Issue #358 – August 16, 2021

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

1. Executive Director’s Reflection *
Today, August 16, marks 36 years since my father, Harry, died. It was a very peaceful death, as he had been in home hospice (bed in living room in the corner where his recliner had been). He died quietly that night, with my mother, Lucille, and sister, Diane, at the bedside with him. We were singing the songs for his funeral we had chosen with him. I remember his feet, then ankles, then legs, gradually getting cold, while his breath lessened until it seemed to have stopped. Mom whispered in his ear, “Was that the last one you have been waiting for, Harry?” Then one more breath and he went to the Lord. As we lingered by his bedside, my heart was filled with gratitude for the gift of being there and singing him off to our gracious God.

I also remembered so fondly the day before, the Feast of the Assumption, when we celebrated Eucharist in the living room. Dad was sitting in his recliner, so thin and gaunt, with his glasses hanging askew on his face, but he had a gentle countenance. He was ready for the Lord. At the sign of peace, I leaned over him to kiss him on the cheek, and he kissed me on the neck. He had never kissed me before. Skin-to-skin; body-to-body. That one has lasted 36 years and counting. I also remember lifting his frail and bed-sore body back into the bed. He was certainly now closer to 120 pounds, far from his 170 pounds of a few months earlier. Skin-to-skin; body-to-body.

Yesterday was the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. I reflect still on the bodiliness of this Feast. While we commemorate Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven, it’s a statement about the dignity of our human body and its ultimate end. How precious are our bodies! When we reflect on the first half of the 20th century, the carnage of World War I, the incineration of Jewish bodies, the thousands of Japanese disintegrated in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the hundreds of thousands maimed or killed in those wars, how important for us to reflect on, hold sacred, and deeply appreciate the dignity and destiny of our human bodies! In the wake of these decades of desecration and annihilation of the human body, how helpful it is to hold up its ultimate end. So as to our ministries, how precious the gift, when possible and appropriate, to be hand-in-hand, to bathe wounds, to lovingly embrace, to tenderly stroke the shoulder or arm of another in order to convey God’s nearness. Skin to skin; body to body.

What a gift is our bodily existence, even as we grow older and our body begins to show signs of aging, breaking down, and what’s next… How tender to our last day is it a temple of the Lord and dwelling place of God’s Spirit! What a blessed mystery is our ministry when we can be present to another and embody God’s compassionate care! Sometimes skin-to-skin, body-to-body. What a gracious gift is pastoral care!

Blessings to you today, and until your last breath.

David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director

2. Thank you for voting! Congratulations to Ruth Jandeska and Fr. Lawrence Chellaian! Deep gratitude to Fr. Rick Bauer and Luann Trutwin for being NACC Board candidates! *
First of all, the NACC Board of Directors is very grateful to those NACC members who engaged in our Board of Directors leadership discernment process through their voting in our Board election. We congratulate and welcome to the NACC Board of Directors Dr. Ruth Jandeska and Fr. Lawrence Chellaian whose term of office will begin January 1, 2022. We are also deeply grateful to Fr. Richard Bauer, MM, and Dr. Luann Trutwin for their generosity in being candidates for this board election. We are thankful for the many ways both of them continue to serve NACC and our members. For more information about them, you can go to www.nacc.org/about-nacc/leadership/board-of-directors/board-of-directors-election

3. Deaths of a former and a current NACC member: Sister Katherine Ann Durney, C.B.S. and Sr. Elizabeth M. Kelly SSND *
We recently learned of the July 23, 2021, death of our former NACC member. Sister Katherine Ann Durney C.B.S, at the age of 97. She was certified with NACC in 1987. While having a nursing career and serving in several leadership roles in her Sisters of Bon Secours congregation and its health care system, she also valued her chaplaincy ministry at Bon Secours Nursing Care Center in Ellicott City, and Virginia at Bon Secours DePaul Hospital and Provincial Place of Norfolk. May our loving God embrace her with fullness of peace! To read more, go to catholicreview.org/sister-mary-brendan-conlon-osu-served-in-hometown-of-cumberland-2

We also recently learned that our retired member Sr. Elizabeth M. Kelly SSND died in April. She joined the NACC and was certified in 1981! Originally a teacher, she worked as a hospital chaplain for the next 27 years! You can read her obituary here and here is her statement made on the occasion of her 60 year Jubilee.

