Click on the headline to read the expanded article. Send your thoughts to [email protected] .
July 15, 2019
From the Executive Director's Desk: The Remarkable Joy of Interdisciplinarity
Trace Haythorn
Executive Director
Last week, I had the pleasure as serving as a member of the leadership team for an ISPEC program with Pacific Health Ministry, our ACPE Center in Honolulu. ISPEC is a program of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, founded by Dr. Christina Puchalski. The program brings together pairs or small groups from institutions, usually anchored by a spiritual care professional, to explore how we can more fully integrate spiritual care into our health care settings. Through work with case studies and standardized patients, teams not only develop new skills for assessing spiritual distress, they also deepen their knowledge and appreciation of one another. 
Continuing Education Taskforce Seeking Member Feedback and Ideas
Dawn Stary
Practitioner Member

The Continuing Education Taskforce of the Interim Psychotherapy Commission had our first meeting last week.  We heard an update from taskforce members on the plans for the upcoming October gathering at Kanuga, a place that has been so meaningful for years for many members who joined ACPE from the American Association for Pastoral Counselors. We also discussed the feedback shared regarding the recent webinar series on domestic violence and situational grief that Dr. Claire Bamberg and I co-facilitated earlier in the summer.

Community of Practice Manual Q&A Sessions
Barbara Bullock
Barbara Bullock
PWB Chair
Are you interested in learning more about the newly released CoP Manual? Do you need help developing an event budget? Are you curious how the ACPE staff can assist you with your next CoP meeting?
 
Sign-up for an online Q&A session with members of the Professional Well-being Committee and the ACPE staff to learn about event services, online collaboration tools, and get the answers to all of your questions. Current CoP Coordinators, Future Coordinators, and all ACPE members are welcome.

Our committee will host two sessions and schedule more depending on demand. Sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend.

1st Q&A Session: July 16, 2019, 12:00pm eastern: Click to sign-up

2nd Q&A Session: July 18, 2019, 12:00pm eastern: Click to sign-up
Spiritual Care for Non-Communicative Patients 
Linda S. Golding and Walter Dixon
Foreword by Rabbi Mychal B. Springer
Research shows that non-responsive patients benefit significantly from spiritual and pastoral care.This book equips chaplains with the confidence and skills to deliver excellent care in this challenging context. With exercises, worksheets, small group activities and case studies, it sets out how best to use words and body language, foster trust and respect, and involve patients' loved ones. It provides practical ways to recognize and affirm the humanity of the patient, and how to engage with the patient by employing skills of listening and presence.
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 (from left to right) Sarita Guffin-Wilson, Certified Educator Gale Kennebrew,  Past ACPE President & Emeritus Educator Urias Beverly, Stephanie Larry, and Certified Educator Jacqueline Kelly. The photo was taken at the 2010 REM Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

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
Community of Practice Funding Application:
Deadline is July 31st
The Professional Well-Being Committee will receive funding requests from registered Communities of Practice for activities hosted from January 1 - December 31, 2020.  This funding cycle will be open through Wednesday, July 31, 2019. Submissions must be received by email or postmarked by July 31, 2019 to be considered in this cycle.  Each CoP seeking funds MUST first be an approved, registered ACPE Community of Practice. New groups not yet approved may submit their registration and funding request simultaneously.

Read more
ACPE Service Award Nominations:
Deadline is August 15th
award
The Service Awards Committee invites you to nominate yourself or a colleague for recognition of outstanding contributions or service to ACPE, the field(s) of spiritual care, pastoral counseling and/or psychotherapy. We are blessed as an association with an abundance of talented, smart, and generous members. Who do you think deserves special recognition?

ACPE is seeking nominations for the following awards: Distinguished Service Award, Helen Flanders Dunbar Award, Inspiration Award, Emerging Leader Award, and Emeritus Educator.

The deadline to submit a nomination is August 15, 2019.

2019 ACPE Election: Are You Ready to Serve?
Deadline is August 30th to be Considered for the 2019 Ballot
Stephen Robinson
LDC Chair
As you know, the work of our association is accomplished by a combination of our great ACPE staff and a large number of volunteers who give their time, energy, passion, and talent to our good work. The Leadership Development Committee  continues to focus our energy on nurturing and preparing leaders, and helping to provide our board, commissions, and committees with competent leaders who reflect the complex diversity of our entire ACPE membership. You can find job descriptions and other leadership resources  here.

New Accreditation Process: Sign-up for Q&A Sessions
Pam Lazor
Accreditation Chair
I hope that everyone's summer is off to a great start!  As we are continuing our preparation for the new process, we are excited to publish the sign-up information for small group Q & A sessions that will being on June 11 and will continue throughout the rest of the year as long as needed.  These sessions are the opportunity  to ask everything you always wanted to know about the new process and building your center's accreditation portfolio.


