Issue #303 – July 8, 2019
Click here to return to the main NACC Now page.
(Items marked with a * are new or updated items)
NACC
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. Welcome our new NACC members who joined us in June 2019!
3. Death of our former NACC member, Sr. Mary Norbert Stang
4. 2019 Conference Charity, and 2019 Awardees News Notes and Photos
5. Call for Fall Certification Interviewers
6. Thank you to those of you who have already given to our 2019 Annual Member Campaign! Please join them!
7. Vision seeks contributors for topic of pain
8. In Vision: Newly certified chaplain finds growing edge in beautiful setting
9. NACC Networking call for July 2019 – All are welcome to participate!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
2020 CONFERENCE, Monday, May 11 – Thursday, May 14 in Cleveland, Ohio!
10. Monday, May 11 – Thursday, May 14, 2020, for 2020 Conference!
11. Thank you to all who submitted Workshop Proposal Applications.
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
12. There is still time to register for next week’s NACC webinar on July 18!
13. You can still register for our entire 2019 NACC webinar series!
14. NACC Local Events
15. An interesting article on Catholic professional ministers’ burnout.
16. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
17. Recent job postings
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
I get a powerful, energizing image from yesterday’s Gospel from Luke 10 (1-12, 17-20) that being sent on mission as disciples is a journey of passion, adventure, risks, and discernment. Don’t you?
We get a feel for the passion by just being sent with the message that the Kingdom is at hand!
It’s here and about us! What an adventure, two-by-two, and away we go!
- I cringe a bit at the warning of the risks, being sent “like lambs among wolves!”
- I feel a little anxious about the paucity of supplies, “carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals.”
- I love the mandate of entering someone’s house (or patient/resident room, a family circle, an interdisciplinary team meeting, a board room, etc.!) and first saying, “Peace to this household.”
- Then we read the discernment of “If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.”
And, of course, in our ministry, it’s good to read, “cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’” However, I had not noticed before the “for you” addition after the Kingdom is at hand. Usually I hear the message, the Kingdom is at hand, as a declaration and invitation. “Look around you! Notice and sense God’s presence, passion, purpose for our world and us! It’s at hand! The world is not what it seems! God’s healing power is here!”) However, the “for you” carries a personalized message and invitation. Kingdom and reign can connotate remoteness and vastness. “For you” makes this near, intimate, and particular. I am not lost to, nor far from, the One who loves me and wants me to know and experience the presence, passion, peace, and power of the Reign.
This brings out for me the personalized meaning and tone of the 19-20 verses from Psalm 66, yesterday’s responsorial psalm, “But God did hear and listened to my voice in prayer.
Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer and refuse his mercy” (my emphases). God’s healing power is “at hand” for me and for you.
These two messages of “peace to this household” and “for you” hold much richness for reflection. May these summer months for you bring these messages to your ministry, your loved ones, your heart.
Blessings,
David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director
2. Welcome our new NACC members who joined us in June 2019!
Please join us in welcoming our new NACC members who joined us in June 2019!
Affiliate Members
Deacon Patrick A. Roche (Norfolk, NE)
Mrs. Lois Lane (Englewood, CO)
Full Members
Mrs. Anthonia N. Gremudu (Toluca Lake, CA)
Rev. Joachim C. Lechukwu (Phelan, CA)
Ms. Josephine M. Longoria-Contente (Fresno, CA)
Rev. Raymond G. Pierini, MM, BCC-VA (New York, NY)
Mr. Philip G. Waldrop (Brooklyn, NY)
Ministry Volunteers
Rev. David L. Jones (St. Joseph, MO)
Rev. Kenneth L. Kerr (Vancouver, WA)
Mthr. Barbara E. McEntee (Santa Rosa, CA)
Student Members
Mr. Anthony K. Devassy (Homer Glen, IL)
Mr. Thomas J. Grant (Waipahu, HI)
Mrs. Dawn H. Malone (Houston, TX)
Ms. Megan R. Mayeux (Hartman, AR)
Ms. Heather A. Morgan (Columbia, MO)
Mr. Michael O’Neill (North Andover, MA)
Mrs. Willa Shegog-Neely (Chicago, IL)
3. Death of our former NACC member, Sr. Mary Norbert Stang
We recently learned of the death of our former board certified member, Sr. Mary Norbert Stang. She died on June 25, 2019, at the age of 94. Sister joined the NACC in 1991 and was certified in 1992. She retired from NACC in 2002. May God bless her and keep her. To learn more about her, go to:
https://buffalonews.com/2019/06/30/sister-mary-norbert-stang-94-teacher-in-catholic-elementary-and-high-schools/
4. 2019 Conference Charity, and 2019 Awardees News Notes and Photos
- Thanks to all you contributed toward the $2,076.14 donated to the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants. Here is a link to the thank you we received from them.
- The Sisters of the Holy Cross’ Newsletter had a lovely tribute to Sr. Emily Demuth upon her receiving the NACC Distinguished Service Award. Here is a link to that article with photos. https://www.cscsisters.org/sister-m-emily-demuth-csc-receives-service-award/
- Thursday, July 18, 2019. Supporting the Spiritual and Emotional Needs of Transgender and Gender Variant Patients in Healthcare Settings presented by Rev. Claire Bohman, MDiv and Emiliano Lemus Hufstedler, with the participation of Catholic ethicist M. Therese Lysaught, PhD.
Participants will learn about common challenges and discrimination faced by trans and gender variant people in healthcare institutions and the impacts of these barriers to care. Participants will then deepen their understanding of gender diversity as well as explore common spiritual and emotional needs of trans and gender variant people in healthcare settings. Participants will learn best practices around three common challenges when serving trans and gender variant and have an opportunity to practice different ways of navigating these challenges.
Program Objectives
By the end of this webinar, participants will:- Gain a basic understanding of transgender identities.
- Gain an understanding of barriers to care that transgender and gender variant people face in healthcare institutions and ways that Chaplains and Spiritual Care providers can play a key role in navigating these barriers.
- Leave with practice navigating common challenges that non-trans people face when serving trans and gender variant patients.
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. Information about our 2019 webinars can be found at the following link: 2019 webinars.
Here are a couple of photos of our Emergent Leader Award winner, Sean Doll O’Mahoney, pictured with NACC Executive Director, David Lichter, and with his wife, Rachel: 
5. Call for Fall Certification Interviewers
We are still in need of volunteers to be a Certification Interviewer for the October 19 & 20, 2019 Certification Interviews! Interviews are being held in Rockville Center, NY; Milwaukee, WI; and Burbank, CA. If you live near any of those areas, are a Board Certified Chaplain and are willing and able, we would love to have you volunteer. To volunteer or for more information, please contact Lisa Sarenac, Administrative Specialist for Certification at LisaSarenac@nacc.org or call (414)483-4898 Ext. 304.
6. Thank you to those of you who have already given to our 2019 Annual Member Campaign! Please join them!
We are deeply grateful to all those who have been able to give so far to our 2019 Annual Campaign. To date, we have received 270 gifts totaling $32,680 compared to 255 gifts totaling $30,367 at this time last year. If you have not yet been able to donate, please consider doing so today or this week! Thank you!
Please note: You can also make your donation online RIGHT NOW by going to the Annual Campaign webpage (https://www.nacc.org/donate/) or just click here to donate: https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/donate Please give as you can! Blessings!
7. Vision seeks contributors for topic of pain
The September-October Vision will have the theme of pain and our responses to it. We are looking for authors who can write about topics such as spiritual pain; medication and the opioid crisis; palliative care and pain management; chronic pain support groups; requests for assisted suicide; alternative treatments, e.g. acupuncture, aromatherapy; the placebo effect; and Catholic theology and pain, e.g. “offering it up.” And if our members have further ideas, we are happy to consider those as well. Please send a summary of your article idea to Vision editor David Lewellen, dlewellen@nacc.org. The copy deadline is Aug. 5.
8. In Vision: Newly certified chaplain finds growing edge in beautiful setting
Joan Sweeney, a newly certified chaplain who attended the NACC conference in June, agreed to share her thoughts about the beautiful natural setting and the sense of the spirit at work. You can read her reflection in the current issue of Vision.
https://www.nacc.org/vision/july-august-2019/newly-certified-chaplain-finds-growing-edge-in-beautiful-setting/
9. NACC Networking call for July 2019 – All are welcome to participate!
Thursday, July 25, 2019 at 12 p.m. CT ………………Palliative Care/Hospice Networking Call
To sign up, contact Ramune Franitza at rfranitza@nacc.org for more information, questions, comments or concerns. As the time of the call gets closer and you have replied that you will participate, we will forward ZOOM passcodes for a visual connection via internet or, if you prefer, you can still call in via a phone line. Registering for the call, even if you cannot participate, will allow you to receive notes of the conversation and resources shared.
If you’ve had difficulty in joining calls using ZOOM please let Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org) know so that we can address the difficulty. THANK YOU!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
2020 CONFERENCE, Monday, May 11 – Thursday, May 14 in Cleveland, Ohio!
10. Monday, May 11 – Thursday, May 14, 2020, for 2020 Conference!
Mark your calendars for the Vision 20/20 The Future of Spiritual Care Conference in 2020! This conference will be held Monday, May 11, through Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio. It will be preceded by pre-conference workshops (PDI) and a Conference retreat. Plan to join us!
11. Thank you to all who submitted Workshop Proposal Applications.
Our deepest appreciation to all who submitted workshop applications for the 2020 Conference. All applications will be reviewed by the Conference Education Subcommittee and decisions will be communicated to all who applied by October 30, 2019.
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
12. There is still time to register for next week’s NACC webinar on July 18!
13. You can still register for our entire 2019 NACC webinar series!
You can still register for the 2019 NACC webinar series, with access to recordings of presentations that have already taken place! 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: LINK.
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. Registrants for the package deal will receive access to the recordings of the webinars that have already taken place.
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.
If you have any questions about NACC webinars, please contact Andris Kursietis at the NACC national office at 414-483-4898 or akursietis@nacc.org.
14. NACC Local Events
• Buffalo, MN
The 2019 Fall Chaplains’ Conference will take place on September 12-13 at the Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minnesota. Rev. Michele Guest Lowery will be the guest speaker, presenting on the subject of “Coming Down from the Ledge: Insights and Applications from Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Changing Self-Destructive Behaviors.” We are expecting a high turnout for this event, so room-sharing opportunities are offered. For full details of the program, please visit the following page on our website: https://www.nacc.org/event/2019-fall-chaplains-conference/. To register online and pay by credit card, please click on this LINK.
Rev. Michele Guest Lowery is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a board certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). She has almost 20 years of experience in behavioral health chaplaincy as both a direct care provider and program manager. Rev. Lowery currently serves as Spiritual Care Manager at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine. She has presented several workshops and webinars on various behavioral health topics and has published numerous articles on ministry to those living with a mental illness, most recently “Behavioral Health Basics for Chaplains” in Health Progress. Rev. Lowery has the distinction of being the first (perhaps the only) chaplain to complete Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive Training with Behavioral Tech, a Marsha Linehan Institute Training Company (Linehan is the founder of DBT).
15. An interesting article on Catholic professional ministers’ burnout.
Our NACC member, Cathy Connelly, BCC, alerted us to the recent article on burnout of Catholic professional ministers. While chaplains are not identified in the article, it might still apply for some. Here is the link: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/06/28/when-professional-catholics-burn-out.
16. 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: Becky Evans (on the death of her sister, Betty Murray), Art Schute, Sr. Louise Zaplitny, Susan Crowley (for her husband Brian), Linda F. Piotrowski, BCC (on the death of her husband, Richard), Sr. Mary Ann DuPlain and her family (for her brother Larry), Debra (Debbie) Shea and her family (for healing after the death of her husband Danny), Ms. Pauline T. Lavelle, BCC, (for healing after the death of her husband), Jensen and Emory (grandchildren of member Carol Bamesberger), 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.
17. 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.
DIRECTOR, SPIRITUAL CARE
Hershey, PA – Penn State Health St. Joseph
MANAGER of PASTORAL CARE
Beaumont, TX – CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System
FT CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN OR CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN ASSOCIATE
Canton, OH – Mercy Medical Center
VP MISSION INTEGRATION
Atlanta, GA – Emory Healthcare
ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
San Francisco, CA – California Pacific Medical Center
SPIRITUAL CARE MANAGERS
Muskegon, Grand Rapids, and Southeast Michigan – Trinity Health
View these jobs and more at www.nacc.org/resources/positions.
