Issue #199 – June 8, 2015
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(Items marked with a * are new or updated items)
NACC
1. Executive Director’s Reflection*
2. Board Chair and Executive Director representing NACC at APC, CHA and USCCB*
3. Interviewer Recruitment for October 3rd & 4th, 2015 Certification Interviews Happening in June!*
4. NACC 2015 50th Anniversary Annual Member Campaign has begun well!*
5. NACC member in the news: Peggy Scheidt, BCC*
6. Welcome to our new NACC members that joined us in May!*
7. Please read about NACC’s new member card process and distribution.*
8. Read about Ann Garrido’s talk on spirituality of administration in May-June Vision*
9. Have you read this notice regarding your NACC membership renewal process?
NACC – 50 YEARS OF CONTINUING THE HEALING MINISTRY
10. Reflections on NACC’s development of certification*
11. Reflecting on the ministry: That moment you wish you had back, by Kathy Ponce*
2016 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
12. Mark your calendar for April 22-25, 2016, for the NACC 2016 National Conference!
13. 2016 NACC Conference Planning Task Force members meet to prepare conference theme and objectives.*
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
14. Resources for you, if you are involved in or contemplating e-chaplaincy*
15. Volume 35 of Reflective Practice: Formative and Supervision in Ministry is now available online!*
16. One last invitation to those interested in networking nationally on models to provide spiritual care in outpatient settings*
17. Still seeking examples of spiritual screening tools utilized by nurses*
18. Great response from those whose career was in nursing before becoming a chaplain. You can still join this group.*
19. So how does a healthcare chief executive think about the spiritual care and chaplaincy ministry?*
20. NACC 2015 Webinars*
21. NACC Local Gatherings*
22. This Wednesday, June 10th, Trinity Health 2015-2016 Webinar will be on Charting and the Art of Narrative in Spiritual Care Notes! Don’t miss it!*
23. APC Webinars*
24. Healing Tree: a request for prayers*
25. Recent job postings*
Executive Director’s Reflection*
On Trinity Sunday, in the first pew, right in front of Jackie and me, were a younger couple with two children, a boy around six years old and a girl maybe three or four. The pastor had just finished his homily on the Trinity as the love of the Father and Son generating the Spirit. Seemed like a good thought. Then as we stood for the Creed, I was taken (distracted) by the eye exchange of the mom and dad as the young daughter was trying to snuggle (get under the skin of) her dad. The slight, knowing, warm smiles between husband and wife (mom and dad) were endearing, as the little girl ended up curling into her dad’s lap as he had to slouch for the Eucharistic prayer to accommodate her makeshift chair between his chest and knees. The young son was also taken (distracted) by this intimacy, as the wife/mom and husband/father tried to pay attention to the Eucharistic prayer – “this is my body” and “this is my blood.” It all reminded me of a brief quip by Jack Shea years ago, “Faith is fingerprinted from age to age.” We make the Word flesh from age to age.
Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi. Isn’t it somehow simple yet mysterious, the enfleshment of faith? Here we are listening to a Eucharistic prayer speaking of Christ’s body and blood, broken and poured out, bread and wine blessed and shared… And all around us we are becoming what we consume. This young couple and family wrapped around each other, listening and looking at one another, then ahead, listening with their eyes and holding their loves in their arms and hearts, reaching out to receive a wafer and taking a sip, then back to their seats to rest in one another’s and God’s arms. So this is the Body and Blood – people of faith fingerprinting one another and the next generation.
Is this part of what is meant in the Catechism of Catholic Church where it says, “In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.”(1327)?
Just wondering… What is Corpus Christi to you?
