Issue #307 – September 3, 2019

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

NACC

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
2. Welcome to our new NACC members who joined us in August! *
3. Deadline is close if you want to honor an NACC Member or Professional Colleague! *
4. Thank you to those of you who have already given to our 2019 Annual Member Campaign! Please join them! *
5. NACC Leadership and Volunteer Opportunities
6. Monday, September 16, is the DEADLINE for Initial Certification and Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (Track 1-Interview) Applications *
7. In Vision: Coping with pain: Physical, emotional, spiritual *
8. Find more resources on our Partners in Pastoral Care page on the NACC Website! *
9. We have redone our ChooseChaplaincy page! Visit it! Send a link to others! *
10. NACC Networking calls for September/October 2019 – All are welcome to participate! *

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
2020 CONFERENCE, Monday, May 11 – Thursday, May 14 in Cleveland, Ohio!

11. Monday May 11 – Thursday, May 14, 2020, for 2020 Conference!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

12. Are you involved in any research projects where spiritual care/chaplaincy care is involved? *
13. Are any of you involved in providing support for communities or individuals who have been impacted by priest sexual abuse? *
14. There is still time to register for NACC’s Webinar on September 19, 2019!! Chaplains in Wonderland: Narrative Medicine and the Reframing of Out-Patient Spiritual Care, presented by Anne M. Windholz, MDiv, PhD, BCC *
15. 2019 NACC Conference Workshop Recordings for Sale!
16. Now available: 2019 NACC Conference Formation/Training Program Recordings *
17. NACC Local Events *
18. APC Offering *
19. Other professional development opportunities *
20. Healing Tree: a request for prayers *
21. Recent job postings *

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
I might have mentioned Dag Hammarskjöld’s Markings in one of my prior reflections over the past dozen years. You can get a used copy on Amazon now for $1.00! Markings was a treasure for me during my college years in the late 60’s. It was first published in 1964, three years after his tragic death in an airplane crash. I admired his crisp, readable wisdom captured over years. Two musings on humility were very formative for me.

One was on a sense of responsibility towards one’s duty or tasks in life. He wrote:

The other quote captures humility in relation to mystery and wonder. He wrote:

I was reminded of these quotes as I read the past Sunday’s first reading from Sirach, its opening verses, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” (Sirach 3:17-18) And in Luke 14, Jesus tells the parable of sitting at places of honor at the wedding feast, with its famous line, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)

When I reflect on those two scripture passages in light of Hammarskjöld’s writings, I think about the gift of our ministry as it is, whatever it is, not in comparison to any other ministry time in our lives. I think about the gift of responsibility “to give to people, works, poetry, art, what the self can contribute, and to take, simply and freely, what belongs to it by reason of its identity.” I think about the gift of this day, not in comparison to yesterday or tomorrow, but today. How do I approach today, and my work/ministry today from the point of rest at the center of my being, open to the mystery of its simplicity today? Can I approach this day, this ministry, from the simplicity Hammarskjöld describes, “The life of simplicity is simple, but it opens to a book in which we never get beyond the first syllable.”?

I know I can be very dutiful and responsible. Too often I catch myself approaching a day with much to do and tasks to complete. How helpful is it for me today to again hear Hammarskjöld, Sirach, and Jesus (I wanted to say least to most important, but I would be making comparisons, which is not being humble! ☺). I need to see and experience all as they are, to see each person as a “cosmos of whose riches we can only catch glimpses.” I need to embrace my “responsibilities” today at the point of rest at the center of my being, so that I contribute what I “can contribute, and to take, simply and freely, what belongs to it by reason of its identity,” hoping that “Praise and blame, the winds of success and adversity, blow over such a life without leaving a trace or upsetting its balance.”

I pray today you experience its mystery in a way that you never get past the first syllable of the book of simplicity.

Blessings,

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

2. Welcome to our New NACC members who joined us in August! *

Please welcome our new NACC members who joined us in August! Welcome!

Affiliate Member
Deacon Hal Goldwire (Lakewood, CO)

Full Members
Mrs. Josefina P. Camano (Virginia Beach, VA)
Rev. Joshua G. Dyachim (Temple Terrace, FL)
Mr. Gustavo Lopez (Los Angeles, CA)
Rev. John Bosco Musinguzi (San Diego, CA)
Mr. Bamncedile S. Nkosi (Chicago, IL)
Rev. Paul C. Obiji (White Plains, NY)
Rev. Adolfo G. Occeno (Fishkill, NY)

Ministry Volunteers
Mr. Michael A. Dour (Lake Hopatcong, NJ)
Rev. Billy T. Sullivan (Middlesex, NC)

Student Members
Mrs. Denissa W. Anderson (Canal Wincheser, OH)
Miss Mary Espitia (Bakersfield, CA)
Mr. Steve Fluur (West Allis, WI)

3. Deadline is close if you want to honor an NACC Member or Professional Colleague! *
Friday, September 13, is the deadline for submitting your nominations for the NACC Distinguished Service Award, Emergent Leader Award, and Outstanding Colleague Award. You can learn more and access the nomination forms at https://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 joint Vision 20/20 The Future of Spiritual Care Conference in 2020! from May 11-14, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio.

4. 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 323 gifts totaling $38,693 compared to 303 gifts totaling $34,397 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!

5. NACC Leadership and Volunteer Opportunities
One of the best ways to advance the profession and experience the value of being an NACC member is by serving with your member colleagues in volunteer leadership within NACC. You have gifts and experience/expertise from your personal and professional background that can contribute to NACC’s mission and would be of great service to our members.

Your involvement would help you get to know other NACC members, network with professional colleagues, and better understand the broader field of professional chaplaincy. So many of our members who served in leadership roles expressed how that service enhanced their appreciation for NACC and chaplaincy.

On this page (www.nacc.org/membership/volunteers) you will find a variety of opportunities.

6. Monday, September 16, is the DEADLINE for Initial Certification and Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (Track 1-Interview) Applications *
Your application portfolios for initial certification and advanced certification must be postmarked by Monday, September 16, 2019! If you have any questions or would like informational materials on initial or advanced certification, please contact Lisa Sarenac at lisasarenac@nacc.org or call (414) 483-4898 Ext. 304. Please keep our applicants and those considering Board Certification in your prayers.

7. In Vision: Coping with pain: Physical, emotional, spiritual *
Every day, our members minister to people feeling various kinds of pain, and the newly posted September-October issue of Vision is full of resources to address the problem. Articles include a physician’s perspective on how spirituality can mask physical pain; coping with chronic pain; knowing when some pain is necessary or acceptable; dealing with patients’ fears of opioid addiction; and much more. To read it, go to www.nacc.org/vision/September-October-2019

8. Find more resources on our Partners in Pastoral Care page on the NACC Website! *
Immediately before our 2019 Conference late May, we launched our Partners in Pastoral Care page on our NACC website (https://www.nacc.org/about-nacc/partners-in-pastoral-care/). This page is growing with resources for you, as well as for those in dioceses who have the responsibility for preparing others for pastoral care ministry in the Church. We added recordings of several of the Conference workshops that pertain to preparing others for pastoral care. Keep watching for more resources!

9. We have redone our ChooseChaplaincy page! Visit it! Send a link to others! *
Thanks to the work of our Marketing Advisory Panel and Westwords Consulting, we have more resources and a new look to our ChooseChaplaincy page on our website https://www.nacc.org/about-nacc/choose-chaplaincy/. Please note the many resources you can use for presentations on chaplaincy. Let us know if you want to do a presentation to an audience, and we can also send materials. Please send a link to this page to those you know who want to learn more about chaplaincy! Contact Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org) for more information.

10. NACC Networking calls for September/October 2019 – All are welcome to participate! *

Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT…….African Chaplain
Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT………..Trauma Settings
Monday, September 9, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT………..Behavioral Health
Monday, September 9, 2019 at 1 p.m. CT…………CPE-E Community of Practice
Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT….Pediatric
Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT……Nurse Chaplain
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT………Retired/Emeritus
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT………..Long Term Care
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT……Deacon/Chaplain
Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 12 p.m. CT……..Palliative Care/Hospice
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT……………Corrections Chaplain
Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT…………under-45 Member
Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT…………..Directors of Spiritual Care
Monday, October 7, 2019 at 2 p.m. CT……………..Outpatient Settings
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT……………New Member
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT……….Hispanic Chaplain
Monday, October 14, 2019 at 3 p.m. CT……………State Liaison
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 10 a.m. CT………….Student

To sign up or for more information, questions, comments or concerns contact Ramune Franitza at rfranitza@nacc.org.

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!

11. 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!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

12. Are you involved in any research projects where spiritual care/chaplaincy care is involved? *
The NACC Research Advisory Panel wants to learn who among our NACC members might be involved in a research project that is investigating spiritual/chaplaincy services, either on their own, or as part of a larger clinical study. Would you please let us know if you are and provide a basic description of the study? In the future we would also like to create the opportunity among those doing research to share with others doing research. The Research Advisory Panel meets late September, so please let us know, if at all possible, by Wednesday, September 18. Please send your information to Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org). Thank you in advance for sharing your research.

13. Are any of you involved in providing support for communities or individuals who have been impacted by priest sexual abuse? *
We have received a recent request from a member who seeks to learn whether any of our members are involved in providing spiritual and emotional support for those who have been victims (directly or indirectly) of priest abuse. Depending on the response we receive, we can identify ways to support our members in this ministry, such as networking with and resourcing one another. If you are, can you please let Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org) as soon as possible. Thank you.

14. There is still time to register for NACC’s Webinar on September 19, 2019!! Chaplains in Wonderland: Narrative Medicine and the Reframing of Out-Patient Spiritual Care, presented by Anne M. Windholz, MDiv, PhD, BCC *
On Thursday, September 19, 2019 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. Central Time NACC is offering the webinar, Chaplains in Wonderland: Narrative Medicine and the Reframing of Out-Patient Spiritual Care, presented by Anne M. Windholz, MDiv, PhD, BCC. While chaplains have long championed the power of a patient’s story to effect change in teller and listener, the practice of narrative medicine has implications for how plot, characterization, and narrative technique might become tools of spiritual assessment and interdisciplinary collaboration. This webinar will focus on how chaplains can use literary analysis to help patients identify their spiritual and healthcare goals and how intervention site (hospital/clinic/home) and medium (face-to-face/ telephone/skype) affect patient-chaplain interactions and storytelling.

Program Objectives

1. To understand what narrative medicine is and how it functions in patient-clinician relations.
2. To gain tools for analyzing how setting impacts / reframes the chaplain’s role in a patient’s storyline.
3. To consider strategies for effectively entering patient space/place, both in the outpatient “real” world and within the patient narrative.

The presenter, Dr. Anne Windholz, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois-Urbana. Twenty years a college and university professor, Dr. Windholz earned her Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union-Chicago in 2012 and was Board Certified by APC in 2016. Active for over a decade in out-patient hospice ministry as both volunteer and professional chaplain, she currently serves as Staff Chaplain in Cardiac Telemetry and Critical Care at AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

For more information about our webinars, and how to register, please click on the following link: NACC Webinars – registration and information

15. 2019 NACC Conference Workshop Recordings for Sale!
Recordings of many of the 90-minute workshops from the NACC 2019 national conference are now available for purchase. If you were unable to participate in the conference or the workshops, or if you would like to review workshops that you attended, this is an opportunity to enhance your learning and earn CEHs.

Information about the available recordings, and how to order them, is available at the following link:
2019 NACC Conference Workshop Recordings.

16. Now available: 2019 NACC Conference Formation/Training Program Recordings *
The NACC is pleased to offer access to the recordings of the formation/training programs that were live-streamed during the 2019 NACC Conference. Recordings are available for the following programs that focus on the diverse ways and settings that pastoral care is provided as a ministry of the Church:

• Catholic Laity in Pastoral Care Ministry – Equipping, Coordinating, Sustaining
• Jail and Prison Ministry 101
• Fundamental Aspects of Geriatric Spiritual Care Education

Each program is eligible for 6.00 Continuing Education Hours.

Registration to receive access to the recordings is $75 per program.

Visit the NACC website to learn more about each of these programs. To register online, please click on this LINK.

17. 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).

• Freehold, NJ
  A seminar on Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) will take place in Freehold, New Jersey on Saturday, October 5 (8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) at CentraState Medical Center. A new MAID law recently went into effect for the state of New Jersey, and the aim of this seminar is to learn about the law and how it impacts Catholic Chaplains. Dr. Vikranta Sharma will be the presenter on this topic. For further details about this program, and information on how to register, please visit this page on our website: https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/events/Local-NACC-gathering-2019-Freehold-NJ-111/details.

  Dr. Vikranta Sharma serves as the Medical Director of Hospice and Palliative Care at VNA Health Group and Medical Director of Palliative Care at CentraState Healthcare System. In these roles, Dr. Sharma provides clinical oversight to hospice care teams, facilitates the growth and education of geriatric fellows, and assists in person and family centered medical care by providing medical expertise. Dr. Sharma started a palliative care rotation at CentraState’s FP program in collaboration with the Geriatric Fellowship Director and Program Director. She serves as the Medical Director and supportive physician for VNA Health Group’s ‘Transitions of Care” program, a CMMI project aimed at providing at-home evaluations to recently discharged hospital and care facility patients with the goal of dramatically cutting down the rate of readmission through clinical and culturally relevant care. Additionally, Dr. Sharma serves on the Steering Committee for Conversation of Your Life and as a Board Member of the New Jersey Foundation of Aging. She holds certifications in ABIM and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

• Milwaukee, WI
  A gathering of area chaplains is planned in Milwaukee on Thursday, November 21 (11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.). Chaplains Jake Taxis and Theresa Utschig will explore ways in which evidence-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can deepen pastoral encounters, strengthen a chaplain’s resilience, and enrich the art of spiritual caregiving. NACC Executive Director David Lichter will provide updates about NACC activities. To learn more about the program and to register online, please click on this LINK.

  Rev. Jake Taxis, MA, MDiv is an ordained minister in the North American Lutheran Church and the palliative care chaplain at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. He is also a hospice chaplain with Preceptor Healthcare. Jake completed a fellowship in mental health chaplaincy at the VA Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics in 2017, where he employed ACT to minister to military veterans in the context of PTSD, moral injury, and substance use disorder. If all goes according to plan, Jake will be board-certified by the time of this presentation.

  Theresa Utschig, MAPS, BCC is a Board-Certified Chaplain serving at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Theresa has served as chaplain for the past 14 years, both at Wheaton (currently Ascension) and Froedtert Hospital. She has been a Spiritual Director for over 20 years, serving both in Europe and in the United States. She provides retreats on Wisdom and Embodied Spirituality. She currently owns her own business, Tau Healing Arts, creating spiritual art for healing the emotions and the spirit.

• Save the date for other local gatherings currently being planned: *

  Toledo, OH: October 29
  Buffalo, NY: November 8
  Seattle, WA: November 9
  Baltimore, MD: November 12

  Information about these events and registration details will be available soon – stay tuned!

18. APC Offerings *

• Fall Symposium: “Spiritual Care in a Clinical World: Integrating Character, Skills and Outcomes,” Thursday, September 26, 2019. For more information, go to: https://www.nacc.org/event/2019-fall-chaplain-symposium-spiritual-care-in-a-clinical-world-integrating-character-skills-and-outcomes/

19. Other professional development opportunities *
These offerings noted here can also be found under the NACC Website Education heading, under Events.

• February 3-10, 2020, A Multifaith Chaplains’ Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Roots and Branches. Learn more about it at: https://www.nacc.org/event/roots-branches-a-multi-faith-chaplains-pilgrimage-to-the-holy-land/
• Two educational events submitted by Mark Dickson and the Pastoral Care Department of Bon Secours Mercy Health St. Francis Hospital, Charleston:
• https://www.nacc.org/event/the-third-james-sawers-jr-interfaith-speaker-series-presents-wendy-cadge-phd/;
• https://www.nacc.org/event/on-livingthe-8th-annual-richard-h-fitzgerald-lecture-in-pastoral-education/

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: Sr. Patricia M. Walsh, OP, Edward and Connie Laviolette (parents of Lisa A. Laviolette-Bondt BCC), 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), Nolan (4-year-old grandson of member Dale Recinella), Sr. Mary Clare Boland, SP, Fr. Jim Radde, SJ, 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.

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

STAFF CHAPLAIN
Carroll, Iowa – St. Anthony Regional Hospital

SPIRITUAL CARE REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Youngstown, OH – Bon Secours Mercy Health

DIRECTOR of PASTORAL CARE
Baltimore, MD – Mercy Health

BOARD-CERTIFIED CHAPLAIN as FACILITATOR-GUIDE
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – Allay Care

CHAPLAIN
Baltimore, MD – Mercy Medical Center

DIRECTOR of PASTORAL CARE, VP MISSION
South Charleston, WV – Thomas Health

CHAPLAIN (ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST) Full-Time, Shift Varies
Miami, FL – Baptist Hospital of Miami

PASTORAL CARE MANAGERS
Tampa Bay, FL – BayCare

CHAPLAINS
Tampa Bay, FL – BayCare

DIRECTOR of SPIRITUAL CARE
Toledo, OH or Lorain, OH – Bon Secours Mercy Health