Issue #207 – September 28, 2015
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(Items marked with a * are new or updated items)
NACC
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. NACC member, Tim Serban, is elected to the NACC Board of Directors
3. NACC Board of Directors meets in Milwaukee, October 13-15.
4. Welcome to our members who joined the NACC in August!
5. We are grateful to the many contributing to the October 3-4, 2015, Certification Interviews!
6. NACC received 49 applications for Certification.
7. Can you write about spiritual wellness for Vision?
8. Please contribute to the NACC 2015 50th Anniversary Annual Member Campaign!
NACC – 50 YEARS OF CONTINUING THE HEALING MINISTRY
9. A Moment in NACC History: NACC National Leadership Council
10. Reflecting on the ministry: “Seeing NICU through pastor’s eyes provides fresh gratitude” by Karen Pugliese
2016 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 22-25, 2016
11. Mark your calendar for April 22-25, 2016, for the NACC 2016 National Conference!
12. American Red Cross Disaster Spiritual Care Provider Orientation (Thursday, April 21, 2016)
13. Thank you to all those who submitted workshop proposals!
14. What do you know about NACC 2016 Conference plenary speaker Vanessa White?
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
15. Just a reminder: Transforming Chaplaincy Project Launched
16. New article on Education for Professional Chaplains: Should Certification Competencies Shape Curriculum?
17. A reminder of the APC Chaplaincy Symposium, October 6, 2015
18. Next NACC Webinar: The Journey of Mental Illness for Chaplains, Family Members, & Caretakers
19. NACC 2015 Webinars
20. NACC Local Gatherings
21. Not many days left before Pastoral Care Week, October 25-31!
22. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
23. Recent job postings
Executive Director’s Reflection
It is a matter of perspective, isn’t it? When I can be criticized, or asked to change, or do more, or in whatever way I am called to change, I can view it from “How will this affect me?” Or seek the view of the one speaking to me.
After reflecting on the three readings for yesterday’s liturgy (www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092715.cfm) from Numbers 11, James 5, and Mark 8, I could not help but feel pretty guilty. Moses saying to Joshua, “”Are you jealous for my sake?” The author of James writing, “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire.” And Jesus warning, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” And continues to advise to get rid of the hand, foot, or eye that causes you temptation!
One of the definitions of jealous, “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions,” helps me understand the skewed, self-centered perspective that focuses on what will happen to me and mine.
I was impressed again by Pope Francis’s initial appeal to having us take the perspective of the needy, the immigrant, the laborer, the marginalized, the wounded planet, and calling us to view their perspective to help us to a change of heart. It reminded me of a theologian who years ago described the paradox of the parable of the good Samaritan. The Jewish people who were listening to Jesus had a deeply ingrained bias against Samaritans. As Jesus told the story, every listener wanted to identify with someone in a story. So Jesus leads the listener through a gradual rejection of the story’s characters. As they could not identify with the priest or Levite because they passed by the one in need, and they certainly could not identify with the Samaritan, they were left with no other character with whom to identify than the one robbed, stripped, beaten, and left half dead! So that is a change of perspective, isn’t it? From being a bystander to now being near death! Things look different now!
Pope Francis appealed in the same way, did he not, with the Golden Rule? It reminded me that this was how the story of the Samaritan was offered, as Jesus was asked “who is my neighbor?” after He stated “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What struck me, though, is the questioners really asked the question about “who is my neighbor” so they could justify the limits on whom they had to love, and Jesus turns it around to put them in the position of having to see the neighbor as the one loving! “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
By cleverly having us be the one left for dead along the road, we could only answer as those in the story did. The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
So, I guess I will also be ill at ease with these readings as long as I hear them from the perspective of self-protection and self-justification. I guess I need to continue to pray for the gift of the golden rule, the gift of the Samaritan story, the gift of a new perspective that calls out of me, too, generosity and selflessness.
How is your perspective working for you these days?
David Lichter, D.Min.
Executive Director
NACC member, Tim Serban, is elected to the NACC Board of Directors
Tim Serban has been elected to fill the open seat on our National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC) Board of Directors, beginning January 1, 2016. We thank our members for voting in this election, and we thank Tim for his willingness to serve the NACC in this leadership position. Please learn more about Tim.
NACC Board of Directors meets in Milwaukee, October 13-15.
The Board of Directors will be meeting in Milwaukee Tuesday evening, October 13, until noon of Thursday, October 15. Please keep their deliberations in your prayer, as they continue to examine the progress and challenges of implementing the 2012-2017 NACC Strategic Plan.
Welcome to our members who joined the NACC in August!