David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director
Board Chair and Executive Director representing NACC at APC, CHA and USCCB*
In these past days and today, NACC Board Chair, Mary Lou O’Gorman, MDiv, BCC, represented the NACC at Association of Professional Chaplains’ 2015 Conference, June 5-7, in Louisville, Kentucky. (www.professionalchaplains.org/content.asp?pl=72&sl=423&contentid=423( Mary Lou then traveled to the Catholic Health Association 2015 Hundredth Anniversary Assembly, June 7-9, in Washington, DC to represent the NACC. (www.chausa.org/assembly2015) NACC Executive Director, David Lichter, DMin, went to Braintree, Massachusetts, for the Saturday, June 6th, NACC gathering, (www.usccb.org/news/15-084.cfm). As one of the consultants to the USCCB Subcommittee for the Certification of Ecclesial Ministry and Service, David is one of the invited participants of this Summit that will reflect on the development of lay ecclesial ministry since the Bishops published in 2005 Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. The Summit includes both presentations and discussions with the aim of gathering the wisdom gained about lay ecclesial ministry from the decade of implementation of the content of Co-Workers. You can access the agenda of this Summit here (www.nacc.org/aboutnacc/eacouncil#usccb-agenda).
Interviewer Recruitment for October 3rd & 4th, 2015 Certification Interviews Happening in June!*
We will soon be recruiting interviewers in the areas of Irving, Texas; Middletown, Connecticut; Orange County, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Please be on the lookout for an email. If you are interested in becoming an interviewer and live nearby the interview locations, especially if you are experienced, please contact Ramona Zeb at rzeb@nacc.org. Interviewers must be currently Board Certified members of the NACC.
NACC 2015 50th Anniversary Annual Member Campaign has begun well!*
NACC members have been invited and encouraged to participate in our 2015 50th Anniversary Annual Member Campaign. We have received early gifts from members. We are deeply grateful to those who have already given! Thank you! If you have not yet contributed, please do so as soon as you can either by sending your gift in the donation envelope provided to you, or you can go right now to our NACC website and contribute online at https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/forms/donation. If you are not an NACC member (more than 1,600 non-NACC members subscribe to NACC Now), we also invite and encourage you to contribute to this special 50th Anniversary Campaign, by going to: https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/forms/donation. Your contribution helps us provide what we do, including this NACC Now and all NACC resources. Thank you in advance for your commitment and generosity!
NACC member in the news: Peggy Scheidt, BCC*
We just recently received a news article about our NACC member, Peggy Scheidt, BCC, of Arcadia, Iowa, in the diocese of Sioux City. Congratulations, Peggy, on a lovely article.
www.catholicglobe.org/?p=2862
Welcome to our new NACC members that joined us in May!*
Associate member, Julie Bablin, members James Barrand, James Melepuram, and George Varkey, and student members, Lisa Teubel and Joan Wafula! For all our new 2015 members go to www.nacc.org/membership/new
Please read about NACC’s new member card process and distribution.*
With the implementation of our new database we have been working on a new Membership Card that is compatible with the system. The card has been designed and is now ready to be emailed to you after your membership dues payment is processed. Please watch for the email as it will contain not only your receipt of payment but also the Membership Card on the bottom of the receipt which can be cut off and saved. If needed a Membership Card Receipt may be mailed to you upon request.
Read about Ann Garrido’s talk on spirituality of administration in May-June Vision*
Theologian Ann Garrido presented an inspiring and insightful talk on a spirituality of administration at the NACC’s 2015 annual conference, providing with humor and down-to-earth wisdom many practical suggestions for making our administrative tasks pathways to God. To read a summary in the May-June issue of Vision, click here.
Have you read this notice regarding your NACC membership renewal process?
We want to remind our members that since our conversion to the new NACC database last fall (that made possible your ability to enter your profile information and make membership payments via the NACC website), we needed to change the membership expiration date to the first day of your renewal month. So we now are sending via email your first membership renewal notice two months prior to your renewal month, and indicate that your dues are to be paid by the first day of your renewal month. Our second notice is sent to you via email, the beginning of the month prior to when your dues are expected to be paid. Please note that we are still providing you with two months in which to remit payment. However, we are providing you with two months prior to your due date in which payment should be received. We do apologize for any inconvenience this might initially cause you the first time around with this process, and ask for your prayer and patience with the implementation of our new system. Thank you.
