enhance your learning (and earn CEHs) by means of the recordings.

18. It is not too late to register for the first of our 2019 series webinars!

Thursday, January 24, 2019. Family Systems Approach to Spiritual Care within Clinical Settings, presented by Kevin Stephenson, MDiv, MA, LPC-S, BCC.

Program Summary
This webinar will provide a brief overview of Dr. Murray Bowen’s family systems theory and its application to spiritual care and counseling. Kevin will discuss the eight concepts of Bowen’s family system theory and its spiritual application within the pastoral care setting. There will be a brief discussion on the purpose of a genogram as a spiritual assessment tool for chaplains working with patients, families and staff members.

Program Objectives
As a result of this webinar, participants will learn:
1. The definition of family systems theory.
2. How to utilize family systems theory as an assessment tool.
3. How to apply family systems theory to spiritual care within clinical and pastoral settings.

Kevin Stephenson works full time as a Staff Hospital Chaplain with Saint John Health System/Ascension in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a Board-Certified Chaplain with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC). He is also a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor for the State of Oklahoma. He has provided multiple behavioral health continuing education workshops on addictions and spirituality for mental health professionals and clinical pastoral education students. He has authored a book on Addiction and Spirituality published through Amazon publishers. He is a former Baptist minister who converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 2009. His conversion story was published on the Coming Home Network/EWTN. He is currently in the Deacon Formation program for the Diocese of Tulsa. Kevin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Montclair State University and has earned a Master of Divinity and Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Oral Roberts University. He has over 13 years of experience working with behavioral health clients in inpatient and outpatient medical settings as both a chaplain and professional behavioral health therapist. He is married to his wife Monica and is the father of six children and nine grandchildren.

To register online and pay by credit card for this webinar, or for any other NACC 2019 regular series webinar, please visit the registration page by clicking on this LINK. NACC Student members wishing to register online should use the following special link: STUDENTS. If you prefer to register using a paper registration form and pay by check, a downloadable registration form can be accessed at this LINK. Information about our 2019 webinars can be found at the following link: 2019 webinars.

19. Don’t miss this free NACC webinar on research competency!
Are you in the process of applying, or planning to apply, for NACC Certification or Renewal of Certification? Are you already certified, but looking to improve your skills in tackling research articles? NACC member and ACPE Certified Educator, LaVera Crawley, MD, MPH, has recorded a webinar entitled “How to Speed Read a Research Article: A Beginner’s Guide to Research Competency,” which is being offered by the NACC at no charge. The recording can be accessed at the following link: https://youtube/w-Yio7u-67w. Prior to watching this recording, you should download the following article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4015868/. It will be used for the practice session. Do not read it in advance of watching the recording. 1.5 Continuing Education Hours are offered for viewing this webinar recording.

20. NACC Local Gathering

Save the date for San Antonio Gathering, February 21, 2019!
A local gathering is being planned at the Oblate Renewal Center, San Antonio, Texas, in the afternoon of Thursday, February 21, 2019. The NACC Executive Director, David Lichter, will be the presenter at the gathering. Please note the date on your calendars – further details will be announced in due course.

If you have any questions about NACC webinars or local gatherings, please contact Andris Kursietis at the NACC national office at 414-483-4898 or akursietis@nacc.org.

21. 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: Connie Pawicz (husband of Mary Pawicz) Nolan (3-year-old grandson of member Dale Recinella), Sr. Mary Clare Boland, SP, 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.

22. 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.

CERTIFIED CHAPLAIN
Toledo, Ohio – Mercy Health St. Vincent Hospital

PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Washington, DC – MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

CPE RESIDENCY and SUMMER PROGRAM
La Crosse, Wisconsin – Gundersen Health Systems

MANAGER SPIRITUAL CARE
Chicago, Illinois – Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago

HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN – Pastoral Spiritual Care FT Days
Binghamton, New York – Ascension Lourdes

CHAPLAIN-VOLUNTEER SERVICES
Quincy, Illinois – Blessing Health

CPE RESIDENCIES
Santa Monica, Torrance, Burbank, San Pedro & Tarzana, California – Providence Health & Services California Center for CPE

CHAPLAIN I
Joplin, Missouri – Mercy Hospital

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

NACC Now #290

Issue #290 – January 2, 2019

NACC

2019 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, MAY 31 – JUNE 3, 2019

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

2019 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, MAY 31 – JUNE 3, 2019

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

Issue #290 – January 2, 2019

NACC

2019 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, MAY 31 – JUNE 3, 2019

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

2019 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, MAY 31 – JUNE 3, 2019

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

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