Click on the headline to read the expanded article. Send your thoughts to [email protected] .
January 13, 2020
Katherine Higgins
Director of Communities of Practice
As I have spent the last two and a half years travelling and visiting throughout our organization, I have become convinced that the strength of our organization depends on the strength of our connections. The soul work of spiritual care and education requires that we tend to our own souls and spirits and education, and nurturing the connections with our colleagues is vital to this endeavor.

Communities of Practice provide us with a powerful and flexible frame to support and develop our vital connections with colleagues. Through them we dream together, we solve problems, we risk, and we grow. I'm a passionate believer in the power of CoPs to strengthen our professional practice and identity. And so it was easy for me to say "Yes" when the opportunity came to serve our organization as Director of Communities of Practice. I am excited to devote my full time work to strengthening these connections that are so vital to our work. I see this work as a pastoral work that will require a healthy dose of creativity and administrative skills. We have got a lot of work to do, my friends!

On November 20-21, 2019, representatives for the Strategic Partners for Spiritual Care gathered in Cleveland, OH to continue to explore ideas to formalize their relationships. The strategic partners began dialoguing in early 2018 and provided the Joint Statement conveying the early contours of the discussion. In July 2018 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which they envisioned a formal relationship, such as a federation or trade group, to bolster collaboration and efficiency while maintaining their unique cultures and identities. Each association has a rich culture and history, often intertwined but also unique. While maintaining their distinctiveness, the partners want to align their operations to amplify their voice, increase efficiency, and strengthen their relationships in service of shaping the profession. The April 2019 Progress Report #1 established that "The envisioned entity is being designed to accomplish both outward purposes for common efforts in advocacy, research, and marketing; and inward purposes for collaboration on certification, ethics, and other concerns for mutual benefit." Over the past months, our leaders continued these discussions.

Every year ACPE members fill out a form for Ethical Conduct Accountability. The online form is now available. Please submit the form by February 14. Thank you.

ACPE Certified Educators Russell Haden Davis and Alexander Tartaglia oversee the only ACPE-accredited program that has integrated CPE into an academic curriculum. Their article, " Integrating Clinical Pastoral Education into a Master's Degree Program at Virginia Commonwealth University" reflects on the program in the Journal of Reflective Practice

2020 Call for Poster Proposals: Deadline this Friday
2020Logo-cropped
On behalf of the Partners for Professional Excellence in Spiritual Care, the Education Subcommittee invites submission of proposals for poster presentations at our 2020 Conference, May 11 - 14, at the Huntington Conference Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Posters related to our theme and objectives will be given strong consideration during the selection process. 

Submission deadline: Friday, January 17, 2020

Final Accreditation Fee Reconciliation
The January Accreditation Fee invoices will be mailed this week. This invoice will be a final reconciliation for previously paid 2019 accreditation fees, based on student units registered by December 31, 2019. Registered means the unit has ended and credit has been assigned in the database. If the balance results in a credit, the credit will be applied to the next accreditation fee invoice for you center, which will be sent next quarter. All centers will receive an Accreditation Fee invoice in January, even if it is a zero or a credit balance. A 2019 student roster will be attached to your invoice.
 
Beginning in 2020, ACPE will no longer bill on anticipated student units, eliminating the need for further reconciliation. Centers will receive quarterly invoices (April, July, October, and January) for accreditation fees, based on student units completed in the prior quarter (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec).
 
Please contact ACPE at [email protected] with inquiries regarding billing or association fees.
A series of hour-long webinars are sponsored by Transforming Chaplaincy and ACPE. These webinars are designed to help leaders and early-career professionals strategize on advancing chaplaincy, both within their own institutions and as a profession. 

Chaplain Documentation: Best Practices and Emerging Research 
January 27, 2:00 - 3:00pm (EST)

February 6, 4:00 - 5:00pm (EST)

February 25, 1:00 - 2:00pm CST

It is well known that patients who experience significant medical illness often draw upon a variety of coping mechanisms, such as spirituality, to adjust to their new life. Laures-Gore et al., recently showed that patients with post-stroke aphasia (a language disorder affecting speaking, listening, reading, and writing) consider spirituality a positive coping mechanism and source of healing. Because spirituality plays a significant role in the aphasia recovery process, it is important to study whether spiritual healthcare providers both in and out of the healthcare system are trained to address spiritual needs in a way that patients with aphasia can comprehend and process. This study seeks to better understand whether spiritual healthcare providers are aware of and trained to communicate with patients who have aphasia.

Who? What? When? Images from ACPE's Past
Do you recognize these folks or the event in the photo above? Send us a note at  [email protected]

Last week's photo featured Paula Teague and Jenny Lannom at the 2004 annual conference in Portland, ME.

Have any photos from your personal ACPE archive that you would like to share? Send them to [email protected] to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
In Case You Missed It
Pam Lazor Accreditation Chair
Last month, I highlighted in my  article some of the exciting changes with the new Accreditation Process that went into effect January 1, 2020. During the busy holiday season, you may have missed the news so please take some time to review the important updates below.
 
