Issue #215 – January 18, 2016
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(Items marked with a * are new or updated items)
NACC
1. Executive Director’s Reflection
2. DEADLINE FEBRUARY 16, 2016 – Initial Certification and Advanced Certification for Hospice Palliative Chaplain Application
3. We are preparing online editions of the ministry stories and NACC history
4. The January-February issue of Vision has been posted!
5. Would you consider writing an article on moral distress for the next Vision issue?
6. Scheduled NACC networking calls in January-February, 2016
NACC – 50 YEARS OF CONTINUING THE HEALING MINISTRY
7. Have you used our NEW website yet?
8. Mark your calendars for the NACC 2016 National Conference: April 22-25, 2016!
2016 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 22-25, 2016
9. Let others know about the possibility and value of a vendor table at the conference
10. Conference Registration and Payment Options
11. Roommate Referral Service
12. Preconference Day of Reflection will provide time for reflection and renewal
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
13. NACC World Day of the Sick prayers available on NACC website for download and use
14. Request: Interest in networking on: bodywork/massage, chiropractic, naturopathic, complementary/integrative backgrounds.
15. Request: Interest in networking on chaplaincy and behavioral health?
16. You can still sign up for this week’s NACC Webinar on Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy!
17. Also, here are resources for Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
18. Sign up today for February’s NACC Webinar on Research!
19. The first NACC 2016 Local Gathering
20. NACC member, Geralyn Cappabianca, MA, LPC, BCC, has book published
21. See helpful article in Health Progress on Viaticum as a “lost” sacrament.
22. Healing Tree: a request for prayers
23. Recent job postings
Executive Director’s Reflection*
The last line of yesterday’s Gospel of Cana (Jn. 2:1-11) was “Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.” It reminded me of the words from the last speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Mason Temple church in Memphis, Tennessee where he was speaking out about the injustices experienced by that city’s sanitation workers who were on strike due to poor working conditions and low pay.
His message moved to a wider horizon, his own life’s journey and purpose. He said
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything, I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.“
The opening words of yesterday’s reading from Isaiah 6:2, “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” also reminded me a lot about the unwillingness of Dr. King to be silent before injustice and need. Then reading yesterday’s Gospel (John 2:1-11), we find Mary not being silent either, but going to her Son when she saw a need. And what was Jesus’ reply? One of John’s many questions being posed by Jesus is offered, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?” (John 2:4). Some commentators note that this question both spoke to a timing issue (not yet), but also modeled for us what happens after the very understandable human question, “What does your concern have to do with me?” The response of justice and mercy impacts the event. Or, we could say, while we are daily confronted by the concerns and cries of others and ask ourselves, “How does this affect me?” it’s what we do with the question. We have the example of Jesus and Dr. King responding, as the concern of the other becomes theirs.
What lingers with me today is that the GLORY of God is mentioned both by Jesus and Dr. King as the result of their respective responses of outcry and outreach of compassion. So what does this say to me? Does seeing or manifesting God’s glory require of me to enlarge my heart, to speak out in the face of wrong, and to respond generously to the need noticed? Does this imply that only an act of soul-filled solidarity, as that of Jesus and Dr. King, makes possible the Glory of the Lord? If I remain mulling over the question, “What concern of that is mine?” and only wallow in my musing and languish in moral uncertainty, will I miss the Glory? Seems like that is the message here.
So how do I, do you, answer the question, “How does your concern affect me?”
Blessings on this day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
David A. Lichter, DMin
Executive Director
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 16, 2016 – Initial Certification and Advanced Certification for Hospice Palliative Chaplain Application*
We are currently accepting application binders for initial certification and advanced certification for the February 2016 deadline. Please note that February 15 falls on President’s Day, and there is no mail that day. For that reason, the deadline for application binders to be postmarked has been extended to February 16, 2016. If you have any questions or would like informational materials on initial or advanced certification, please contact Ramona Zeb at rzeb@nacc.org or call (414)483-4898 Ext. 304. Please keep our applicants and those considering Board Certification in your prayers.
We are preparing online editions of the ministry stories and NACC history*
Throughout 2015, NACC Now included in each issue a vignette of NACC history, and an NACC member’s reflection on chaplaincy ministry. We are in the process of compiling the reflections on ministry and the NACC historical moments into two separate PDF documents that will be placed on our website for your reading and use. We hope you find them helpful. We believe the ministry reflections document will be a very helpful resource for those who wonder what chaplaincy ministry is like, and can serve as an inspirational tool for those considering chaplaincy.