4. Thank you to those of you who have already given to our 2021 Annual Member Campaign! Please join them! *
Our 2021 Annual Campaign has begun! We are deeply grateful to all those who have been able to give so far! To date, we have received 314 gifts totaling $38,530. 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!

5. Are you an initial board certification applicant with an Interview in October? *
If so, then join us for this free webinar on August 26 at 12:00 p.m. CT. Sr. Pam Nosbusch will discuss the process of the Virtual Interview and explain expectations on the day of your interview. Please register for this event here: Virtual Interview Webinar.

6. Requesting All Board-Certified Chaplains interested in serving as a Certification Interviewer *
Whether you have served before, haven’t served in a while, or want to serve for the first time, please consider this valuable service to fellow chaplains. Please contact Lisa Sarenac at lisasarenac@nacc.org to be placed on a future list of Interviewers. Thank you for your consideration.

7. In Vision: Trauma-informed care has become a necessary part of chaplaincy *
Awareness of trauma-informed care has gone mainstream in recent years. In our newest Vision article, Executive Director David Lichter reflects on what we know now, and offers links to books and websites for further understanding. Click below to learn more.
Trauma-informed care has become a necessary part of chaplaincy – By David Lichter

8. In Vision: Trauma-informed care: Another tool in chaplains’ box *
Raymond Dougherty first became aware of trauma-informed care four years ago, when he noticed signs of re-traumatization as wildfire survivors responded to the innocent phrase, “Tell me more.” In our newest Vision article, he offers a basic exercise for dealing with traumas of our own, plus links to further reading. Click below to learn more.
Trauma-informed care: Another tool for chaplains’ box – By Raymond Dougherty

9. Vision seeks articles about trauma-informed care
The July-August issue of Vision will address the theme of trauma-informed care and how it affects spiritual care. Past traumas that might affect current health include racism, disparity, incarceration, substance abuse, physical or emotional abuse. If any NACC members have studied the topic or begun using principles of trauma-informed care in their ministry, we would like to hear from you. Please send a summary of your idea to Vision editor David Lewellen, dlewellen@nacc.org.

10. Vision seeks articles about rituals in this moment *
The September-October issue of Vision will cover the use of ritual in our ministry settings. If (particularly) in the past year you have had to create a prayer service or a blessing to address new, unmet spiritual needs, we would like to hear from you. Please send a summary of your experience to Vision editor David Lewellen, dlewellen@nacc.org.

11. NACC Networking Calls for the rest of August and September 2021 – All are welcome to participate! *
Wednesday, August 18; 12 p.m. CT — NACC Member Listening (COVID) Call
Wednesday, September 8; 12 p.m. CT — NACC Palliative Hospice Networking Call
Thursday, September 9; 3 p.m. CT — NACC Nurse Chaplain Networking Call
Friday, September 10; 11 a.m. CT — NACC Directors of Spiritual Care Networking Call
Monday, September 13; 1 p.m. CT — NACC CPE-Educator Community of Practice 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 passcode to connect connection via internet or smartphone. 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!

12. The Member Listening Call for August will be this Wednesday, August 18, 2021! *
With the rise of COVID cases and the refilling of hospitals, it’s again a strenuous time on health care staff and you as chaplains. Weariness, fatigue, and uncertainties return. We continue to offer our listening sessions and remain grateful for the participation and sharing that is happening during these virtual communities. The NACC strives to support those who have found it helpful and healing to share their thoughts and experiences in these gatherings, as well to be there for one another.

We continue to have good participation for our Member Listening. Thank you. NACC will offer a listening session on August 18. 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.

NACC Listening Call
Wednesday, August 18, 20211pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT, 10am 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.

13. 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 ask that you please include members and their families who have been affected by the COVID pandemic in your prayers

We continue to pray for our members: Sr. June M. Baker OP, Bonnie Burnett, Sr. Andre Dembowski RSM, Denice Foose, Sr. Leonie T. Iweh DMMM, Sr. Ellen Moore, Mary Beth Moran, Fr. Jim Radde SJ, Martiza Ramos-Pratt, Sr. Ann Regan SC, Sr. Paula M. Tinlin SND, and Sr. Louise F. Zaplitny SC.

For the intentions of: Sr. Maira Mary Barry OP (for Sr. Loyola Miller and Diana), Donald L. Brown (for Beth Ann Scannell and her husband Bob), Pamela Proietti (for mother Carole Werrbach, sister Diane Brooks, brother Mark Werrbach and friend Vicki), and Sue Walker (for cousin Natalie).

For loved ones: Johnny Consigli (godson of Sr. Margaret Oettinger), Larry DuPlain (brother of Sr. Mary A. DuPlain SJSM), Richard Valeriote (father of Catherine Valeriote), Autumn Vaughn (great-niece of Linda Bronersky), Michael (brother of Cathy Zylstra), and James (grandson Mary Pat Campbell),

For the families of: Nancy Cook (on the death of her husband Randy Heydenberg), Peggy (Margaret) Nixdorf (on the loss of her husband Richard), and Mary T. O’Neill (on the death of her brother Liam).

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.

14. Please look at, like, and follow our NACC Social Media meme graphics! *
We have kicked off a new series of our popular social media meme graphics. The themes for this campaign are Chaplain Wisdom and Join NACC. They will post each Tuesday morning, and we would love for you to share them on your own personal social media channels, as you feel moved. Please make sure to like and follow us on Facebook (@choosechaplaincy), LinkedIn (@National Association of Catholic Chaplains) and on our new Instagram (@NACC_Chaplains).

15. We need you to promote chaplaincy as a ministry and profession in the Church!! *
With church activity returning, remember that you can represent NACC and chaplaincy with materials for the narthex, Youth Groups, or other organizations within and outside of your church community. Check out our Choose Chaplaincy videos, Q& A, and materials on our website: www.nacc.org/about-nacc/choose-chaplaincy and www.nacc.org/about-nacc/choose-chaplaincy/materials

16. Great resources for those who want to learn of Chaplaincy! Stories From Chaplaincy & Paths to Chaplaincy
NACC’s most recent marketing efforts is pushing chaplaincy videos on Facebook. These are posted every 2 weeks and will continue into September. Please view and like and share to make others aware of the gifts and talents chaplains share and their stories of how their journey happened. www.facebook.com/choosechaplaincy.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR OUR NACC 2022 NATIONAL CONFERENCE!

17. Save a new date for our Buffalo National Conference! Friday, March 25 through Monday, March 28, 2022! *
Our NACC members recently received a special notice that we changed the date of our next annual National Conference from end of October 2021 to Friday, March 25, 2022, through Monday, March 28, 2022. While we are disappointed that we needed to change the date again, the NACC Board of Directors appreciated the survey of our members that gave us convincing data that a fall 2021 date would not provide the attendance needed to make a National Conference successful. So, mark your calendars for 2022! We will meet in 2022!

2022 Conference Theme and Objectives
The NACC is pleased to announce the theme and objectives for the 2022 National Conference is “Stretched by Life, Lifted by Faith.”
Our National Conference will be taking place two years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent violence born of racism and other biases. Multiple forms of polarization and discord have further divided our country, family, friends and even our Church. Trauma in many manifestations has needed to be identified and addressed. We are being stretched by life. Yet, as NACC members, we are ones who continue the healing ministry of Jesus in the name of the Church. The Paschal Mystery marks our lives and our profession. We know and experience that we are lifted by our faith. This Conference is devoted to gathering with one another to be a safe and sacred space to support one another in courageous and honest dialogue on those areas that challenge and stretch us to own our common humanity and destiny, as well as to identify and celebrate what makes and sustains us as healing ministers.

Chaplains will be able to:

Initiate, renew and deepen relationships with colleagues (OL2, OL2.1).
Attend to their own physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being through personal reflection, professional sharing, and communal ritual (PIC3).
Ascertain and incorporate new pastoral care strategies and creative spiritual care practices developed in a pandemic and post-pandemic environment (PPS2, PPS5, PPS6, PPS9, OL1).
Identify unconscious bias and racism in self, community, and culture, implementing tools to facilitate and foster greater awareness, effective spiritual support, and collaborative professional relationships (PIC1, PIC2, PPS3, OL2.1, OL4.1).
Distinguish and articulate elements from the Catholic tradition which ground their personal spirituality and professional ministry as well as develop responsible strategies to deal with elements of the Catholic tradition causing personal and professional challenges (ITP2.1, ITP2.2, PIC3, PIC3.1, PIC5.1).
Further articulate their identity as Catholic chaplains and ministers of the church (ITP2.1, ITP2.2, PIC5.1).

2022 NACC Conference Call for Workshop Proposals
On behalf of the NACC, you are invited to submit an application to lead a workshop for the upcoming 2022 NACC Conference. This conference promises to be rich and memorable, with the gift of presence of friends, mentors and colleagues old and new. We welcome the addition of the gift of your presence as a workshop presenter. Visit the NACC website today to view the Submission Guidelines and download an application form.

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

18. Last days to register for our August NACC webinar! Register now for: Spiritual and Psychosocial Support: Accompanying Others Impacted by COVID-19. Presented by Rev. Richard Bauer MM BCC, August 19, 2021 ~ 12pm – 1:30pm Central Time *

Overview and Objectives
“The role of the missioner [chaplain] is to stand in the face of horror, and not run away.” Sr. Brigid Corrigan, M.D., MMM. The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis. We have often heard that “crisis” can mean both danger and opportunity. In the face of the continued pandemic, new variants and outbreaks, and limited global vaccine availability, the pandemic can be an opportunity to be God’s presence of wholeness, healing, compassion and justice. This webinar will explore the recent Vatican document from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development: Accompanying People in Psychological Distress in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Members of One Body Loved by One Love.

As a result of this webinar, participants will be able to

Identify the unique challenges to spiritual well-being and mental health emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. (ITP 2, PPS 2).
Review some of the key themes from Catholic social teaching and explain a Catholic understanding of social responsibility and solidarity and apply these to a pandemic response of spiritual accompaniment. (ITP 2.1)
Review Catholic understandings of spiritual suffering and hope and how these concepts can assist a chaplaincy response to the pandemic. (ITP 3)
Describe some of the Church’s and chaplains’ spiritual healing responses for those affected by COVID-19. (PPS 5, ITP 2.2)

NACC Certification Competencies Addressed in this Webinar
ITP 2, ITP 2.1, ITP 2.2, ITP 3, PPS 2, PPS 5

Click here for more information or to register

19. How needed now is NACC’s September Webinar! Register today! Spiritual Accompaniment: An Invitation to Soul Listening, Presented by Diane M. Millis PhD, September 16, 2021 ~ 12pm – 1:30pm Central Time *
September’s NACC webinar on Thursday, September 16, 2021, 12:00-1:30 pm central time, will be on “Spiritual Accompaniment: An Invitation to Soul Listening,” presented by Diane M. Millis PhD. Learn more about speaker, program, and to register go to: www.nacc.org/education-resources/nacc-webinars-and-audio-conferences/2021-webinar-series-overview-and-registration/2021-webinar-program-information-9

Overview and Objectives
To “listen” another’s soul into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be almost the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another. –Douglas Steere, Gleanings: A Random Harvest

Encouraging another’s soul to speak challenges us to go beyond the stance of active listening so many of us have been taught. In this webinar, we will consider approaches for deep, soulful listening. Since this manner of listening begins with ourselves, we will devote time to contemplation and reflection in addition to presentation and discussion.

