Issue #349 – April 12, 2021

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

NACC

1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. This Wednesday, April 15, is deadline for submitting applications for the two member-elected seats on the NACC Board of Directors
3. Welcome new NACC Members who joined us in March 2021!
4. NACC 2020 Annual Report now available online.
5. NACC joins several other Catholic organizations with statement on April 7, 2021, World Health Day
6. Watch for our new series, “Stories from Chaplaincy”
7. Thank you to our many members who are contributing to the April and May Virtual Certification Interviews!
8. Request for Vision writers: One year of pandemic
9. In Vision: How has a year of pandemic changed me?
10. In Vision: Pandemic didn’t stop patient from making peace with his life
11. Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification
12. NACC Networking Calls for April 2021 – All are welcome to participate!
13. Member COVID Listening Calls will continue in April on Tuesday: April 20, 2021
14. Do you need a Listening Heart?
15. Healing Tree: a request for prayers

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

16. You can still register for this Thursday’s NACC April webinar
17. Our other 2021 NACC Education/Formation programs for May and June
18. Don’t forget to check the NACC Anti-Racism page for resources!
19. Don’t forget to check the NACC Coronavirus page for resources!
20. Resources from CHA for National Minority Health Month
21. April 16, 2021 is National Health Care Decision Day
22. A research request: Best practices on spirituality effects on resiliency
23. Other educational resources/offerings
24. Recent job postings

 

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
How many reflections have you heard or read based on the opening lines of John’s Gospel passage used for yesterday’s Gospel? “On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:19-20)

I recall so many inspiring messages that noted the doors locked for fear, and how my heart or my life can be closed out of fear of something or someone, and how I need to identify the fear and let the Lord in to give me the Peace He so much desired and desires for me, and that he will not stop even though I am closing myself off and He will enter through that fear to touch me. Amen to that, yes? We believe this, yes?

What struck me this time, though, was the last sentence, “The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” It struck me, “Where is the source of my joy, if it is not when I see the Lord?” What gives me joy? It is there I see/recognize/sense the Lord’s presence.

In the patient’s eyes, in the grimacing grief at the loss of a loved one, in the moment of seeing a loved one after months of separation, feeling the gentle squeeze of someone coming out of recovery, in the kind nod of a prisoner, in the nervous laughter after hearing tough news given a light perspective by another loved one… and they go on. What brings joy? It’s there the Lord is showing in the human wounds around us given transcendent meaning – His Hands and Side shown to us again.

It’s a simple, yet profound question, with an obvious but not always recognized answer. What gives my joy? It’s the Lord’s presence.

Blessings on your Easter season.

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

 

2. This Wednesday, April 15, is deadline for submitting applications for the two member-elected seats on the NACC Board of Directors *
This Wednesday, April 15, 2021, is the deadline for submitting applications for the two 2022 open member-elected seats on the NACC Board of Directors. The responsibility of the Board of Directors can be found on NACC website at www.nacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/04-03-Board-of-Director-Roles-Responsibilities-Criteria.pdf. The NACC Nomination 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.

You may return a completed application to Ramune Franitza (rfranitza@nacc.org) who will
forward it to the Nominations Panel. Please consider applying or encouraging a member who you believe would be a valuable member of the Board to apply. Please keep this leadership discernment process in your prayer.

 

3. Welcome new NACC Members who joined us in March 2021! *
Please join in welcome our new NACC members who joined NACC in March 2021!