The January-February issue of Vision has been posted!*
In case you have not looked yet, please go to the new issue of Vision on Palliative Care. Now that our advanced certification program for palliative care and hospice has been up and running for more than a year, we thought it was time to build an issue around that theme. Click here to read about the journey to certification; palliative care and advance directives; pediatric palliative care; how to disabuse an oncologist of myths about palliative care; and much more.
Would you consider writing an article on moral distress for the next Vision issue?*
The March-April issue of Vision will have a theme of moral distress, and we would like to solicit articles from our members. Possible aspects to cover include an overarching definition of the concept, and how it manifests in specific areas, for instance pediatrics, NICU, ICU, emergency medicine, ministry to veterans, etc. The deadline is Feb. 8. Please send a brief description of your idea to Vision editor David Lewellen at dlewellen@nacc.org.
Scheduled NACC networking calls in January-February, 2016*
Email notices have been sent to members that are on the specific networking call lists.
If you would like to participate or have not received an email for these or other networking calls, please contact Tim Charek (tcharek@nacc.org).
- Wednesday, January 20, at 11:00 a.m. Central Time – Deacon Members
- Thursday, January 21, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time – Chaplains in Outpatient Settings
- Wednesday, January 27, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time – State Liaisons
- Thursday, January 28, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time – State Liaisons
- Thursday, January 28, at 11:00 a.m. Central Time – Palliative Care/Hospice Setting
- Thursday, January 28, at 1:00 p.m. Central Time – Chaplains with Nursing Backgrounds (revised)
- Wednesday, February 3, at 11:00 a.m. Central Time – Directors of Departments
- Wednesday, February 3, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time – Chaplains in Long Term Care
Have you used our NEW website yet?*
We are excited to announce the launch of our new website!
If you haven’t already, please visit today at www.nacc.org!
We are still in the process of bringing pages and materials over from the old website so don’t be discouraged if you run into a missing page or item. We plan to have everything in place and working correctly by the end of the year, but until then, please use the search function, look for a likely place using the navigation menus, or ask for help (see below).
Our webmaster welcomes feedback about the site of any kind, as well as reports of missing items and broken links. You can send notes to Phil Paradowski at pparadowski@nacc.org. Please also contact him if you need help locating a resource or page from the old website.
A brief technical note: the new NACC website will not display correctly on obsolete versions of Internet Explorer (versions 8 and older). We recommend IE 9, 10, or 11, or even better, the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
A note on member login and credentials…
Please note that the former login system for Member Pages on the old website has been completely removed. NACC members will now use the new Web Portal to perform all member activities online: paying dues, registering for local events or the national conference, updating member information, and accessing any protected member-only content. To visit the NACC Members’ Web Portal, go to https://nationalcatholicwiassoc.wliinc32.com/Portal/PortalStartPage.aspx. Your username will be your membership number OR email address. Contact Phil for login assistance or follow the directions on the website.
2016 NATIONAL CONFERENCE APRIL 22-25, 2016
Mark your calendars for the NACC 2016 National Conference: April 22-25, 2016!
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 O’Hare near Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Let others know about the possibility and value of a vendor table at the conference*
At each of its national conferences the NACC sets aside space for exhibitors to display and sell items of interest to the conference attendees. Such items may include card, artwork, books, musical recordings and similar inspirational religious giftware. We provide this opportunity because conference attendees look for resources and services that contribute to the work they do as chaplains as well as their own self-care.
This conference supports the continuing professional development of our members. We invite you to participate in our conference by displaying your products and/or services via a tabletop exhibit. Know that your exhibit will enhance that development. Please seriously consider being a participant at this special event. If you are not a potential vendor yourself, but are aware of someone, or some organization, that may be interested in exhibiting at the conference, please pass this information to them, or else contact Andris Kursietis (akursietis@nacc.org) at the national office and provide him with contact information for the interested party.
We anticipate 400-450 attendees that will include chaplains, mission directors and other health care executives. The exhibitors for the 2016 conference will be located near the main ballroom where many major sessions will be held. This area will host coffee breaks.
Full exhibitor specifications and application materials can be found on the NACC website at www.nacc.org/conference/vendors. Vendors can register online by clicking on this LINK.
Conference Registration and Payment Options
There are three options for registering and paying for the Conference.
- Register online using the registration portal and pay with Visa or MasterCard.
- Register online using the registration portal and indicate you wish to be billed and will mail your payment.
- Register by completing a paper registration form and mail the form with your payment (check/money order) to the NACC office.
Roommate Referral Service
The NACC is pleased to again facilitate a Roommate Referral Service. Follow the link below to find out how to submit your information and get onto the list. We will send you a list of potential roommates. It will be up to you to contact individuals on the list to discuss the suitability of rooming together. The last date that names will be accepted is Wednesday, March 30, 2016.
To sign up for Roommate Referral click here.
Preconference Day of Reflection will provide time for reflection and renewal.
On Thursday, April 21, 2016, the preconference Day of Reflection will take place at the Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center in Techny, IL. The theme will be In the Making: A Spirituality of Creation, Call, and Engagement and will be led by Monica Meagher, MDiv. Please plan on joining your colleagues for this day. For more information go to: www.nacc.org/conference/day-of-reflection.
CHAPLAINCY NEWS, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS
NACC World Day of the Sick Prayers available on NACC website for download and use *
We are pleased to alert you to the new World Day of the Sick prayer cards. You will find both a prayer for the sick and a prayer for the caregiver, both are in English and Spanish. Please download and use as you would like. Here’s the webpage: www.nacc.org/resources/spirituality-and-prayer-resources/world-day-of-the-sick.
We are grateful again for the prayer for caregivers by our NACC member, Anne M. Windholz of Alexian Brothers Medical Centers. and the prayer of the sick by Mary Jo Balistreri (www.maryjobalistreripoet.com), the selection/editing work of David Lewellen and the NACC Editorial Advisory Panel, Bridget Hylak, our translator (www.ComeAliveUSA.com), and the design of Gina Rupic.
Request: Interest in networking on: bodywork/massage, chiropractic, naturopathic, complementary/integrative backgrounds.
We have a member who has expressed interest in networking with other members on complementary/integrative care, including bodywork/massage, chiropractic, naturopathic, and others. If you are interested in participating in networking calls on these topics, please contact Tim Charek (tcharek@nacc.org).
Request: Interest in networking on chaplaincy and behavioral health?*
We have a member who has expressed interest in networking with other members on behavioral health. If you are interested in participating in networking calls on this topic, please contact Tim Charek (tcharek@nacc.org).
You can still sign up for this week’s NACC Webinar!*
Thursday, January 21, 2016, 12:00-1:30 p.m. Central Time, What does the Jubilee Year of Mercy and Pope Francis’ insights of mercy have to offer our chaplaincy ministry? Presented by Felipe de J. Legarreta, PhD. To register online, please click on this LINK.
As you know, on December 8, 2015, the Catholic Church entered the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Given that you will be asked to help interpret this Jubilee of Mercy in your various pastoral settings, we thought it would be helpful to devote a webinar to the main themes of this Jubilee Year and explore their implications for our spiritual care ministry. In his Misericordiae Vultu, the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy and other writings, Pope Francis provides us rich teachings on mercy. Felipe Legarreta will share some of these insights, and potential implications for our chaplaincy ministry.
We are pleased that Felipe de J. Legarreta, PhD, Clinical Instructor, Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago, is able to be our presenter. Felipe has been offering presentations on this theme in the greater Chicagoland area, and is in the process also of preparing his materials for board certification with NACC. To learn more about Felipe Legarreta go to: blogs.luc.edu/ips/faculty-profile-felipe-legarreta-castillo/.
Also, here are resources for Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy*
The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy began on December 8, 2015, and is ending on Sunday, November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. Please go to the Vatican website to access the Jubilee Year’s wonderful webpages, including many resources. www.im.va/content/gdm/en.html. Those resources include:
• Pope Francis Prayer for Mercy. www.im.va/content/gdm/en/giubileo/preghiera.html
• The vibrant logo, rich with meaning. www.im.va/content/gdm/en/giubileo/logo.html
Also, rich in content was Pope Francis’ Papal Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Misericordia Vultus, promulgated April 11, 2015.
w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html
A summary of Misericordia Vultus can be found at:
www.news.va/en/news/summary-of-the-misericordiae-vultus-bull-of-indict
Sign up today for February’s NACC Webinar on Research!*
Thursday, February 18, 2016, 12:00-1:30 p.m. Central Time. How to Speed Read a Research Article: A Beginner’s Guide to Research Literacy, presented by LaVera Crawley, MD, MPH
Objectives: By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify the differences between types of research approaches (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods)
- Identify strategies for accessing research literature (introduction to literature databases and other strategies) and finding research articles relevant to chaplaincy or spiritual care (introduction to search strategies)
- Use a method for “speed reading” research articles (understanding how research literature is structured to allow for quickly gleaning the gist of an article).