No more Annual Reports (Yay!): Your center's accreditation portfolio will replace your annual report. Throughout each year, you will update your center's portfolio regularly with relevant changes as you update your center's materials; therefore, an annual report is no longer required. Each year, an Accreditation Portfolio Reviewer will review your center's portfolio. Year 3 and year 6 will be in-depth reviews (please see the Master Center List with Review Dates and Categories on the New Accreditation SharePoint Site for your center's new review years). Each year in between there will be a deep dive into a particular Standard/s. In 2020, the focus is simply on completing your center's portfolio (no deep dive in 2020). Toward the end of 2020, you will be notified regarding the Standard/s that will be focused on for a deep dive in 2121 (but that's a long way off, so just fyi at this time).

Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling Vol. 73, No. 4, December 1, 2019 is now available online.

ACPE is a proud sponsor of the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling (JPC&C). Did you know that a benefit of your membership in ACPE is free online access to JPC&C?

Check out their latest volume by logging into the website under the Resources tab on the ACPE website.

Access the JPCC
SCT Logo
A good theory is key to achieving the goals of ACPE and the outcomes of CPE.

The goal of the training is to offer individuals an opportunity at the SCT® training level of "Exploring SCT®" for their own development, to learn the SCT® theoretical approach well enough to compare it to their own, and to use elements of theory and technique in their current CPE practice.

Learn more
New Accreditation Process: Sign-up for Q&A Sessions

Join us for New Accreditation Process Q&A Sessions. The sessions are your opportunity to ask anything about the new process or building your center's accreditation portfolio.

Dates are currently posted through the new year. The sessions are 12:00pm to 1:00pm eastern time on the assigned days. The number of participants for each session is limited to ensure individual questions are addressed. 

Read more
Weekly Highlights
This Week's Reflection
ACPE Executive Director Trace Haythorn had the privilege of spending a week in retreat with colleagues in ministry in the heart of Chicago. One member of the group shared the following poem, which may conjure familiar images for many who live near the "miracle mile" or have enjoyed a visit:
Chicago and December
By W. S. Di Piero

Trying to find my roost
one lidded, late afternoon,
the consolation of color
worked up like neediness,
like craving chocolate,
I'm at Art Institute favorites:
Velasquez's "Servant,"
her bashful attention fixed
to place things just right,
Beckmann's "Self-Portrait,"
whose fishy fingers seem
never to do a day's work,
the great stone lions outside
monumentally pissed
by jumbo wreaths and ribbons
municipal good cheer
yoked around their heads.
Mealy mist. Furred air.
I walk north across
the river, Christmas lights
crushed on skyscraper glass,
bling stringing Michigan Ave.,
sunlight's last-gasp sighing
through the artless fog.
Vague fatigued promise hangs
in the low darkened sky
when bunched scrawny starlings
rattle up from trees,
switchback and snag
like tossed rags dressing
the bare wintering branches,
black-on-black shining,
and I'm in a moment
more like a fore-moment:
from the sidewalk, watching them
poised without purpose,
I feel lifted inside the common
hazards and orders of things
when from their stillness,
the formal, aimless, not-waiting birds
erupt again, clap, elated weathermaking
wing-clouds changing,
smithereened back and forth,
now already gone to follow
the river's running course.

Source: Poetry (June 2006)
extra
More and more articles are appearing about the Australian fires, the way they serve as a powerful and painful example of climate change, human negligence, and the rising furor of young people particularly (though lots of folks from every generation) demanding change. Amidst all of this, the better angels of human nature have also shown themselves. Here's a great story from The Guardian about neighbors and strangers caring for one another:

January 13 
Maghi (Sikhism)
Maghi is the day in which Sikhs commemorate the martyrdom of the Forty Immortals, followers of Guru Gobind Singh, who were all killed while fighting a Mughal army. On this day, many Sikhs gather in Muktsar, India, the original site where Gobind Singh blessed the martyrs and cremated their bodies. Sikhs visit their places of worship (gurdwaras) and listen to hymns (kirtan).

January 15 
Makar Sankranti (Hinduism)
Seasonal celebration marking turning of the sun toward the north.

January 17 
Blessing of the Animals (Christianity)
Saint Anthony, the Patron Saint of the Animal Kingdom, is recognized on this day. Similar to St. Francis of Assisi's feast day, animals are welcome and blessed at many church services.

January 19 
World Religion Day (Bahá'í)
Observance to proclaim the oneness of religion and the belief that world religion will unify the peoples of the earth.

Feast of Theophany (Orthodox Christianity)
The Orthodox Church marks this day as the anniversary of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. For the Feast of Theophany, Orthodox Christians reflect on their own baptism and salvation.

