NACC Now

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

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1.  Executive Director’s Reflection

2.  SRTs trained at NACC

3.  Status of Fall-2008 Certification Applications & Supportive Materials

4.  Reminder: Narrative Statements for Certification Applications due June 1, 2008!

5.  Candidates for at-large position for the NACC Board of Directors named

6.  Are you deciding about the 2009 Spiritual Care Collaborative Summit?

7.  Healing Tree: A request for prayers

8.  Recent job postings

9.  Please go to the NACC web-link for info on these local gatherings

1. Executive Director’s Reflection

This past week I had the privilege to spend time in New England and New York with three groups of chaplains/spiritual care professionals. These exchanges provided me with valuable perspectives about you, our very diverse members, and the professional settings within which you minister.

These gatherings also had me reflecting on the importance of local church in knowing and supporting their chaplains. As you recall, goal two of the NACC strategic plan is to “strengthen the NACC’s relationships within the Catholic Church,” and its third objective is “to enhance relationships with Catholic bishops on the local level.” Over the past couple weeks the NACC has encountered situations regarding, or I have been in settings where chaplains have discussed, ecclesiastical endorsement, the desire for more connection to their local dioceses, and the need for some type of commissioning of chaplains by their local ordinary. In visiting the New England and New York area, I was struck by the diocesan structure and support for chaplains of Boston, Brooklyn, and Long Island. We realize that no one structure fits every diocese, yet chaplains have expressed the need for more connection with and a sense of mission from their local church.

Let me share my experiences out east… >(continue reading at our website)

2. SRTs trained at NACC

Sponsored by the NACC for the second year, the American Red Cross Spiritual Care Response Team training was held prior to the 2008 National Conference at the Sheridan, Indianapolis, April 4-5, 2008. Twenty-two people were trained including the following board certified NACC chaplains:

Linda Amato, MI / Kay Berrens, MI / Valerie Carlton, WA / Nancy Cook, CA
David Fitzgerald, MO / Theresa Gregoire, CO / Alice Hennessy, PA / Joan Horgan, MA
Louizette Labbe, LA / Caterina Mako, NJ / Thomas Meier, IN / Jan Metz, OH
William Mich, WA / Rev. Christudas Nayak, LA / Rev. Christopher Okoli, NY
Rosemary Partridge, CO / Judith Shemkovitz, OH

We congratulate them on their training and we especially thank Catholic Family Life Insurance and Providence Health & Services for their support in helping to provide the training!

3. Status of Fall-2008 Certification Applications & Supportive Materials

We are currently working on preliminary review of the Certification Applications and Supportive Materials. As we move forward, we ask that you please do not make any hotel/travel reservations until you are notified that you qualify for an interview in October 4-5, 2008. Materials will be reviewed in the order they were received. For questions, please contact Rose Mary Blanco-Alvarado at .

4. Reminder: Narrative Statements for Certification Applications due June 1, 2008!

The Narrative Statement (the 10-page statement documenting how you meet each of the competencies required for certification citing each Standard, section 300, by number) is due in the NACC National Office by June 1, 2008.

5. Candidates for at-large position for the NACC Board of Directors named

We are very grateful to the following NACC members for being candidates for the at-large position for the NACC Board of Directors: James Castello, Vicki Farley, Blair Holtey, Fr. Dean Marek, Marie Polhamus, Bro. Ed Smink, and Fr. Baaju Izuchi, CSSp. Their statements, photos, and bios will be available in the next NACC Now. Their background and NACC voting procedures will appear in the July-August Vision. What a generous gift to NACC!

6. Are you deciding about the 2009 Spiritual Care Collaborative Summit?

You should have gotten a special e-mail announcement with information about the SCC Summit 2009, February 1-4, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. Remember that Sunday, February 1, 2009 the Super Bowl is in Tampa. Early booking of flights to Orlando will keep your airfares more reasonable. For more information, go to www.spiritualcarecollaborative.org/scc_summit09.asp.

7. Healing Tree: A request for prayers

Please continue to keep in prayer Sr. Paula Jacobs, SSM (terminal cancer), Dennis Eldridge (Kathy’s husband for cancer treatment), Jeanne Childs (surgery on May 13), Sr. Nancy Flaig, OSB (chemo treatment for cancer), Sr. Mary Skopal, SSJ (recovering from back surgery), Sr. Mary Anna Euring, OP (bout with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), and Sr. Alice Smitherman, OSB (recovering from heart surgery).

8. Recent job postings

The following positions have been posted in the last two weeks. Please go to www.nacc.org/positions/available.asp for more information about them.

DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL CARE
Jamestown, ND - Ave Maria Village (formerly Central Dakota Village)

CHAPLAIN/SPIRITUAL CARE COORDINATOR
Rockford, IL - Heartland Hospice of Rockford

PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Tucson, AZ - Carondelet Health Network

CATHOLIC PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Miami, FL - Catholic Health Services’ new St. Catherine’s West facility

PRIEST CHAPLAIN
Baltimore, MD - St. Joseph Medical Center

EVENING CLINICAL CHAPLAIN
Binghamton, NY - Our Lady of Lourdes

STAFF CHAPLAIN
Yonkers, NY - St. John’s-Riverside Hospital

STAFF CHAPLAIN, FULL-TIME
Baltimore, MD - Bon Secours Baltimore Health System

9. Please go to the NACC web-link for these local gatherings

Our local gathering list is growing. Therefore, we ask you to use our NACC web-link www.nacc.org/resources/local.asp for more information on:

·  Irvine, CA: June 20, 2008

·  San Francisco, CA: June 25, 2008

·  Omaha, NE: July 17, 2008

·  Portland, OR, September 19-20, 2008

·  Alexandria, MN, September 25-26, 2008

·  Green Lake, WI, October 26-28, 2008

·  St. Louis, MO, November 5, 2008

·  Baltimore, MD, November 12, 2008

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This e-newsletter is a publication of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and is ©2008.

National Association of Catholic Chaplains

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