To register online, please click on this LINK.
One of our new NACC Standards for Certification that will be implemented beginning with the February 15, 2017, application deadline is: 305:7 Articulate how primary research and research literature inform the profession of chaplaincy and one’s spiritual care practice. How do we prepare ourselves for this standard?
The research enterprise creates well over one million new articles annually. In any given health specialty profession, this could mean needing to keep up with tens of thousands of articles a year! Although the number of evidence-based chaplaincy articles published each year is still manageable, the task of keeping up can easily get out of hand if one adds searching the medical, nursing, social work, and other related professional literatures for studies that are relevant to providing spiritual care. What’s a chaplain to do?
This webinar is designed to provide chaplain viewers/listeners a strategy for learning how to find relevant research literature and to quickly peruse even the most complex published articles in a way that allows for a basic understanding of the purpose, methods, and findings of any study. A brief review of the basic understanding of types of research approaches will lay the groundwork for beginning inquirers. This is followed by a presentation on how to find and access research articles. Lastly, a “speed reading” method used by many physicians to keep up with the literature will be presented.
We are pleased that LaVera Crawley, MD, MPH, will be able to conduct this webinar. LaVera joined NACC in 2011 and is an ACPE Supervisory Candidate. She has served on the NACC Research Task Force and is now on the NACC Research Advisory Panel. For more than 30 years, LaVera has had successful careers in medicine and ethics, and academic research in health disparities in end-of-life care for which she received national and international recognition. LaVera received her MD from Meharry Medical College; completed her Family Medicine residency and chief residency at USCF; her MPH from UC Berkeley; an Ethics Fellowship at Stanford; and a Palliative Care Education Fellowship at Harvard. Along with her CPE supervisory work, she also serves on the Palliative Care Team at the Alta Bates Campus. As a Catholic lay woman, LaVera is active in the social justice programs in her parish.
The first NACC 2016 Local Gathering *
We have begun planning NACC local events for 2016. If you would like to consider hosting and helping plan an NACC local event during 2016, please contact Andris Kursietis (akursietis@nacc.org)
- Thursday, February 11, 2016, San Antonio, TX. Click here for details.
NACC member, Geralyn Cappabianca, MA, LPC, BCC, has book published*
Our NACC member, Geri Cappabianca, alerted us that she has just had published a book about hospital chaplaincy entitled, Memoirs of a Hospital Chaplain: I Stand Near the Door.
Geri is a staff chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, CT, and was the former Manager of Pastoral Care there until her semi-retirement last year that allowed her time to finish this book. In a letter to NACC, Geri wrote:
We are grateful to Geri for her commitment and passion to write this book. It will be a wonderful companion book to our NACC collection of chaplain encounters! Thank you, Geri!
See helpful article in Health Progress on Viaticum as a “lost” sacrament.*
The November-December issue of Health Progress contains an article titled “A ‘Lost’ Sacrament of the Church: Viaticum” by Jim Schellman, vice president of mission integration at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, LA. His call for reclaiming viaticum in treatment of the dying (as opposed to anointing of the sick) can be read here: https://www.chausa.org/publications/health-progress/article/november-december-2015/a-‘lost’-sacrament-of-the-church-viaticum
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: Albert Rinaldi, 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 recently deceased 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, 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.
For more information go to www.nacc.org/resources/positions.
CHAPLAIN RESIDENT
Olympia, Washington – Providence Health & Services
ONCOLOGY CHAPLAIN
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
CHAPLAIN
Ketchikan, Alaska – PeaceHealth’s Ketchikan Medical Center
SACRAMENTAL PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Austin, Texas – Seton Healthcare
PRIEST-CHAPLAIN (full-time)
Joliet, Illinois – Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center
CPE Residency & SES
La Crosse, Wisconsin – Gundersen Health System
PRIEST-CHAPLAIN (Full-time)
Dubuque, Iowa – Mercy Medical Center
CHAPLAIN (Full-time)
Lowell, Massachusetts – D’Youville Life and Wellness Community
CHAPLAIN (Full-time)
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin – Agnesian HealthCare
CHAPLAIN
North Vernon, Indiana – St Vincent’s Health
PRIEST CHAPLAIN (full-time)
Austin, Texas – Seton Healthcare Family
PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Hastings, Minnesota – Regina Senior Living
