AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 9, NUMBER I JUNE, 2004
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Dear Colleagues:
The warmth of spring and the new life beginning to blossom reminds me of some new possibilities that are bursting forth with ACCA.
First, we are beginning to embark on a road that no one has traveled. We are in the process of being the first professional affiliate to have professional chaplains certified by the American Correctional Association [ACA]. There has been much discussion about this at national meetings during the past two years. While ACA has been looking to expand its certification process, we have been working toward strengthening standards and recognition of diversity in professional chaplaincy. ACA has now asked us to join their certification process and I will soon sign an Agreement in Principle that will put this in place. In particular, I want to thank the Certification Committee and its chair, Larry Coleman, for their outstanding job in coordinating this work with the ACA.
Secondly, in an effort to increase membership and visibility, Gary Friedman, Robert Toll, and I presented a workshop on religious issues at the American Jail Association's national 'Expo' in Birmingham, Alabama. Hopefully, sheriffs and administrators will learn the importance of having qualified chaplains in their jails and with more jail chaplains joining us, we will have a greater voice in corrections.
Finally, DONOT FORGET TO VOTE FOR YOUR ACCA OFFICERS. Members will soon be receiving ballots by mail and we ask that you return them in a timely manner.
To those who will be attending our summer meetings, see ya in the WindyCity! For those unable to be there, please pray for us and I do hope to see you whenever the opportunity arises.
Peace Always,
Paul E. Rogers
President
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AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION
CONGRESS OF CORRECTION
JULY 31ST AUGUST 5TH
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS NAVY PIER
FUTURE ACA/ACCA MEETINGS
Jan. 10 12, 2005 Phoenix
Aug. 7 11, 2005 Baltimore
Jan. 30 Feb 1, 2006 Nashville
Aug. 13 17, 2006 Charlotte
Jan. 22 24, 2007 Tampa
Aug. 12 16, 2007 Kansas City
AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
PAGE 2
PRESIDENTREGIONAL MANAGERS
Paul Rogers (WI)Northeast.
thony Bruno
9203246298anthonybruno@po. state. ct. us
FIRST VICEPRESIDENT8606927577
Judith Coleman (PA)Southeast.
aJeehah Khabeer
SECOND VICEPRESIDENT4046242200
James Jacobson (OR)Central:
net CaseyAllen
SECRETARYjcaseyallen @igs. doc. state. in. us
Vance Drum (TX)3172493387 X433
South Central:
9366367321Don Duncan
TREASURER
A. J. Sabree (GA)4057528029
Southwest:
4046567358Ira Book
PAST PRESIDENT
Doris J. WoodruffFilbey (IN)2092744911 X6816
Northwest.
3172335236Bill Peck
COMMITTEES5095299512
Communications
Gary Friedman (WA)NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
ill Peck
2069850577834 Boyer Avenue, Walla Walla, WA99362
Certification
Larry Coleman (PA)FOUNDED1885
7177806812Affiliate of the American Correctional Association
MembershipWEBSITE:
Vance Drum (TX)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
9366367321
ProgramMinutes3
Judith Coleman (PA)
egional Reports3
7172309898
StandardsCommittee Reports4
James Jacobson (OR)
nomination Reports5
5033782333
ConstitutionNew Business5
Doris WoodruffFilbey (IN)
eature Articles6
3172335236
Research and DevelopmentEditorial7
Don Duncan (OK)
hicago Congress Schedule 7
4057528029
DISCLAIMER: The ACCA Newsletter is an open forum newsletter. It is intended as an information source for all who are engagedin chaplaincy to incarcerated persons. ACCA does not endorse the projects, positions, or organizations which may be noted in this letter..
AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
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American Correctional Chaplains Association
MEMBER BUSINESS MEETING
DRAFT MINUTES (UNOFFICIAL)
January 11, 2004 1:003:00 p.m. New Orleans, Louisiana
PRESENT: Paul Rogers (Chair), Judith Coleman, James Jacobson, A. J. Sabree, Vance Drum, Doris WoodruffFilbey, Larry Coleman, Anthony J. Bruno, Alvin Worthley, Dan Williams, Janet CaseyAllen, Mary Lou Schnitzer, Charles Thompson, Robert R. Schulze, Thomas R. Houle, Margaret Graziano, Charles A. Tolbert, Wajeehah Khabeer, Steven E. Thomas, Gary Friedman, Ira Book, Glenn Morrison, Gary Pearce, Ray Anderson, Roger Mitchell and John Niemela.
CALL TO ORDER:: President Rogers called the Meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
PRAYER:. Wajeehah Khabeer led the group in prayer.
QUORUM:. It was announced by Judith Coleman that a quorum was present.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(1) The ACA Prayer and Meditation Room will be at CC Room 342. Glenn Morrison distributed a sign up for helping staff the Prayer Room.
(2) The Southeast Region's new Regional Manager is Wajeehah Khabeer. Thanks for Woodrow Hudson for his service in the past.
(3) The Southwest Region's new Regional Manager is Ira Book. Thanks for Cecelia Langford for her service in the past.
(4) ACA Committee Memberships. It was announced that James Jacobson is on the Ethics Committee. Steven Thomas is on the Restorative Justice and Victims Rights Committees. Anthony Bruno is on the Legal Issues Committee. Paul Rogers, Vance Drum and Doris WoodruffFilbey are on the Religion and Faithbased Services Committee. Steve Hall is on the Military Committee. Dale Hale is on the Parole Committee. ACA committee members need to be present for meetings, per ACA President Charles Kehoe.
MINUTES:: James Jacobson moved, second by Larry Coleman, that the minutes of August 10, 2003, be approved with the following rewording: In the Announcements, "Charles Tolbert reported that 20 ACCA Tshirts have been sold as an ACCA fundraiser. They are sold by sizes. Cost to us has been $415.00." Motion passed.
TREASURER'S REPORT: A J Sabree reported in a detailed written report. A summary is as follows.
Total Assets $ 8,558.79
Total Income 17,718.04
Total Expenses 17,757.40
Total Balance Forward $ 8,598.15
Motion by Anthony Bruno, second by Steven Thomas, to approved Treasurer's Report. Passed.
AUDIT COMMITTEE: Charles Thompson and Anthony Bruno will report in August 2004.
NORTHEAST REGION: Northeast Regional Manager Anthony Bruno reported in a written report as follows.
Elections for Regional Manager and Associate Regional Manger were conducted in August 2003. Joanne Torma, who was Administrator of Religion and Volunteer Services for the Pennsylvania Department of Correction, was in charge of the Election Committee. One of her employees was the official 11 counter" of the ballots. Voting was by mail. The results of the election are as follows:
Rev. Anthony J. Bruno of Connecticut was reelected as the Regional Manager.
Elder Mark Allen of Connecticut was elected as the Associate Regional Manager.
Rev. Bruno then reappointed Rev. David Bowen of Pennsylvania as the Registrar and Pat Ash of Maryland as the Recorder. The unsuccessful candidates for office, Gloria Askew and Jacqueline Sullivan, will be part of the planning committee for the annual regional training conference.
The Northeast ACCA Regional Training Conference will be held on May 1719, 2004, at San Alfonso Retreat House in Long Branch, NJ. The New Jersey Commissioner of Correction has indicated that he will encourage his chaplains to attend and also will personally visit us at the Conference. The program has not yet been finalized.
I will be making a new membership appeal to all the State Directors of Religious Services concurrent with the mailings for the Regional Conference. Membership in the region seems to be constant. I am very pleased to report that Connecticut has 21 ACCA members out of a total of 59 chaplains (35%). I think this is a significant percentage. I am unable to compute the percentage in our other Northeast States because I do not know the total number of chaplains in each state, only the number of ACCA members.
Checkbook balance (January 7, 2004): $2,866.58)
SOUTHEAST REGION: The Southeast Region changed regional managers. Wajeehah Khabeer was appointed as the new regional manager. Chaplains in Georgia had a cut of 47 chaplains. Also hours were cut.
There will be a regional conference on May 2223, 2004 at CascadesUnitedMethodistChurch in Atlanta.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:Vance Drum reported for Regional Manager Don Duncan. The South Central Region met on September 1517, 2003, at the Biltmore Hotel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The themes of the conference were (1) Chaplains Ministering in Crisis, and (2) Celebrating Religious Holy Days in a Correctional Setting.
Speakers were Chaplain Poe of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and Chaplain Joe Williams, formerly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They spoke on the ministry of chaplains at the MurrahFederalBuilding bombing in Oklahoma City, and ministry at Ground Zero in New York City.
Faith group representatives from Islamic, Jewish and Christian groups presented information on celebrating religious holy days in a correctional setting.
At the evening banquet Oklahoma State Senator Scott Pruitt spoke on the subject of Faith Based Initiatives.
The 2004 annual regional conference will be in New Mexico at a date in the fall to be announced.
AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
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CENTRAL REGION: Regional Manager Janet CaseyAllen reported. The theme for a spring 2004 regional conference will be "Reaching Beyond Your Boundaries." Dale Hale is working on securing speakers. Northwood Christian Church in Indianapolis has offered their facility to host the conference.
NORTHWEST REGION: James Jacobson reported. There have been three planning meetings held. The conference will be held at the PacificBeachConferenceCenter in Washington. The dates are May 1013, 2004. The theme is "Transitional Ministry."
SOUTHWEST REGION: Ira Book of California is the newly appointed regional manager. Ira spoke about the value of state associations, with particular reference to the chaplains association in California. The theme of the California State Conference is "Challenges to Faith and Function."
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE:. ACCA Secretary Vance Drum reported. There are currently a total of 401 ACCA members. Of that number, 347 are Professional members; 48 are Associate members; and 6 are Affiliate members.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Doris WoodruffFilbey reported. Members of this ad hoc committee are Doris WoodruffFilbey (chair, Central Region), James Jacobson (Northwest Region), Vance Drum (South Central Region), Wajeehah Khabeer (Southeast Region), Anthony Bruno (Northeast Region), and Charles Thompson (Central Region). Officers for the 20042006 term will be elected by mail ballot of ACCA members in the Summer of 2004.
PROGRAM AND HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE: Judith Coleman provided a written report:
Our committee has been very busy via email, but we won't meet at this conference until after the Executive Committee has met so this report is not complete.
We have set up a hospitality area in the ICAN ART room with refreshments and chairs. We are hoping that chaplains will socialize there.
Our Interfaith Gathering has three ACA officials taking leadership rolesJudge Betty Green, President Charles Kehoe, and Executive Director Jim Gondles, Jr. There is always controversy about these events, but at the same time they seem to be well received and improve our communication with ACA. Judith indicated that although we seem to be of two minds about the service, with some conflicting thoughts, a positive note is that the service demonstrates that chaplains can find common ground and work together. Thanks to Janet CaseyAllen and Roger Mitchell for assistance on this. I am the speaker this time. But the committee has a rabbi or imam in mind for the August Chicago Interfaith. Tony Bruno is working on this.
Our ACA workshop program this winter is on Recovery and Juveniles. It was held at 2:30 p.m.Saturday, January 10, 2004, in the Convention Center. It featured Helen Osak and Janet CaseyAilen. Fiftyfour were in attendance. Evaluations were positive.
The committee also has a workshop planned for Chicago, arranged by Janet CaseyAllen, which we hoped to have approved.
We will be selecting the Chaplaincy C.O.P. award at our committee meeting this winter. More applications are needed.
We have the Prayer Luncheon for Chicago partly planned, and Gwendolyn Chun, ACA presidentelect, will be our keynote speaker. ICAN is preparing centerpieces. We need donations and grants to cover the cost of the event. We will be selling ads in the booklet again. Suggestions: (1) solicit donations from endorsers (A[ Worthley [ has a list of endorsers), and (2) ACCA Executive Council members come up with $100 donations.
I myself have been working on the BYLAWS COMMITTEE and have come up with some recommended changes. I was pleased to have an article published in the December 2003 Corrections Today.
We have also planned a chaplaincy seminar on Monday afternoon.
More applications are
I will email the decisions made by Our committee at this winter conference to the secretary Vance Drum, to be included in a report to the membership. The committee appreciates any and all suggestions and comments.
Judith Coleman reported for Dale Hale that work on the Executive Director (or Executive Secretary) position has been done. A job description has been drafted. Funding is needed for the position to be filled.
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE: Gary Friedman reported. The art exhibit is traveling the country. Gary suggested purchasing a new case for the exhibit.
There have been three good articles on chaplaincy in Corrections Today, for which we are thankful.
Robert Toll, Gary Friedman and Paul Rogers plan to attend the American Jail Association meeting in April 2004.
The ACCA newsletter will be produced by the Communications Committee. Chaplain Bill Peck of WashingtonState will serve as part of an editorial team with the Committee.