NACC – 50 YEARS OF CONTINUING THE HEALING MINISTRY
Reflections on NACC’s development of certification*
A core element of NACC’s mission is to provide certification for its members. In the May-June 2011 issue of Vision issue on certification, David Lichter highlighted key moments in NACC’s evolving history of certifying its members. Learn about or refresh your memory on NACC’s history of certification at www.nacc.org/vision/2011-May-June/
Reflecting on the ministry: That moment you wish you had back, by Kathy Ponce*
That moment you wish you had back
By Kathy Ponce
When I was doing CPE, I had a patient who had been admitted to our hospital for total dental extractions, related to an oral infection. He was in a horrible frame of mind, anticipating the pain of the procedure, continuing antibiotics, and the eventual ordeal of fittings and adjustments of his new dentures. We chatted for a bit, and he seemed open to some support as he wallowed in unhappy imagining of what he would go through in the next few days. But when he talked about his recovery time, he mentioned that he enjoyed philosophy and was probably going to read a few books he had set aside for a little mental stimulation during his recuperation. My reply (an expression I had never used in my entire life!) was, “Well, that’ll give you something to chew on.”
I never did go back to his room for a repeat visit after receiving a stare that would have frozen a kettle of steaming corn on the cob. The spoken word can never be recalled.
Kathy Ponce, BCC, is a chaplain at Community First Medical Center in Chicago.
In each NACC Now, during this 50th jubilee year, we are featuring a reflection by one of our NACC chaplains on his or her ministry and an experience of a gift of that ministry. Please allow Kathy’s reflection to inspire you in writing this year one of your “gifts” of ministry. Your own reflection is welcomed! If you want to share a reflection, please contact David Lewellen (dlewellen@nacc.org).
2016 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Mark your calendar for April 22-25, 2016, for the NACC 2016 National Conference!
Please mark your calendars for our 2016 NACC National Conference to be held Friday, April 22nd, to Monday, April 25th, 2016, at the Chicago Marriott (www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chiap-chicago-marriott-ohare/) near Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
2016 NACC Conference Planning Task Force members meet to prepare conference theme and objectives.*
The members of the 2016 NACC Conference Planning Task Force, along with NACC Executive Director, David Lichter, D.Min. and NACC staff, Jeanine Annunziato and Andris Kursietis, are working on the 2016 Conference theme and objectives. Stay tuned for news of their work in the next NACC Now. The members include: Chair, Dr. Rodger Accardi, D.Min., BCC; Plenary Speaker Chair, Dr. Elizabeth Lenegan, Ph.D., BCC; Liturgy Chair, Rev. Richard Bartoszek, M.A., BCC; Local Arrangements Co-Chair, Mr. Jim Manzardo, BCC; Local Arrangements Co-Chair, Ms. Kathleen M. Ponce BCC; and Board Liaison, Mrs. Jane Mather, M.A., BCC. In the coming weeks you will be invited to submit workshop proposals.
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
Resources for you, if you are involved in or contemplating e-chaplaincy*
Many of our members and their hospital or systems have initiated an e-chaplaincy program. If you just type in e-chaplaincy on your search engine, like Google, you can access the e-chaplaincy page of several systems, as examples of what is being done. Here are some examples you find of a Google search. For an NACC Vision article on e-chaplaincy click here.
- www.mercy.net/echaplain
- mercyhospital.org/For-Patients-Visitors/Spiritual-Care/e-Chaplaincy
- www.franciscanalliance.org/hospitals/crownpoint/patients/pages/e-chaplaincy
- www.keepingyouwell.com/care-services/pastoral-care/e-chaplain-ministry
- www.christushealth.org/echaplaincy
- episcochaplain.org/e-chaplain-request/
- uabpastoralcare.org/contact
Volume 35 of Reflective Practice: Formative and Supervision in Ministry is now available online!*
Volume 35 of Reflective Practice: Formative and Supervision in Ministry is now available online at journals.sfu.ca/rpfs/index.php/rpfs. It is free! No need to login or register! On the theme, “The Narrative Perspective,” there is a collection of thoughtful articles, including an essay on “Narrative Therapy and Supervision” by Christie Cozad Neuger. Of interest to chaplains and chaplain supervisors is an essay by Alexander Tartagalia, proposing an expanded vision for chaplaincy education, along with four responses from the key chaplaincy-related professional organizations. In a section called “Global Perspective,” readers will get a glimpse into the thoughts and work of four international authors. Included are the ACPE Theory Paper of the Year and an ATFE Best Practices Paper. Volume 35 also includes a tribute to Herbert Anderson, the journal’s longtime editor. There are also a dozen book reviews that are associated with the theme!
The theme for the 2016, (volume 36) issue will be “How Do Adults Learn?” We invite authors to share the current thinking, research and innovative programs in the formation and education of adult religious professionals. A full theme statement is available in volume 35 as well as on the web site. www.reflective-practice.org. A special symposium will solicit essays on the challenges of supervising students who are working with traumatized clients/patients, or have been traumatized themselves. If you are interested in writing for volume 36, contact Scott Sullender, Editor at ssullender@sfts.edu.
We have received emails from just two members interested in creating a networking opportunity/learning group among those attempting pilots or models for providing spiritual care in outpatient settings. We are using this NACC Now one more time to invite those interested in such networking to learn from and test with one another your efforts. Please email David Lichter (dlichter@nacc.org) by Tuesday, June 16. We still want to set a first call by late June or early July. Thank you!
Still seeking examples of spiritual screening tools utilized by nurses*
We received two responses on this request. If anyone else has examples, please let us know. A couple of our members are seeking examples of screening tools being utilized by the nurses to assist in diagnosing referrals for professional spiritual care. If you are able to share what your nurses use, and if you help educate on its use, we would appreciate hearing from you. We will make sure there is a mutual sharing of such resources. Please contact David Lichter (dlichter@nacc.org) regarding what you use. Thank you in advance!
We received some very good response to this request, and will be setting a call for those members. We still invite our NACC members who had been (or still are) nurses before becoming chaplains to participate in a conference call. We hope this call would provide a unique opportunity for you to network with one another, and also to help NACC understand how better to communicate about chaplaincy and the spiritual care profession to nursing colleagues. Would you consider being part of this initiative? If so, please contact David Lichter (dlichter@nacc.org). Thank you in advance!
So how does a healthcare chief executive think about the spiritual care and chaplaincy ministry?*
The next NACC Webinar session, these next two Thursdays, June 11 and 14, our NACC members, Ann Hurst, Vice President of Mission Services, and Kay Gorka, Chaplain Manager, will hold a discussion with their chief executive, Alexander Jackson, CEO of Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital, and Holy Family Hospital, Spokane WA, on, among other subjects, leadership competencies for spiritual care and how to translate chaplain-speak into administration-speak. Join us for this invaluable exchange! You can still register – just click here.
The NACC webinars for 2015 are in full swing. They address often-requested topics by our members. All are scheduled, as in past years, on Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Central Time. For these webinars we offer the option of registering (and paying by credit card) online: ONLINE REGISTRATION. The registration form may be accessed by clicking on this link: REGISTRATION FORM. Mark your calendars now, and stay tuned for the special invitation to register online coming later this week!
June 11 & 18
Weighing Spiritual Care and Other Priorities: A Dialogue with a Chief Executive
Presented by Ann E. Hurst BCC, Kay I. Gorka, BCC, and Alexander Jackson
July 9 & 16
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services: Implications for Spiritual Care Decision-Making
Presented by Rev. Thomas A. Nairn, OFM, Ph.D.
August 13
Renewal of Certification with the NACC
August 20
Certification with the NACC
September 10 & 17
Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying: Theology and Practice of the Rites
Presented by Bruce T. Morrill, SJ
October 15 & 22
The Journey of Mental Illness for Chaplains, Family Members, & Caretakers.
Presented by Kathleen Hagerty, CSJ, BCC
November 5 & 12
Practical Theology and Implications for Professional Ministry.
Presented by Kathleen A. Cahalan, MA, Ph.D
December 17
90 minutes
“Honoring the Gift: NACC and Chaplaincy Going Forward”
Presented by David A. Lichter, D.Min and Mary Lou O’Gorman, BCC
Several local gatherings are being scheduled for 2015. Some have registration details. For the others, please “hold the date,” as details will follow. If you would like to consider hosting and helping plan an NACC local event to mark our 50th Anniversary, please contact Andris Kursietis (akursietis@nacc.org).