Full MembersMs. Lynda B. Crone Marlboro, NY Ms. Patricia A. Foley Round Lake Beach, IL Rev. Tawiah O Gabriel El Campo, TX Ms. Shirley A. Kelter Sauk City, WI Ms. Eugenia W. Lai Sugarland, TX Mr. Henry W. Leader Homewood, IL Ms. Louise E. Locke Derwood, MD Rev. Arlin Jean Louis Chicago , IL Ms. Nicole Patrick San Antonio, TX |
Student MembersMrs. Elizabeth Hamm Wooster, OH Ms. Josephine Kay Durham, NC Sr. Cynthia Prezkop Steubenville, OH Mrs. Teresa N. Schrautemyer Des Plaines, IL Mrs. Connie R. Suchomel Spokane, WA |
Ministry VolunteerMr. Thomas R. Vanasco Marco Island, FL |
We are grateful to the many contributing to the October 3-4, 2015, Certification Interviews!
The National Office and many volunteers have been busy completing preparations for the October 3-4, 2015, certification interviews. The interviews are being held in four locations: Milwaukee, WI; Middletown, CT; Irving, TX; and Orange County, CA. There are at least 88 people involved in the interview weekend: 30 applicants, 39 interviewers, 10 Interview Team Educators, 4 Site Coordinators, 1 Certification Commissioner-on-Call, and 4 Pastoral Presence Volunteers as well as Other Volunteers. Thanks so much for all our volunteers’ hard work and dedication to the NACC Certification process! Please keep our certification applicants in your thoughts and prayers as they prepare for their interviews.
NACC received 49 applications for Certification.
In this past week, the NACC received 49 applications for certification. We look forward to reviewing the applications in the coming weeks. We pray for them, and for all of us who continue to grow in our professional practice and ministry.
Can you write about spiritual wellness for Vision?
As the emphasis of healthcare shifts toward wellness, spiritual care providers may need to think about the contributions they can make. To that end, the November-December issue of Vision will have a theme of spiritual wellness and prevention, both for chaplains themselves and the patients they serve. How can chaplains take care of their own needs? How do you proactively help the people you encounter stay centered? What kind of activities and interventions can fit into the routine of a busy day? If you have ideas around this topic, please send a note to Vision editor David Lewellen, dlewellen@nacc.org. The maximum length is about 1,000 words; deadline is Oct. 5.
Please contribute to the NACC 2015 50th Anniversary Annual Member Campaign!
Thank you to all those of you who have been responding to the reminder letter to consider contributing to the NACC 2015 50th Anniversary Annual Member Campaign we sent out a couple of weeks ago! If you have not yet contributed, please do. You can give 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 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 – 50 YEARS OF CONTINUING THE HEALING MINISTRY
A Moment in NACC History: NACC National Leadership Council
In 2000, 15 years ago, NACC National Leadership Council (NLC) discerned the need and decided to change the NACC governance from a regional structure to board governance structure. To read more about this change click here. Also, view the photo of those serving on the NACC NLC at the time:
Reflecting on the ministry: “Seeing NICU through pastor’s eyes provides fresh gratitude” by Karen Pugliese
Pastor Wendy stood outside the curtain of the little nook sheltering the stunned and grieving parents and grandparents, who were cradling the infant child scheduled to be born by C-section the very next morning. Found to be without movement or fetal heartbeat, she was delivered emergently instead.
I performed the ancient Ritual of Blessing along with Wendy, the pastor of the family’s church, as the parents held their infant in their arms. Grief so raw it was unspeakable yet palpable – no words, no sound, no form yet of expression. Wendy sighed deeply with the helplessness one feels in the eye of the storm of such a tragedy. Perhaps to distract herself from the profound weight of grief stretched like a tent over the little room, she looked around the NICU and began to realize how large it was. Dozens of curtained cubicles, each with a tiny person whose first earthly home was a far cry from the dream of his or her parents. Wendy’s eyes widened as she began to realize the breadth and depth of the care, and the paradox of the ecstasy of new life and the agony of premature death.
“How many babies are here?” she asked – partly to make conversation, yet tentatively, as if she already had a premonition that she was going to be shocked at the answer. I answered, “Twenty-four down here, and another smaller overflow unit upstairs.”
“Twenty-four! There are twenty-four babies here – sick babies, like Grace – some more babies are as sick as Grace … was? Twenty-four?”
Her face, whiter than the lab coats silently whisking in and out of the curtained cubicles, registered shock and disbelief. The mask of her carefully crafted pastoral identity crumpled. “I can’t hold that; I just can’t take that in – I am overwhelmed. It just doesn’t seem possible to grasp the extent of this much suffering … for the babies, for parents and families – for everyone who works here …”
Wiping tears from her eyes, she asked, “How do you do this? I can’t imagine how you do this. Doesn’t this just do you in?”
How do I answer a question like that? How do I say that this is where I am home; that like Mother Teresa of Calcutta or Damien with the lepers of Molokai or the youth minister on the streets of Chicago this very night – I am home when I am here. I am called to be here – just as Wendy was called to the people of God she pastors in her suburban church. Sent here years ago, even before I recognized the call, before I was equipped for the journey. From the time I first went back to school to pursue a degree in theology without knowing the road map, much less the destination of my journey.
How do I explain that the sound of whirring machines and ear-splitting monitor alarms, and the shadows formed by soft lights blanketing the tiny incubators with their tinier inhabitants, are my companions? How do I describe the astonishing gift it is to ask parents what name they have given their child, and then pronounce that for all eternity this child shall be known by it? How do I communicate what it means to recite the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I have called you by name; you are mine”? And of the prophet Jeremiah: “You are my beloved. You are precious in my eyes, and I love you.”
How do I communicate the community I have found here – the blessing it is to stand beside physicians and nurses and respiratory therapists and pharmacists, this confident and composed army of medical miracle workers, when they have done all they can do – and it isn’t enough?
Then I do what only the chaplain can do: Nothing. I simply hold them. Sometimes literally in my arms; sometimes just in the eyes that hold one another’s sorrow. The families and the staff. And sometimes too, our partners in ministry who discover new landscapes of pain and anguish, and see sorrow with new eyes. I hold their grief and loss, helplessness and powerlessness, inadequacy and impotence. Along with mine.
Karen Pugliese, BCC, is an advanced practice chaplain at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, IL.
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 Karen’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 APRIL 22-25, 2016
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 22, to Monday, April 25, 2016, at the Chicago Marriott near Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
American Red Cross Disaster Spiritual Care Provider Orientation (Thursday, April 21, 2016)
If you are interested in learning more about supporting the needs of those impacted by disaster and mass casualties, please consider registering for this four-hour orientation. More information on the session and how to register can be found on the NACC website at www.nacc.org/conference/default#dsc.
Thank you to all those who submitted workshop proposals!
We are grateful to all those who submitted workshop proposals for the 2016 National Conference. After thoroughly reviewing all the submitted proposals, we have selected 5 preconference workshops and 24 75-minute workshops. In the coming weeks we will share on the NACC website a full listing of all workshops that will be available at the conference.
What do you know about NACC 2016 Conference plenary speaker Vanessa White?
Dr. C. Vanessa White, MTS, DMin, is Assistant Professor of Spirituality and Ministry, Director of the Certificate in Pastoral Studies and the Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union. She is also a member of the faculty for Xavier University’s Summer Institute for Black Catholic Studies in New Orleans where she is currently the coordinator of the Elder’s Retreat, as well as adjunct faculty for the African American Ministries Certificate program at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Dr. White is co-editor of the book, Songs of the Heart and Meditations of the Soul – a book of prayers, and contributing author in Liturgy and Justice published by Liturgical Press. She has published articles in Horizons, New Theology Review, The Bible Today and U.S. Catholic Magazine. She was asked by CNN News to contribute to their “Black in America” series. She has been appointed as a consultant to the USCCB Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service, which assists US bishops in reviewing and approving certification standards and procedures to be used by (arch)dioceses and national organizations in the certification of specialized ecclesial ministers.
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
Just a reminder: Transforming Chaplaincy Project Launched
Just a reminder to you that this summer marked the beginning of the Transforming Chaplaincy: Promoting Research Literacy for Improved Patient Outcomes project. The project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, with support from the APC, NACC, NAJC and ACPE, aims to equip healthcare chaplains to use research to guide, evaluate, and advocate for the daily spiritual care they provide patients, family members and colleagues. Transforming Chaplaincy has three exciting initiatives. The project will provide: 1) Research Chaplain Fellowships to pay for 16 board-certified chaplains to complete a two-year, research-focused master’s degree; 2) Curriculum Development Grants to 70 CPE programs to support incorporation of research literacy education in their residency curricula; and 3) a free Online Continuing Education course, Religion, Spirituality and Health: An Introduction to Research for members of the supporting organizations.
You’ll find details about these three initiatives, including application information and timelines, on the project website (www.researchliteratechaplaincy.org). Check the Calendar page of the website for important information about activities we have organized to provide additional information about the Fellowships and CPE Grants. These include a webinar entitled Teaching Research Literacy in CPE, upcoming informational conference calls, and conferences and ACPE regional events, where a Transforming Chaplaincy representative will be on hand to answer questions. Sign up on the website to be on the email list to receive updates on applications and project-related events. You are also welcome to contact the project coordinator, Kathryn Lyndes, PhD, at Kathryn_Lyndes@rush.edu and 312.942.0247 for further information.