Read more
Want to keep expanding your LGBTQI competency?
gay pride
Did you know that ACPE's Code of Ethics now includes in its nondiscrimination clause not just sexual orientation but also gender identity and gender expression (Standard 101.2)? LGBTQI persons are increasingly visible in many CPE settings. Some ACPE Certified Educators are eager to learn more about supervising LGBTQI students, or helping students learn to offer spiritual care to LGBTQI persons. Many educators are eager for consultation on supervising CPE groups containing both LGBTQI and straight/gender conforming students, some of whom come from religious traditions that exclude LGBTQI persons from full participation in religious life.
 
Members of the LGBTQI Community of Practice are available as resources to you! All of us are learning, and we are glad to offer ourselves as conversation partners at this growing edge of our practice. Consider reaching out to:

Jack Geracci, [email protected], (215) 710-5044
Michelle Kirby, [email protected], (858) 642-3496
Liam Muggleton Robins, [email protected], (484) 476-2029
Mary Martha Thiel, [email protected] , (617) 363-8804
Updates to the Manual: Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form
ACPE has implemented a new Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form that is now required to be signed by all students prior to formal admission to a CPE program and at the start of each subsequent unit. The Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form is required for all students in all units of CPE, not just those that are facilitated by a CEC. The Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form also informs students that their materials, with personal information redacted, may be used in the Certification process, in the Peer Review process, as part of a center's Accreditation Portfolio, and for ACPE approved research studies.

For more information on this update, as well as other manual updates, and to download the new form, please see the Updates to the Manuals page.

Weekly Highlights
This Week's Reflection
Empathy is a core principle for effective spiritual care. While we continue to refine our understanding of what empathy means, poets have explored this concepts for centuries. This poem by William Blake offers a great example:
On Another's Sorrow
by William Blake

Can I see anothers woe,
And not be in sorrow too.
Can I see anothers grief,
And not seek for kind relief.

Can I see a falling tear
And not feel my sorrows share,
Can a father see his child,
Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd.

Can a mother sit and hear,
An infant groan an infant fear-
No no never can it be.
Never never can it be.

And can he who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small birds grief & care
Hear the woes that infants bear-

And not sit beside the nest
Pouring pity in their breast,
And not sit the cradle near
Weeping tear on infants tear.

And not sit both night & day,
Wiping all our tears away.
O! no never can it be.
Never never can it be.

He doth give his joy to all.
He becomes an infant small.
He becomes a man of woe
He doth feel the sorrow too.

Think not, thou canst sigh a sigh,
And thy maker is not by.
Think not thou canst weep a tear,
And thy maker is not near.

O! he gives to us his joy,
That our grief he may destroy
Till our grief is fled & gone
He doth sit by us and moan.
extra
Summer is such a wonderful time of year for fresh fruits and vegetables. In Georgia, peaches, blueberries, sweet corn and cantaloupe are favorites, each with seasons that always seem all too brief. Back in 1886 - pre-color photography! - the US Government commissioned 7500 portraits of fresh fruits and vegetables, and now those images are available as digital prints. So while the fresh bounty of summer is with us but for a short while, these images will last forever. Take a look:

Monday, July 15
* Chaturmas - Hinduism and Jainism
This day marks the beginning of a four-month period (ending in November) during which time devotees observe some form of vow. Penance, fasting, and other religious observances mark this period. It is considered an inauspicious time for weddings or thread ceremonies.

Tuesday, July 16
* Guru Purnima - Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism
This day celebrates the ancient Hindu sage Krishna Dvaipayana, also known as Veda Vyāsa, who is credited as the compiler of the sacred Vedas, the author of the Eighteen Puranas (supplementary texts), and credited with writing the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata. The term "guru" refers to a teacher or remover of darkness. Jains and Buddhists also mark this day as an opportunity to thank their teachers.

Wednesday, July 17
* Dharma Day (Asalha Puja Day) - Buddhism
This day commemorates the historical Buddha's first sermon, called "Turning of the wheel of Dharma (Dhamma)," following his own enlightenment. The following day marks the beginning of the three-month Vassa or "Rains Retreat" for Theravadin Buddhist monks and nuns. This period is a time for training in Dharma studies, meditation practice, and giving religious services to the people.
Visit the ACPE website for more dates and information. 
  • ACPE Retired Educator Sister Patricia M. Johnson, 83, of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, died Sunday, June 30, 2019 at the Notre Dame Long Term Care Center. 
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 
  • Executive Director, Chaplain Partnership, North Olmsted, OH
  • Director of Spiritual Care, Wartburg, Westchester, NY
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
Open course/elective
The Chaplaincy Institute
Berkeley, CA
July 15-17, 2019
Being with Dying and Death
Open course/elective
The Chaplaincy Institute
Berkeley, CA
July 18-20, 2019
The International Enneagram  Association (IEA) Global Conference

ACPE members receive a 50% discount on registration when they use the code "acpe"
Oakland, CA
July 25-28, 2019


G-Wish Art of Presence 14th Annual Healthcare Renewal Retreat
Assisi, Italy
August 14-20, 2019
Transforming Chaplaincy: Certificate in Spiritual Care Management and Leadership
Online Fall 2019
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, DOE-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. 
STAY CONNECTED: