Issue #337 – October 26, 2020
(Items marked with a * are new or updated items)
NACC
1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
2. NACC Board of Directors will be meeting virtually this week. *
3. Thank you to those of you who have already given to our 2020 Annual Member Campaign! Please join them! *
4. Final results and thank you to our many members who contributed to the October Virtual Certification Interviews! *
5. New Vision theme: Mental well-being in the time of COVID *
6. In Vision: Chaplains’ skills of listening are tool to address racism *
7. Next Member COVID Listening Call, Wednesday, November 4th at 3:00 p.m. CT *
8. NACC Networking Calls for November 2020 – All are welcome to participate! *
9. Healing Tree: a request for prayers *
2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021
10. Friday, October 29, to Monday, November 1, 2021, for NACC National Conference!
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
11. Don’t forget to check the NACC Anti-Racism page for resources!
12. Don’t forget to check the NACC Coronavirus page for resources!
13. Our NACC November Webinar needed to change, and we are delighted to announce..! *
14. A NACC Local Virtual Event for all NACC members to participate in virtually!
The NACC Illinois Members of NACC invite you to join them in a virtual gathering education offering, “One Like Us: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus” November 7 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm *
15. Blessings on your Pastoral Care Week, October 25-31 Pastoral Care Week / Spiritual Care Week 2020!
16. Other continuing education opportunities *
17. Recent job postings *
1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
Last year I was reintroduced to the book by John Patton, Pastoral Care: An Essential Guide (2005). It’s a small, very readable book with wonderful insights. I appreciated it at the time, as I was trying to reflect more on the meaning of the words pastoral and care, and spiritual care. Two very helpful scripture passages to which he devoted himself were the familiar Psalm 23 when reflecting on what pastoral “care” looks like and Luke 15: 3-7 (the parable of the shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one outside the fold) for another perspective on pastoral. He noted how this passage helps us to realize where God’s attention is. As our former pastor put it, the last, the lost, the least, the lonely. While this seems obvious, it helped me to broaden and enrich the meaning of pastoral. Pastoral connotes more than a compassionate and caring approach; it’s also about where God’s attention is, whose cries is God hearing, who does God see missing and on the margins of life.
I could not help but remember this when rereading yesterday’s excerpt from Exodus 22 (20-22) where I heard again, “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me. I will surely hear their cry.”
I will surely hear their cry. There it is. Where is God’s attention? So central to an understanding of pastoral is who gets my attention? Whose cries do I hear? Who do I look for on the margins of life? How am I listening to them and how should I be responding?
Again, maybe it should have been obvious to me, but it was not top of mind when I thought about the meaning of “pastoral” care. It’s not just about how I respond to someone or what motivates me to care. It’s about who gets my attention.
What do you think?
Blessings,
David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director
2. NACC Board of Directors will be meeting virtually this week. *
The NACC Board of Directors will be holding its fall meeting this year virtually over three days, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, October 28-30, 2020. Topics being covered by the Board include the progress on the current 2018-2020 Strategic Plan, reflection on insights from the member engagement sessions and strategic planning going forward, membership categories revisions, and developments in our Partners in Pastoral Care work along with our collaboration with the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition. Please keep their discussion and discernment in prayer.
3. Thank you to those of you who have already given to our 2020 Annual Member Campaign! Please join them! *
Our 2020 Annual Campaign was delayed due to the pandemic but is now underway. We are deeply grateful to all those who have been able to give so far! To date, we have received 388 gifts totaling $44,622.10. 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 (www.nacc.org/donate) or just click here to donate.
Please give as you can! Blessings!
4. Final results and thank you to our many members who contributed to the October Virtual Certification Interviews! *
The National Office and many volunteers conducted Virtual Interviews for Certification over two weekends. We are so thankful for all our volunteers and their hard work and dedication to the NACC Certification process during these difficult times. NACC values the service of 48 interviewers, 8 ITE’s, 2 Commissioners and 1 chaplain serving as Spiritual Support! We congratulate 38 applicants who will be recommended to our Certification Commission at the November 16th meeting.
5. New Vision theme: Mental well-being in the time of COVID *
We hope you have enjoyed the last two months of Vision articles about racism and how it has affected the lives of our members. Now it is time to address a new theme, one that has been developing with us for months but may become especially acute as Advent and the holidays approach. We are looking for articles about mental well-being in the time of Covid. If you have thoughts about how to maintain balance, how to find hope (if not joy) in the current moment, how to recognize and tend those feelings in others, how those needs intersect with race and equity, or other related topics — we want to hear from you. Please send a summary of your idea to Vision editor David Lewellen, dlewellen@nacc.org.
6. In Vision: Chaplains’ skills of listening are tool to address racism *
Institutions have a responsibility to address racism inside and outside their walls, and the NACC is no exception. In our newest Vision article, Board Chair Jim Letourneau describes the early work on a strategic plan by our association — and the skill of listening that every chaplain can use to promote change. To read more, click here — and then scroll down to read Ruth Jandeska’s explanation of why “Where are you from?” is a loaded question.
7. Next NACC Member COVID Listening Call, Wednesday, November 4th, at 3:00 p.m. central time. *
We continue to have good participation for our October COVID Listening Calls. It is much appreciated. So, for the week of November 2nd, the NACC will offer one general listening session when we will be asking for you to bring what is on your heart.
Wednesday, November 4th, 2020, 3pm – 4pm Central Time (4pm ET, 2pm MT, 1pm PT)
ATTENTION: You will need to register HERE for this call. You will automatically be sent the ZOOM information to access this session. If you have trouble registering please let us know at info@nacc.org.
Due to increased security from ZOOM, you may be placed in a Waiting Room. Please be patient until the host joins the call.
For more resources and blog updates be sure to read the latest update on our Coronavirus resources page.
8. NACC Networking Calls for November 2020 – All are welcome to participate! *
In addition to our COVID Listening Session on November 4th, NACC is offering these Networking calls in November:
Tuesday, November 10, 2020; 10 a.m. CT NACC Purposeful Retirement Networking Call
Wednesday, November 11; 12 p.m. CT NACC Palliative Care/Hospice Networking Call
To sign up or for more information, questions, comments, or concerns contact Ramune Franitza at rfranitza@nacc.org. You must reply to participate and receive the ZOOM code for the call. If you replied, we will forward ZOOM passcodes for a video connection via internet or you may still call in using your phone. Registering for the call, even if you cannot participate, will allow you to receive notes of the conversation and resources shared.
Calls with less than 5 participants may be postponed.
Due to ZOOM Security requirements, you may be place in a waiting room. Do not disconnect. Please be patient until the host joins the call and allows you access. If you have difficulty in joining calls using ZOOM please let Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org) know so that we can address the difficulty. THANK YOU!
9. Healing Tree: a request for prayers *
We continue to pray for: the special intentions of Maritza Ramos-Pratt BCC, Sr. Mary A. DuPlain SJSM, Susan Balling, Isabelita Boquiren, Fr. Jim Radde SJ, Denice Foose, Fr. Jose Hernandez, Barbara McKee, Mary Lou O’Gorman, Joe Keegan (brother of Sr. Betty Keegan), Liam O’Neill (brother of Mary T O’Neill), Sr. Emily Demuth CSC (on the death of her sister Patricia), Autumn Vaughn (great-niece of member Linda Bronersky), and Nolan (grandson of Br. Dale Recinella, in gratitude for healing).
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.
2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021
10. Friday, October 29, to Monday, November 1, 2021, for NACC National Conference!
Mark your calendars for the NACC Conference in 2021! This conference will be held Friday, October 29 through Monday, November 1, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel in Buffalo, NY. It will be preceded by preconference workshops and our NACC retreat. Plan to join us!
11. Don’t forget to check the NACC Anti-Racism page for resources!
Please continue to check our NACC Anti-Racism page for resources.
www.nacc.org/resources/antiracism-resources
12. Don’t forget to check the NACC Coronavirus page for resources!
Please continue to check our NACC Coronavirus page for resources.
www.nacc.org/resources/coronavirus-resources.
13. Our NACC November Webinar needed to change, and we are delighted to announce..! *
We just recently learned from our November Webinar presenter, Rev. Michele Guest Lowery who was going to address Behavioral Health and Chaplaincy that, due to family circumstances, she will not be able to give this seminar. We keep her and her family in our prayer.
We are honored and delighted, however, that two of our NACC members, Richard W. Bauer MM, LCSW, BCC and Mrs. Adriana Rengifo, M.A., RP, CRPO, will lead this webinar on Mental Health and Chaplaincy, Thursday, November 12, 2020 – 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. (Central Time)
Note: Due to the number of current registrants and the need to limit this webinar to 100, we are not able to take any further registrations at this time. If you would be interested in being on a waiting list, please contact jannunziato@nacc.org.
Program Summary
Over the past months, the mental health of clinical colleagues, family members, as well as ourselves has become a source of attention and concern as we daily encounter and seek to live with the presence and continuing impact of our global COVID-19 pandemic. We know our roles as chaplains and the spiritual care of others have grown in importance. Navigating this pandemic, tending to the toll it’s taking on our clinical colleagues, and staying spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy ourselves are all part of our daily life.
This webinar will be a “town hall” format during which our presenters will offer some initial observations and raise questions on this topic. Participants will also engage with one another on this topic in small groups, before returning to the full group for final sharing together.
Program Objectives
- Provide perspectives on the mental health issues facing chaplains
- Share resources gained over the past months
- Exchange with others their experiences and resources
- Determine together some next steps for professional development and one’s own spiritual health.
About the Presenters:
Mrs. Adriana Rengifo, M.A., Registered Psychotherapist (RP), CRPO, is a professional member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. She serves as a Clinical Chaplain at Bruyère Continuing Care supporting patients in complex, palliative and long term care. She is also a graduate student in the Catholic Bioethics program at Saint Paul University. Her training in psychology, theology, and counselling with a focus on humanistic existential theory, and a clinical residency as hospital chaplain, have informed her professional practice for the past 8 years. Her graduate research is focused on helping mitigate the impact End of Life issues have on patient’s life by attending to their psychosocial needs through Logotherapy and its meaning seeking therapeutic approach. She is also a certified Couple Facilitator with her local Dioceses and for 7 years has provided intake sessions for couples who are engaged and seek preparation for Sacramental Marriage in the Roman Catholic Church.
Fr. Rick Bauer, MM, LCSW, BCC, is a priest with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Board Certified Chaplain, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Utah) serving as the Director of Spiritual and Psychosocial Support for the Eastern Deanery AIDS Relief program in Nairobi, Kenya. He is on the Executive Committee of PalCHASE (Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies) and the Leader’s Council of the Global Network on Spirituality and Health with Dr. Christiana Puchalski at George Washington University. He has served on the board and currently on the advisory council for the African Palliative Care Association.
NACC Certification Competencies Covered by the Webinar:
ITP 2, PIC 3, PPS 2, PPS 5, OL 1
14. A NACC Local Event for all NACC members to participate in virtually!
The NACC Illinois Members of NACC invite you to join them in a virtual gathering education offering, “One Like Us: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus” November 7 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm CT *
9:00 AM – 12 Noon Central Time Saturday, November 7, 2020 The Illinois Members of the NACC invite you to join us for a virtual gathering featuring Sr. Laurie Brink, O.P. Gathering will be held on ZOOM The Incarnation of Jesus means that, though he is the Son of God, Jesus is one like us (Heb 4:15), having experienced a full range of emotions, struggles, successes, and failures. Far from removing himself from the pain and suffering of his day. Treat yourself to this Saturday morning formation and enrichment! The event can be participated in LIVE or via recording. Learn more and register today at https://www.nacc.org/event/one-like-us-reflections-on-the-healing-ministry-of-jesus/
15. Blessings on your Pastoral Care Week, October 25-31 Pastoral Care Week / Spiritual Care Week 2020!
We pray this week’s Pastoral Care Week 2020/Spiritual Care Week 2020 is giving you time and occasions to celebrate the theme Collaborative Healthcare: Chaplains Complete the Picture. We would love to learn about and share with our members programs, photos, prayers, highlights of this in our next NACC Now. If you would like to share something, please send it to Phil Paradowski (pparadowski@nacc.org).
16. Other continuing education opportunities *
- SAVE THE DATE: Virtual 16th Annual Divine Mercy Medicine, Bioethics, and Spirituality Conference, November 6-7, 2020
Healthcare professionals and those desiring to learn how to integrate their faith in their practice: Please join us virtually for the 16th Annual Divine Mercy Medicine, Bioethics, and Spirituality Conference, sponsored by Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy, an apostolate of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception.Please join us for two days, virtually, and attend the same high-quality conference you have attended in the past.
- McDonald Agape Virtual Conference – “I Was Sick and You Came to Visit Me: Reflections on the State of Pastoral Care” November 6 @ 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
The Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics and the McDonald Agape Foundation would like to welcome you to participate in the upcoming webinar, “I Was Sick and You Came to Visit Me: Reflections on the State of Pastoral Care,” scheduled for Friday, November 6th, 2020. This conference is the fifth and final in a series of annual conferences on controversies in Christian thought about care at the end of life, called, “Dying a Christian Death.” The webinar will be moderated by Farr Curlin, MD, Duke University, and Daniel Sulmasy, Acting Director and André Hellegers Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.Info and registration information at https://kennedyinstitute.georgetown.edu/events/mcdonald-agape-virtual-conference-i-was-sick-and-you-came-to-visit-me-reflections-on-the-state-of-pastoral-care/
- Opportunity to Reflect on a Chaplain’s Grief, Friday, November 13, 10:00-11:30 am, (eastern time) webinar hosted by Spiritual Care and Education Department, J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, to register: https://form.jotform.com/202684177224153 Webex link will be sent prior to the event. This is a free webinar.
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 OF SPIRITUAL CARE
Cleveland, OH – Cleveland Clinic Marymount Hospital
MARKET DIRECTOR PASTORAL CARE
Des Moines, IA – MercyOne Central Iowa
HOSPICE CHAPLAIN
Rochester, MN – Mayo Clinic
CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Rochester, MN – Mayo Clinic
MANAGER of SPIRITUAL CARE
Springfield, OR – PeaceHealth
PRIEST/CHAPLAIN – FT
Camden, NJ – Lourdes Health System
CERTIFIED CHAPLAIN – Part time
Sturgeon Bay, Door County, WI – Door County Medical Center
SPIRITUAL CARE SERVICES MANAGER
St. Louis, MO – Barnes-Jewish Hospital