Chaplaincy Ministry
Mr. Joseph Philip Carver (Bozeman, MT)
Annette Chamness (Morton Grove, IL)
Mr. Christopher A. Mattingly (Bardstown, KY)
Rev. Francis Thomas Neissery (Shorewood, IL)
Fr. Gary P. Rottman (Plano, TX)
Fr. John Bosco Ssekkomo (Grand Rapids, MI)

Student Member
Mrs. Karen Anne Meléndez (Bethlehem, PA)
Mr. Wilfred (Freddie) Meléndez (Bethlehem, PA)
Mr. John Jude Nodar (Tampa, FL)

Volunteer Ministry
Mr. Donald L. Brown (Fountain Valley, CA)

 

4. NACC 2020 Annual Report now available online. *
The NACC has published its 2020 Annual Report (https://www.nacc.org/annual-report/#p=1). It is the document that shares with NACC members summaries of the efforts of the NACC Board, Committees, Commissions, Appeal Panels, Advisory Panel, ITE’s, Purposeful Retirement, and other entities to advance the NACC mission. It also includes the 2020 Financial Review and acknowledgements of the many, many volunteers and others who have contributed to the mission and sustainability of the NACC. We are grateful to our NACC staff member, Ramune Franitza, for assembling the materials for, designing, and publishing this annual report. Please take time to review it.

 

5. NACC joins several other Catholic organizations with statement on April 7, 2021, World Health Day *
The NACC joined a coalition of 30 other Catholic organizations on a joint statement that encourages the public to get vaccinated and calls for equitable distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines. It was issued on April 7, 2021, World Health Day. Here is the press release www.catholiccares.org/press-release. The statement begins with “A coalition of 31 U.S. Catholic organizations is marking World Health Day by announcing unified support to encourage constituents and faith communities to accept vaccination as an act of charity and solidarity with others that will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and build immunity against the virus.” Please spread the news of this statement.

 

6. Watch for our new series, “Stories from Chaplaincy” *
Watch for our new series, Stories from Chaplaincy, Episode 1: Mary J Salm: Some people just stay in your heart. NACC member Mary Salm shares one of her most impactful stories from her chaplaincy. Hear more chaplains tell their stories at www.nacc.org/about-nacc/choose-chaplaincy/paths-to-chaplaincy #choosechaplaincy | #NACC | #dogood

 

7. Thank you to our many members who are contributing to the April and May Virtual Certification Interviews! *
The National Office and many volunteers have been busy preparing for the Virtual Interviews for Certification. We are so thankful for all our volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the NACC Certification process during these difficult times. NACC values the service of 36 interviewers, 8 ITE’s, 2 Commissioners and 1 chaplain serving as Spiritual Support! Please keep our 35 applicants in prayer for successful interview weekends.

 

8. 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.

 

9. In Vision: How has a year of pandemic changed me? *
We all have stories of transformation, for better and for worse, over the past year. In our newest Vision article, Fr. Alejandro DeJesus describes the pleasure of offering worldwide online Mass, the pain of not being allowed to anoint the dying, and the hope he feels going forward. To read more, go to: How has a year of pandemic changed me?

 

10. In Vision: Pandemic didn’t stop patient from making peace with his life *
Even in a pandemic, the messy work of reconciliation and setting our lives in order goes on. In this Vision article, Francine Poppo Rich writes about a nursing home resident who endured both the sickness and the isolation of COVID in order to perform a task that, in his mind, would allow his late wife to forgive him. To read more, click below.
www.nacc.org/vision/pandemic-didnt-stop-patient-from-making-peace-with-his-life

 

11. 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 one 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.

 

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

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
Tuesday, April 20, 2021; 4 p.m. CT COVID 19 Listening 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 be sent a ZOOM passcode 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!

 

13. Member COVID Listening Calls will continue in April on Tuesday: April 20, 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 20. 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 (4/20)
Tuesday: April 20, 2021
5pm ET, 4pm CT, 3pm MT, 2pm PT

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

 

14. 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.

 

15. 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, Daniel Retelle, and Sr. Louise F. Zaplitny SC.

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), Rhonda Glennon (daughter of Anita Glennon), 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), Kathleen Mattone (on the death of family member Nathan Burnett), 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.

 

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

16. You can still register for this Thursday’s NACC April webinar *
This Thursday, 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, 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.

Three other second quarter offering will also be devoted to Behavioral/Mental Health. Here are the presenters for our May and June Webinars, and our extended Saturday program!