New article on Education for Professional Chaplains: Should Certification Competencies Shape Curriculum?
By George Fitchett, Alexander Tartaglia, Kevin Massey, Beth Jackson-Jordon & Paul E. Derrickson (2015) in Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 21:4, 151-164, DOI: 10.1080/08854726.2015.1075343. To link to this article: dx.doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2015.1075343. The abstract of the article reads:
The growing importance of professional chaplains in patient-centered care has raised questions about education for professional chaplaincy. One recommendation is that the curricula of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) residency programs make use of the chaplaincy certification competencies. To determine the adoption of this recommendation, we surveyed CPE supervisors from 26 recently re-accredited, stipended CPE residency programs. We found the curricula of 38% of these programs had substantive engagement with the certification competencies, 38% only introduced students to the competencies, and 23% of the programs made no mention of them. The majority of the supervisors (59%) felt engagement with the competencies should be required while 15% were opposed to such a requirement. Greater engagement with chaplaincy certification competencies is one of several approaches to improvements in chaplaincy education that should be considered to ensure that chaplains have the training needed to function effectively in a complex and changing healthcare environment.
A reminder of the APC Chaplaincy Symposium, October 6, 2015
APC’s 2015 Chaplain Symposium, Sustaining Organizations through Staff Resilience, is taking place next week Tuesday, October 6, 2015. It will be presented to a live audience at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, AZ, while simultaneously viewed by a remote audience via Internet. Join colleagues for an outstanding program exploring the ways in which we can promote resilience and foster sustainability within our practice settings, leading to greater employee engagement and organizational success. For more information, go to:
www.professionalchaplains.org/content.asp?pl=72&sl=456&contentid=456
Next NACC Webinar: The Journey of Mental Illness for Chaplains, Family Members, & Caretakers
The NACC Webinars of October 15 & 22 will be on The Journey of Mental Illness for Chaplains, Family Members, & Caretakers, presented by Kathleen Hagerty, CSJ, BCC. Mental illness is such an important area of pastoral concern. Please join us for this webinar series!
NACC 2015 Webinars**
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!
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
NACC Local Gatherings*
Please see the local gatherings scheduled for 2015. 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)
- October 17, 2015, Chicago, IL
- October 29, 2015, Pontiac, MI
- October 30, 2015, Denver, CO
- November 5, 2015, Cincinnati, OH
- November 6, 2015, Buffalo, NY
- November 17, 2015, Washington, DC area
Not many days left before Pastoral Care Week, October 25-31!
The theme of this year’s Pastoral Care Week, October 25-31, 2015, is “Spiritual Care Together.” For more information and resources, please go to: www.pastoralcareweek.org
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: Maritza Ramos-Pratt, Jane Chiamaka Onuoha (very young baby of our NACC member Michael Onuoha), Kathleen (Kate) Sullivan, Sandy Tiefenbrun (spouse of Anita Barni), Marie Coglianese, Nancy and Sheila Amrich (nieces-in-law of NACC member Sr. Paracleta Amrich), Isabelita Boquiren, Diana Annunziato (Mother-in-law of NACC staffer Jeanine Annunziato), Sister Patricia Watkins, GNSH, Rev. Gerald U. Onuoha, David Markiewicz (grandson of NACC member Roberta Markiewicz), Sister Stephanie Morales, FMI, Marybeth Harmon, Renato Fallico, Susan Balling, Maria Meneses, Chaplain Julia Mary Sweeney (mourning the death of her sister, Margaret Maureen Lewis, BA Honors), Sr. Sheila Prendeville, CPPS, Sister M. Dianna Hell, Sister Maria Theresa Hronec, Betty and Louis Skonieczny, Jim Castello, 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, 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, and Kelly Elizabeth Sexton (daughter of NACC member Melyssa Sexton).
Recent job postings*
The following positions have been posted recently on our Positions Available page. Please go to www.nacc.org/resources/positions/ for more information.
CHAPLAIN
Waterloo, Iowa – Covenant Medical Center
FULL TIME PRIEST-CHAPLAIN
St. Louis, MO – Barnes-Jewish Hospital
CPE RESIDENCY
La Crosse, WI – Gundersen Health System
SPIRITUAL CARE MINISTERS/HOSPITAL CHAPLAINS (Full-Time)
Green Bay, WI – Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS)
CPE SUPERVISOR
Melville, NY – Catholic Health Services (CHS) of Long Island
PRIEST CHAPLAIN (Full-time)
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV – Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Hospitals
CHAPLAINS
Central Ohio – Mount Carmel Health System
SPIRITUAL CARE OPPORTUNITIES
Pennsylvania – Geisinger Health System