- June 18, 2015, Spokane, WA see details
- June 19, 2015, Portland, OR, see details
- June 20, 2015, Seattle, WA, see details
- September 14, 2015, St. Louis, MO, details to follow
- September 17-18, 2015, Alexandria, MN, see details
- October 29, 2015, Pontiac, MI, details to follow
- November 6, 2015, Buffalo, NY
- November 17, 2015, Washington, DC area
This Wednesday, June 10th, The Trinity Health Spiritual Champions webinar will be on “Charting & New Technologies–Cultivating the Art of Narrative in Spiritual Care Notes” and be provided by Gordon J Hilsman, DMin, retired CPE Supervisor (ACPE/NACC), and Anne M. Butler, MSN, ANP-BC, ACHPN. To register for this webinar go to: www.che.org/mission/index.php?id=46. For the 2015-2016 webinars schedule go to: www.che.org/mission/index.php?id=49.
The Association of Professional Chaplains continues to offer its high quality webinars. To view its offerings and to register, go to: www.professionalchaplains.org/calendar_list.asp.
Healing Tree: a request for prayers*
Please let us know if you would like our membership to pray for your health and healing. Also please let us know when you want us to remove your name from our Healing Tree.
We continue to pray for: Rev. Gerald U. Onuoha, David Markiewicz (grandson of NACC member Roberta Markiewicz), Sister Stephanie Morales, FMI, Marybeth Harmon, Renato Fallico, Kathy Ponce, Konstanty Pawicz (husband of former staff member Mary Pawicz), Pam Kimmel, Susan Balling, Maria Meneses, Chaplain Julia Mary Sweeney (mourning the death of her sister, Margaret Maureen Lewis, BA Honors), Sr. Sheila Prendeville, CPPS, AnaLisa Bischoff, Sr. M. Dianna Hell,
Sister Maria Theresa Hronec, Betty and Louis Skonieczny, Mary Theresa (niece of NACC Chaplain Sister Dorothy Kline), Jim Castello, Kelly Bigler (mourning the death of her father, Vernon),
Jeff Michel (brother-in-law of David Lichter), Thomas from Chicago (12 years old), Thomas Smiley (brother of member Diane Smiley),
Marga Halala, Donn Renfro (son-in-law of Karen Pugliese),
Amy in Atlanta (friend of NACC member Theresa Sullivan),
Thomas (grandson of NACC member Ginny Grimes Allen), Beth from Boston (friend of NACC member Dana Sandlin),
Sr. Janet Bielmann, Kelly Folan (daughter of NACC member Marty Folan),
Mary Potts (twin sister of Deacon Francis Potts), Elizabeth A. Walsh,
Francesco Marshall, Glenn and Pat Teske,
Susan Murphy, Fr. Jim Radde, SJ, Sr. Mary Clare Boland, SP,
Sr. Phyllis Ann DiRenzo, Kathy Brier (daughter of NACC member Theresa Brier),
Gloria Troxler, Fr. Kevin Ikpah, Lourdes B. Ruta (wife of Peter Ruta), and
Kelly Elizabeth Sexton (daughter of NACC member Melyssa Sexton).
The following positions have been posted recently on our Positions Available page. Please go to www.nacc.org/resources/positions/ for more information.
FULL-TIME CHAPLAIN (Days)
Athens, Georgia – St. Mary’s Health Care System
MANAGER, SPIRITUAL CARE POSITION
Philadelphia, PA – Nazareth Hospital
DIRECTOR of PASTORAL CARE
Chicago, IL – Mercy Circle
REGIONAL DIRECTOR of PASTORAL CARE
South Texas area – CHRISTUS Spohn Health System
MANAGER – SPIRITUAL CARE
Everett, WA – Providence Regional Medical Center
CHAPLAIN
Everett, WA – Providence Regional Medical Center
CHAPLAIN
Monroe, MI – Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
CHAPLAIN
Jacksonville, FL – SVM-St Vincent’s Riverside
HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN
Appleton and Neenah, WI – ThedaCare (Appleton Medical Center and Theda Clark Medical Center)