A religious jewelry and medallion draft catalog was distributed, from Sidney Charles Direct. Gary offered to supply the Jewish Prisoner Services International mailing list for mailing the catalog.
Gary asked that ACCA webmaster George Bryant be provided a scholarship to attend the ACAIACCA Congress in Chicago. President Paul Rogers indicated his approval of the scholarship.
It was agreed that the Executive Council would have a social night out at dinner on Tuesday night.
STANDARDS COMMITTEE: Doris WoodruffFilbey reported. The standard for Chaplaincy Central Office Administration was submitted to the ACA Standards Committee. The ACA Committee suggested changes. The reworked standard will be resubmitted in Chicago in July 2004.
FINANCIAL COMMITTEE: Motion by Judith Coleman, second by James Jacobson, to raise ACCA annual Professional dues to $50. After discussion, there was a motion by Larry Coleman, second by Doris WoodruffFilbey, to table the original motion, and refer it back to the Finance Committee. Passed.
501(c)3. Gary Friedman asked about our 501(c)3 status. Are our reports up to date? Where are we incorporated? Larry Coleman indicated we were incorporated in New York
AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
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CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS COMMITTEE:Doris WoodruffFilbey reported. Certain constitutional changes were suggested. Motion by James Jacobson, second by Roger Mitchell, for the Constitution and Bylaws Committee to send to the Executive Committee proposed changes in preparation for mailing to the ACCA membership for approval. Passed. It was suggested that one mailing could be done for both the 2004 officer election and constitutional changes.
CERTIFICATION COMMITTEE:Larry Coleman reported. Changes in the process or standards for certification were approved by the Certification Committee in their meeting on January 10, 2004, as follows:
"Changes in the process of certification or certification standards must be developed by or proposed to the Certification Committee. Upon approval of the Certification Committee, the proposed change is reported to the Executive Council. The Executive Council may either endorse the proposed change or send the change back to the Certification Committee with comments. When endorsed by the Executive Council, the proposed change must be approved by a majority of the active, certified members voting by written ballot. Ballots are opened at the next regular meeting of the General Membership (Winter or Summer Meeting) by two certified chaplains, appointed by the president, who must be currently serving on the Certification Committee. Changes become effective at the announcement of the ballot results. Candidates for certification in process at the time of the change may choose to be certified on the basis of either the changed rules or the rules under which they began certification."
Larry also presented a proposal for a merged ACA/ACCA certification, which continues to be negotiated.
AMERICAN PROTESTANT CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION: President Roger Mitchell reported. The fellowship group met for a great evening meal on Saturday, January 10, 2004, provided by the Sheriff of the parish, at a wonderful seafood restaurant in the New Orleans area.
Also, the APCCA sponsored a worship service at the ACA on January 11, 2004, at 11:00 a.m.
AMERICAN CATHOLIC CORRECTIONAL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION:
President Robert Schulze provided a written report:
The Executive Committee of the ACCCA met January 810 at the Center of Jesus the Lord in New Orleans. Present were Robert Schulze, President; Mark Schmieder, Vice President; Thomas Houle, Treasurer; Mary D'Ambrogi, Secretary; Sharon Hull, Executive Secretary; Margaret Graziano, outgoing Certification Chair; Mary Lou Schnitzer, incoming Certification Chair; Anthony Bruno, Northeast Regional Vice President; Andrew Rivas, United States Catholic Bishops Conference representative; and Paul Rogers, ACCA President and Midwest Regional Vice President.
Among the issues discussed were the following,
(1) The Summer 2004 gathering will take place at XavierUniversity in Chicago, on July 2831. This year's theme is "Justice Ministers in Advocacy." The planning committee, appointed at last summer's Nashville gathering, is completing its work on agenda and the overall program.
(2) Officers Robert Schulze (President) and Mark Schmieder (Vice President) were reelected for a second term at the Nashville meeting. Treasurer Thomas Houle and Secretary Mary D'Ambrogi were reappointed to their respective roles.
(3) Sharon Hull was welcomed as the new Executive Secretary (pro tem). She begins a parttime position funded at present by funds approved by the full membership for the position search and setup of the office.
(4) As the ACCCA is affiliated and receives its certification from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a search is on to find a new bishop to succeed Bishop Gabino Zavala as liaison with the USCCB.
(5) The Nashvilleappointed committee to establish an ACCCA website has submitted its preliminary plans, and a site should be operative shortly.