January 20 
Timkat (Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity)
Timkat is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany: the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. During this celebration, there is a ritual reenactment of the baptism and a procession with the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant. The clergy often dress in bright robes, carrying colorful umbrellas, and sing and dance as they escort the Tabot back to the church.
Visit the ACPE website for more dates and information. 
Community of Practice Event Highlights 
Registration is now open for the following Community of Practice events: 

Event
Location
Date
REM Community of Practice 2020 Invitational Atlanta, GA February 6 - 8
College Corner, OH February 27 - 28
Spring Symposium on Supervision San Diego, CA April 20 - 22

  • Retired ACPE Certified Educator, Rev. Gordon "Gordy" Grimm, age 86, passed away peacefully on January 5 at Ecumen in North Branch. He was born in Sac City, IA, and was a graduate of Luther College and Luther Theological Seminary.
Visit the ACPE Memorials and Milestones page for more details. Please email [email protected] to add someone to our thoughts.
This Week's Career Opportunities & Residency/CEC Openings
Career Opportunities
Position
Center/Organization

Location Posting Date
Certified Educator University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA 1/3/20
Pastoral Care Team Adrian Dominican Sisters Adrian, MI 1/3/20
Assistant/Associate Professor and Program Director United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities St. Paul, MN 1/3/20
Staff Chaplain  Gundersen Lutheran Health System La Crosse, WI 1/3/20
Certified Educator Sanford Health Fargo, ND 12/20/19
Certified Educator Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University  Baton Rouge, LA 12/20/19
Part-time Psychotherapist Milford Pastoral Counseling Milford, CT 11/15/19

Residency/CEC/CPE Unit Openings

Position
Center/Organization

Location
Posting Date
CPE Residency WellSpan Health York, PA 1/10/20
2020-2021 CPE Residency Kettering Health Network Dayton, OH 1/10/20
CPE Residency St. Mary's Medical Center Huntington, WV 1/10/20
Residency Program Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Temple, TX 1/10/20
Yearlong Residency Sutter California Pacific Medical Center San Francisco, CA 1/10/20
Residency 2020-2021 UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Des Moines, IA 1/10/20
CPE Residency Deaconess Hospital  Evansville, IN 1/10/20
CPE Residency BayCare Spiritual Care Clearwater, FL 1/3/20
Level 1/Level 2 CPE The Christ Hospital Cincinnati, OH 12/20/19
Summer CPE Program St. Cloud Hospital St. Cloud, MN 12/13/19
2019-2020 Residency Program Mayo Clinic Health System Eau Claire, WI 12/13/19
Residency Program Ascension Seton Austin, TX 12/13/19
Residency Program Gundersen Health System La Crosse, WI 12/13/19
Immediate Residency Opening Mayo Clinic Hospital  Rochester, MN 12/13/19
Residency Program Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center Toledo, OH 12/6/19
Residency Program St. Luke's University Hospital Bethlehem, PA 12/2/19
Residency Program East Jefferson General Hospital Metairie, LA 12/2/19
Residency Program St Thomas/Nashville CPE Partnership
Nashville, TN 11/22/19
Second-Year Post-Masters Fellowship
Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics
White City, OR 11/22/19
Yearlong Residency Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center Columbus, OH 11/15/19
Residency 2020-2021 CHRISTUS Health Corpus Christi, TX
San Antonio, TX
Tyler, TX
11/15/19
Level I and Level II CPE University Medical Center, New Orleans New Orleans, LA 11/15/19
Residency 2020-2021 Mayo Clinic Hospital  Rochester, MN 11/15/19
Yearlong Residency CHI Memorial Chattanooga, TN 11/8/19
Yearlong Residency Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Tallahassee, FL 11/8/19
Yearlong Residency Albert Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, PA 11/1/19
Yearlong Residency Mount Sinai Center for Spirituality and Health New York, NY 10/11/19
1st & 2nd Year Residencies
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, OH
9/13/19

Visit the ACPE website for a complete list of Career Opportunities and Residency/CEC Openings Want to advertise with ACPE? Learn more.
Other Happenings This Week

Event
Location
Date
Conyers, GA
February 20 - 23, 2020
San Diego, CA
March 18, 2020
Intensive Bioethics Course Houston, TX April 20 - 24, 2020
Transforming Chaplaincy
Online Winter, Spring and Fall sessions
Chaplaincy Innovation Lab
Online N/A
Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Care Education and Leadership
Union Theological Seminary/Online Rolling Enrollment
San Francisco Theological Seminary/Online
Rolling Enrollment

ACPE members and centers may post "happenings" in the weekly newsletter. ACPE does not accredit, review, or endorse the events listed above. Send your "happening" to [email protected].
ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education
(404) 320-1472 | Email | Website 
ACPE is the premier, Department of Education-recognized organization that provides the highest quality CPE programs for spiritual care professionals of any faith and in any setting. We do this through a rigorous accreditation and certification process for centers and educators that provide CPE. The depth of our training enables students to realize their full potential to strengthen the spiritual health of people in their care as well as themselves. 

ACPE is also the professional home of a growing number of spiritually integrated psychotherapists and pastoral counselors. ACPE supports Psychotherapist and Practitioner members through continuing education programs, networking, and leadership development. 

STAY CONNECTED: