Issue #348 – March 29, 2021

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

1. Executive Director’s Reflection
Here we are entering Holy Week. Last year it was all experienced virtually. Remember? Where have we come in this year? I hear and experience the passion readings differently this year!

As I was listening to St. Matthew’s account of the passion at Holy Apostles parish yesterday, I must confess so many thoughts and memories went through my mind and heart. I thought about the length of the passion reading and how hard it was to stay focused all the way through it. I thought about the many people you cared for who had their own lengthy passion and the gifts you had to stay with them throughout their ordeal.

As I listened to the three voices proclaiming the passion narrative and the various images and stories that went through my mind, I found myself dwelling for a moment on the B-Roll of a video. I learned about B-Roll when our NACC member, Jim Castello, and I were working on the Chaplaincy Ministry video in 2009 (with sponsorship of Ascension Health www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkTZzfkkTEA). I never knew of the term prior to that. While we had good content of people speaking, we needed footage that brought more to life with depth and emotion the point of the content. Here was where “B-Roll” footage came in. While chaplains, administrators, clinicians, and patients spoke about the value of chaplaincy, “B-Roll” or footage of chaplains ministering and associates and patients experiencing their ministry were inserted. It was quite effective, as it helped the viewer to image the meaning of the message.

So why was I seemingly distracted by this B-Roll memory? Well, I wondered what B-Roll memories people had this year to bring this year’s Holy Week to life? What were the images of current experiences that bring to life the Pascal Mystery, my entering into the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus?

As an example, I appreciated the recent efforts of several local organizations who were creating their own stations of the cross, entitled, “Open Wide Our Hearts Station of the Cross.” They were developed by the Family of Four Parishes in Milwaukee, along with Franciscan Peacemakers and Black Lives Are Sacred MKE
(www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1dTC8Mi4ngM4GTFzLS4uvSFNllYQQcI4) It is based on the 2018 “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love – – A Pastoral Letter Against Racism” by the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/upload/open-wide-our-hearts-bulletin-insert.pdf

I use this example as it used contemporary images and quotes to bring to life the Stations of the Cross, and the sacredness of life. It challenges me to open wide my heart, and to bring to life the Paschal Mystery today, this week, in my life.

I returned to listening to Matthew’s Passion Narrative; now it was to Matthew 27:32, “As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.” The words, “pressed into service” now caught my attention. I thought of your ministries again, as you were “pressed into service” in new ways this past year, as you walked with so many, and helped them carry their crosses in unforeseen and unimagined ways. I was grateful again for your many stories that became my B-Roll behind the proclamation of this Passion.

As we walk this Holy Week together, and with those we are pressed into service to journey in their living Jesus Pascal Mystery, I pray their lives become B-Roll for your future hearing of the words of the Passion. May their lives bring depth and solemnity to the Paschal Mystery in which we live every day. “May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross… On each of my dyings shed your light and you love.”

Blessings on your Holy Week Journey!

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

2. Please consider the two member-elected seats on the NACC Board of Directors
In the next two weeks, by April 15, 2021, the NACC Board of Directors seeks applicants for the two 2022 open member-elected seats on the Board. The responsibility of the Board of Directors can be found on NACC website at www.nacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/04-03-Board-of-Director-Roles-Responsibilities-Criteria.pdf. The NACC Nominations Panel is requesting applicants for these two positions. The Board application can be accessed at www.nacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-Application-Board-of-Directors.pdf. Please consider applying or encouraging a member who you believe would be a valuable member of the Board to apply. Applications will be open until April 15, 2021. Please keep this leadership discernment process in your prayer.

3. APC and ACPE Boards votes to merge and what about NACC?
Many of you, our members, learned of the March 18, 2021 announcement from the Board of Directors of both of APC and of ACPE that both boards passed a motion that the organizations officially merge – a decision that now must go to the membership of each for consideration. Here was APC’s announcement (and ACPE’s was similar.).

Dear APC Members,

The Boards of Directors of the ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education and the Association of Professional Chaplains met concurrently on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 10:00am EDT/9:00am CDT to entertain a motion that the organizations officially merge. Both organizations approved the motion. Now the motion must go to each membership for your consideration. The associations are working collaboratively to provide opportunities for joint conversations as well as opportunities for discussion within each organization. We anticipate an electronic vote of each association’s membership in June or July this summer. We are working to create communication strategies to keep you informed and solicit your feedback throughout this process. Thank you for your engagement and careful consideration of this historic moment.

Sincerely,
The Board of Directors
Association of Professional Chaplains

In light of this joint announcement, some APC and ACPE members were asking, as perhaps some of you, what is NACC doing? Many of you might recall that we informed members in early summer of 2019 that the NACC will remain its own 501(c)(3). However, that was almost two years ago! This past week we sent to APC and ACPE the following statement to communicate to their members. We highly value our ongoing relationships with the leaders of these two strategic partners and remain very supportive of this direction. We seek ways to collaborate with them.

The NACC deeply values and remains committed to collaboration with its Strategic Partners. We appreciate being integral participants in the reorganization initiative.

In this reorganization process NACC leaders recognized that the NACC needed to remain its own 501(c)(3) organizational entity to maintain its identity within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that founded the NACC, under whose umbrella NACC keeps its nonprofit status, and from whom it receives approval of its Certification competencies and procedures. Thus, this relationship remains essential to the NACC.

While the NACC is not able to merge with APC and ACPE, it remains committed to ways we can partner on initiatives, exploring ways to share service, along with continuing our work on and adherence to our common qualifications and competencies for board certified chaplains, as well as to our Common Code for Professional Ethics.

Please join us in keeping this discernment and deliberation of our Strategic Partners in your prayers and continue to support our colleagues in these associations.

4. Recent deaths of NACC members
We recently learned of the deaths of our NACC members:

Mary Beth Schmidt recently died. She joined NACC in 2012 and was certified in 2013. She gave many years of ministry as Senior Staff Chaplain at White Plains Hospital, White Plains, NY. Read more about her at:
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/poughkeepsiejournal/obituary.aspx?n=mary-beth-schmidt&pid=197959611&fhid=2854
Sr. Beverly J. Hindson IHM, BCC died this past November.
She joined the NACC and was certified in 1982, beginning a life of service and pastoral care that continued through 2020. Read more about her at https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/monroenews/obituary.aspx?n=beverly-hindson-rosalita&pid=197172251&fhid=25506

5. Request for Vision writers: One year of pandemic
The March-April theme for our weekly Vision articles will be “Holding Hope: Lessons learned from one year of pandemic.” As we mark the strangest 12 months of our lives, it is also an opportunity to reflect, to remember, and to assess what we have lost and gained and what looks different now. If your institution has worked to build greater system-wide resilience, if your department is planning to memorialize the one-year mark since your first COVID case, if you have found a new way to extend your healing hands – we would like to hear from you. Please send a summary of your idea to Vision editor David Lewellen, dlewellen@nacc.org.

6. In Vision: Mutual listening sessions help nurses cope with heartache
The pressures of a year of pandemic caused one hospital in the Bon Secours Mercy Health system to start a pilot project for nurses to offer one another a quick ministry of listening in the shift change huddle. To read more about its impact in our newest Vision article, click the link below.
www.nacc.org/vision/mutual-listening-sessions-help-nurses-cope-with-heartache

7. NACC member John Gillman co-authors new book
“What Does the Bible Say About Angels and Demons?” co-written by longtime NACC member John Gillman, has recently been published by New City Press. Gillman, who wrote the book with Clifford M. Yeary, is also a lecturer at San Diego State University, a CPE supervisor, and a frequent contributor to the book review section of Vision. The new book joins his earlier publication, “What Does the Bible Say About Life and Death?” For more information or to order a copy, click the link below.
www.newcitypress.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-angels-and-demons.html

8. Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification
NACC in collaboration with APC offers Advanced Certification in Palliative Care and Hospice, It is available to all full members who have been Board Certified for at least on year, have over 3 years or 520 hours per year of direct clinical palliative care and/or hospice work experience and have completed an intensive palliative care and/or hospice course equivalent to three (3) credit hours (45 hours). If you feel that you meet these criteria, please contact Lisa Sarenac at lisasarenac@nacc.org for more information on how to apply.

9. NACC Networking Calls for April 2021 – All are welcome to participate!

Wednesday, April 7, 2021; 1 p.m. CT — COVID 19 Listening Call
Monday, April 12, 2021; 11 a.m. CT — Purposeful Retirement Networking Call
Wednesday, April 14, 2021; 12 p.m. CT — Palliative/Hospice Networking Call
Thursday, April 15, 2021; 3 p.m. CT — Nurse/Chaplain Networking Call

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

You must sign up to participate and receive the ZOOM code for the call. If you replied, you will receive a 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 placed in a waiting room. Please be patient until the host joins the call and allows you access. THANK YOU!

10. Member COVID Listening Calls will continue in April on Wednesday: April 7, 2021
We are grateful for the participation and sharing that is happening during these calls. The NACC continues to look for ways to support those who have found this space to share their thoughts and experiences. We continue to have good participation for our COVID Listening. Thank you. NACC will offer one general listening session on April 7. This is a general listening session asking for you to bring what is on your heart. Our topics vary to address what is important to you in the moment.

COVID Listening Call (4/7)
Wednesday: Apr 7, 2021
2pm ET, 1pm CT, 12pm MT, 11am PT

ATTENTION: You will need to register HERE for this call. You will be sent the ZOOM information to access this session automatically. If you have trouble registering please let us know at info@nacc.org.

11. Do you need a Listening Heart?
We recognize that these are unusual and uncertain times. You are being stretched in new ways and faced with challenging choices. We have a resource called, “Listening Hearts,” to provide you one on one support.

Listening Hearts is available for NACC members seeking a listening presence from a NACC retired chaplain colleague. You may be experiencing and feeling the cumulative impact of the present global Pandemic. For those providing support for others and navigating the new normal without the opportunity to gather with extended family/friends, visit a favorite restaurant or workout at the gym, we invite you to share the load by reaching out for a listening heart of an experienced and compassionate retired chaplain. Please contact Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org) if you would like to speak with a Listening Heart.

12. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
The NACC holds the Healing Tree as a place for members to seek the supporting prayers of their colleagues. We prayerfully support and publish the names submitted by our membership for themselves or their family members.

We continue to pray for our members: Marjorie A. Ackerman, Lee Carol S. Hollendonner, Robert Lopez, Sr. Ellen Moore, Rev. Samuel O. Nkansah, Rev. Richard J. O’Donnell MI, Fr. Jim Radde SJ, Martiza Ramos, and Daniel Retelle.

For the intentions of: Donald L. Brown (for Beth Ann Scannell and her husband Bob), Timothy Duff (for healing and on the death of his wife Theresa), Sr. Mary A. DuPlain SJSM (for brother Larry and Sr. Edwardine of her congregation who passed away), and Edward M. Torres (for Walter Marston, Jorge Bermudez, Michelle Torres, Danielle Picchi).

For loved ones: Chuck Adcock (husband of Sandra Adcock), Anne Eason (mother of Eve Kelly Corcoran), Liam O’Neill (brother of Mary T O’Neill), Hernando Salazar (father of Sr. Sandra Salazar), and Autumn Vaughn (great-niece of Linda Bronersky).

For the families of: Sr. Emily Demuth CSC (on the death of her sisters Patricia and Marietta), Cindy Dwyer (on the death of her mother Judith Dwyer), Mary Fiegel (on the death of her husband Lee Fiegel), Kathy Ponce (on the death of her sister Marilyn Silkey), and Sr. Charlene A. Schaaf CDP (on the death of her mother Eva Scalzitti Schaaf).

Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing by emailing Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org). We will leave the person’s name on the Healing Tree list for three months unless you ask us to remove the name earlier. You can always request us to leave the name on longer.

2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021

13. 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!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

14. Don’t forget to check the NACC Anti-Racism page for resources!
Please continue to check our NACC Anti-Racism page for resources.

15. Don’t forget to check the NACC Coronavirus page for resources!
Please continue to check our NACC Coronavirus page for resources.

16. Register today for our NACC upcoming April webinar
On April 15, 2020, our April webinar will be Finding Wholeness in a Period of Fragmentation,
presented by Thomas Rea BCC, Cory Mitchell D Bioethics MA, and Anne Dohrenwend PhD.

April 15, 2021 ~ 12pm – 1:30pm Central Time

Over the past year, we have witnessed extraordinary and extremely tragic events. These types of cumulative traumatic stressors can undermine our psychological well-being and ultimately our ministry. Please join us as we explore barriers to authentic wholeness in a period of fragmentation, articulate tools, and examples to enhance wholeness, and unpack the concept and costs of “othering.”

By the end of this presentation participants will be able to:

Identify barriers and obstacles to wholeness in their ministry.
Articulate resources and tools to enhance wholeness in ministry.
Explain how “othering” fragments concepts of God, others, and themselves.
Describe the cost of “othering” to their soul.

NACC Certification Competencies: PIC1, PIC2, PIC3, PIC3.1, PIC3.2, PIC3.3, ITP2, ITP3

REGISTER

17. Our other 2021 NACC Education/Formation programs for May and June
As shared earlier with you, our 2021 Education Program is offering a thematic approach to each quarter that will include webinars, days of reflection, and an extended learning experience.

The other two second quarter offers will also be devoted to Behavioral/Mental Health. Here are the presenters for our May and June Webinars!

May 20 – Sarah Cledwyn, MA: Self-Care: Body, Mind, Spirit
June 17 – Amittia Parker, PhDc, LMSW, MPA: Closing the Gap: Cultivating a Racially Equitable Mental Health Practice, and Implications for Spiritual Care [RF1]

Watch for more detail at https://www.nacc.org/education-resources/nacc-webinars-and-audio-conferences/2021-webinar-series-overview-and-registration/.

18. Research results from ERICH
The European Research Institute for Chaplaincy in Healthcare (ERICH – https://www.pastoralezorg.be/page/erich/) shared the results of the International Survey of Chaplain Activity and Experience during Covid-19 Pandemic. The data was presented and reflected upon in the special (open access) issue of Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Sage Publications: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/pcca/75/1_suppl

Below are the key results. More information can be found on our website: https://www.pastoralezorg.be/page/international-survey-covid-19/
There you will also find two interviews on chaplaincy and research related to covid-19: with Gunnel Andreásson and Erika Willander (Sweden) and Mario Cagna (Italy).

Key results: POTENTIAL OF HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY UNDERUSED IN FIRST WAVE OF PANDEMIC

1657 healthcare chaplains from 36 countries participated in an online survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spiritual care. Providing spiritual care was deeply affected by the lack of presence, shared spirituality, end of life care etc.
The majority of chaplains in three continents claimed to be underused by their management during the first wave of the pandemic. The survey points to a range of causes like lack of protective gear but also lack of knowledge/recognition regarding chaplaincy as a resource for staff, patients and families and a lack of advocacy on the part of chaplains themselves. Staff experiencing spiritual care were more likely to make referrals.
Chaplains did whatever they could and were very creative in dealing with the circumstances turning to staff care, creating new rituals, turning to telechaplaincy, involving themselves in policymaking and other issues that benefitted the whole of healthcare. The new ways of providing spiritual care need to be researched further and implemented in training and education.
In many cases chaplains were morally injured because they could not give essential spiritual care to people in need. Especially loneliness of patients/residents at the end of life was heart-breaking to witness. Helplessness is part of the wide range of emotions chaplains were left to deal with since the start of the pandemic.

If you want more information, please contact erich@enhcc.eu. Kind Regards, ERICH: www.chaplaincyresearch.eu

19. Other educational offerings

Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC): Jail & Prison Ministry: The Differences
Description: While people tend to lump both jail ministry and prison ministry together, in reality there are significant differences. These differences are largely due to the purposes of jail facilities and prison facilities. Join us as Rich Deshaies, SJ and Dale Recinella, JD lead us in a conversation from their vast experiences. Register: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYoce-qrzssHNNRt6lBgR0RVoJyFyIfY0O5
Chaplaincy Innovation Lab: Spiritual Care on the Border: Chaplaincy to Migrants and Asylum-Seekers, Date: April 12, 2021, Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm EDT, Link to registration:
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2JQ0gXyeTVK1z60lGjGzLg
APC Webinar: Spiritual Care for Non-Communicative Patients, Date: April 29, 2021, Time” 1:30-3:00 pm CT, Link to registration: www.professionalchaplains.org/calendar_day.asp?date=4/29/2021&event=349

20. 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

CPE RESIDENCY
Corpus Christi, TX – CHRISTUS SPOHN Health System

CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN
Williamstown, MA – Williams College

CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN
Los Angeles, CA – Cedars-Sinai

CHAPLAIN
Chewelah, WA – Providence Stevens County Ministries

Issue #348 – March 29, 2021

NACC

2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

Issue #348 – March 29, 2021

NACC

2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 29 – NOVEMBER 1, 2021

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

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