As a result of this webinar, participants will be able to
1. Articulate the conditions that invite another’s soul to speak.
2. Demonstrate listening to their own souls as they listen to others.
3. Explain what helps and hinders them from listening soulfully.

NACC Certification Competencies Addressed in this Webinar
PIC1, PIC2, PIC3, ITP2, IPT3, PPS2

20. All of you are welcome to register for this regional event! You can register today for the 2021 North Central Prairie Chaplains’ Conference: The Women of John’s Gospel as Models for Ministry in Our Time, September 16 @ 8:00 am – September 17 @ 5:00 pm *
Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 South First Avenue, Buffalo, MN 55313 United States
Attend in-person or participate online through Zoom.

Dr. Catherine Cory is an associate professor of New Testament at the University of Saint Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She received her M.A. from the St. John’s University in Collegeville and her Ph.D. in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity from the University of Notre Dame. Her areas of specialization are the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation.
Register at web.nacc.org/events/2021-North-Central-Prairie-Chaplains-Conference-251/details

21. Other educational resources: *

The Sisters of St. Joseph of LaGrange, whose Ministry of Arts has given NACC an art piece for its annual raffle at our national conference, is offering through their The Well Spirituality a two day, BRIDGING THE DIVIDES, TENDING THE GAP conference, Sept. 24-25. Find out more and register here: one.bidpal.net/bridgingdivides/welcome
The George Washington Institute for Spirituality & Health is again offering its Interprofessional Spiritual Care Education Curriculum (ISPEC©), October 14-15, 2021 [VIRTUAL]. Please consider taking advantage of this special program. For more information and registration go to www.nacc.org/event/34234
APC has generously shared with NACC and the other Strategic Partners, a free video resource on grief that APC partnered with four other organizations to create, made possible through a grant from the American Nurses Foundation. Research shows that a significant number of frontline providers, at all levels, exhibit secondary traumatic stress, bereavement, compassion fatigue, and burnout. To help address complex trauma, five leading associations have collaborated to bring you innovative resources on grief education. NACC is very grateful for this resource.

Dealing with GRIEF: A Series of 5 Short, Powerful Videos

The four things that matter most
Cumulative grief
Processing grief with so much happening in your day
Supporting the grief process when significant others are not at the bedside
Processing grief as a team

These resources aim to provide timely and practical information to help you care for the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of your patients and their families.
Each video is 2-5 minutes in length and includes a downloadable resource guide. The videos are complimentary and can be accessed via YouTube, youtube.com/HPNAinformation.

Help HPNA measure the impact of these resources by complete this 30 second survey. www.surveymonkey.com/r/dealingwithgrief

Produced by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation, Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network, Association of Professional Chaplains, and the Oncology Nursing Society.

22. Recent job postings *
The following positions have been posted recently on our Positions Available page.
For more information go to https://www.nacc.org/resources/positions

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
National Association of Catholic Chaplains

PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Wheeling, IL – Addolorata Villa

STAFF CHAPLAIN
Anderson, IN – Ascension

PRIEST CHAPLAINS NEEDED
Central Iowa – MercyOne Central Iowa

CHAPLAIN OPENING
Santa Fe, New Mexico – CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center

CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Stony Brook, NY – Stony Brook Medicine

PORT CHAPLAINCY MINISTRY
Galveston/Texas City, TX – The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

PRIEST
Springfield, MO – Mercy

Issue #358 – August 16, 2021

NACC

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR OUR NACC 2022 NATIONAL CONFERENCE!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR OUR NACC 2022 NATIONAL CONFERENCE!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

Issue #358 – August 16, 2021

NACC

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR OUR NACC 2022 NATIONAL CONFERENCE!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR OUR NACC 2022 NATIONAL CONFERENCE!

CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

Job Listings

Free Publications

Donate Now

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