• 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]
• June 26 – Mark your calendar for our second Saturday extended program. Featured presenter will be Adam Gonzalez who has taught, researched and written extensively on mental health.

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

 

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

 

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

 

20. Resources from CHA for National Minority Health Month
www.chausa.org/disparities/minority-health-month/#huddle

Celebrated every year in April, National Minority Health Month raises awareness about the health disparities that continue to affect minority populations. The Catholic Health ministry is committed to prioritizing equity in our COVID-19 response as well as recognizing and addressing longer-term systemic changes. Together, We Are Called to do meaningful and measurable work on health equity.

CHA is offering two unique events:
We Are Called – Confronting Racism to Achieve Health Equity Conversation Series
April 28, May 26, June 30, July 28, each from Noon to 12:30 p.m. ET
Each conversation will tee up discussions and share practices, policies and programs being implemented to meet the goals of our ministry’s We Are Called, Confronting Racism to Achieve Health Equity initiative.

Film Viewing of “Toxic: A Black Woman’s Story,”followed by a Panel Discussion
April 30, from 1 – 2 p.m. ET
This webinar will start with a 20-minute film, “Toxic; A Black Woman’s Story,” which shows a “day in the life” of a Black woman as she navigates the myriad stressors of a typical day and their effect on her pregnancy and her family. This compelling film will be followed by a panel discussion and Q and A.

They also have also created some resources for your use throughout the month of April:

Huddle Reflections
Offering a reflection with an equity-related theme, CHA will debut five reflections each week (in both a long and brief version) to help open conversations and thought about our call to confront racism and achieve health equity. They were developed for wide use: in brief team “huddles” on care units, as well as for other meetings and even board reflection or shared electronically as part of formation programs.

We Are Called Prayer Cards
This prayer, in English and Spanish, reflects our call to create health equity. The single prayer is offered in several designs and a brandable version of the prayer card is available as well.

If you haven’t already, check out these stories of CHA members addressing health equity in their communities. Please share your stories with us at WeAreCalled@chausa.org.

• SCL Health vaccinates 5,000 at one event
• Bon Secours Mercy trains chaplains to artfully counter patients’ prejudices
• Interpreters help non-English speakers navigate the pandemic at Avera Health

As you post your own stories and items during National Minority Health Month, please use #WeAreCalledUS so that we can collectively raise awareness during this important month!

 

21. April 16, 2021 is National Health Care Decision Day
Most likely, you are all well aware of this coming Friday will be the 14th Annual National Health Care Decision Day. Here is a link to resources for that day: theconversationproject.org/nhdd/

 

22. A research request: Best practices on spirituality effects on resiliency
Rev. Emily Fowler, MDIV, BCC, PICU Staff Chaplain Researcher, Spiritual Care and Education at Children’s Medical Center Dallas is looking for best practices, wondering how spirituality effects resiliency with critical care healthcare providers. She has a few questions for our members:

• What practices do chaplains in your institutions provide in terms of staff support?
• Does your department track or support resiliency, moral distress, burnout, or turnover reduction? Is this part of your spiritual care program or are there other programs in place?
• Does your department collaborate with other disciplines in supporting staff resilience?

If you want to provide your answers, please send them to her at emily.fowler@childrens.com.

 

23. Other educational resources/offerings
Some months past, Paul Sangeavur Nomsule requested our members’ participation in a research study he was doing for his doctoral studies. In appreciation for our members’ participation, he has shared with us his dissertation, “Correlational Study of Emotional-Social Intelligence and Job Satisfaction among Healthcare chaplains in the United States.”

April 14, 2021, 12:00-1:00 pm CT, 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

April 29, 2021, 1:30-3:00 pm CT, APC Webinar: Spiritual Care for Non-Communicative Patients, Date: Link to registration: www.professionalchaplains.org/calendar_day.asp?date=4/29/2021&event=349

 

24. 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

CHAPLAIN
Franklin, WI – Ascension Wisconsin

SPIRITUAL CARE DIRECTOR
Winona, MN – Benedictine Living Community