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| news and information from
the Association of Professional Chaplains |
February 2009 |
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This edition of APC e-News is sponsored by
Please visit our sponsors' Web sites |
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In Memory |
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The APC extends our sympathy to the family and friends of these APC members who have died. Memorial articles may be viewed at the APC Web site, where you will find them in alphabetical order by last name.
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Contact Us |
APC e-News is the monthly newsletter of the Association of Professional Chaplains. If you would like to contribute an article, recommend a topic for a future issue or offer feedback, please contact the editor, Rita Kaufman CAE, APC marketing and public relations manager, at rita@professionalchaplains.org. | |
 Chaplains Seeking and Giving Health and Hope
by Rita Kaufman CAE
It's a new year with a new administration, both for our country and our association. We have our work cut out for us, with resources of time, money and energy being stretched in our workplaces and our homes - a hard reality, to be sure.
As you read this edition of APC e-News, over 1,800 chaplains, their interdisciplinary colleagues and others interested in spiritual care are gathered in Walt Disney World, FL for the Spiritual Care Collaborative Summit '09 conference, themed "Health and Hope: the Hard Reality of Living Intentionally in a Vilage of Care." On the surface, a multi-theme-park resort with all of its commercial trappings hardly seems the place to find health and hope, particularly in these tough times.
But when you look below the surface, you can see that there really is no better place; Walt Disney World is a place of wonder, a place where dreams can come true, a place where everyone has permission to be a child again.
I hope that, during your visit, you take time to delight in the magic created by Walt Disney and connect with your inner child. I hope that, as you gather with colleagues, participate in workshops and listen to the plenary speakers, you are renewed in your commitment to your ministry, invigorated by new ideas and refreshed by the comraderie of those who share your journey.
For those who could not join us at the conference, I encourage you to take time out to refill your personal well of health and hope, whether it's by contacting a colleague in the APC membership directory, making a snow angel, wishing upon a star, reading the latest issue of Chaplaincy Today or Healing Spirit, or just knowing that we at APC - your colleagues, leaders and staff - support and encourage you.
Together, we can see beyond the hard reality. Together, we can refresh our spirits, spark our intellects and renew our wonder so that our well of health and hope can overflow to those we serve.
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APC Honors Members for Dedication and Service
More than 100 APC members were honored during the APC Recognition Breakfast on Sunday, February 1 in Orlando, FL. We invite you to personally thank these individuals for their commitment to APC and the profession.
Anniversaries: The event celebrated the anniversaries of two members who have been with the organization for 50 years and 39 who have been members for 25 years.
Appreciated Leaders: National and local leaders whose terms expired October, 31, 2008 were also thanked and honored for their service to APC and their professional colleagues.
Annual Leadership Awards: Five individuals received leadership awards this year - Paul Lorenzo Yeun DMin BCC, Distinguished Service Award; George Rendell Robie DMin BCC, Retired Chaplain Award; Steven Spidell DMin BCC, Outstanding Local Leadership Award; Mark LaRocca-Pitts PhD BCC, Outstanding Local Leadership Award; and the late Chaplain Arthur M. Lucas BCC, Anton Boisen Professional Service Award. We are grateful for the many ways in which each of them has contributed his time and commitment to the spiritual care of persons they serve, the promotion of professional chaplaincy, and to the leadership of our association.
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Vision for the Future
Presidential Address to the Membership at Summit '09
by Sue Wintz BCC
As we all know, our nation is facing an extremely challenging economic situation. APC operates in a fiscally conservative and responsible manner, and while it is not immune to the economic challenges, all of us who are part of our association should have confidence in its future. It is important that you, the members, know the measures that your board and national office have put into place to ensure the financial health of APC while continuing to maintain the services we provide to you as members.
The board, at its fall 2008 meeting, attended to the 2009 budget line-by-line in order to ensure that the most important work of the association continues to have the support that it needs. While one of the major expenses of APC is our certification, maintenance of membership and continuing education process, it is essential as it continues to uphold the profession of chaplaincy. It is also important for us to continue the services, programs and advocacy that provide the tools our membership needs to provide competent and compassionate chaplaincy care.
As part of the 2009 budget, the board did eliminate some things that, while important, can be managed in other ways. For example, in past years the president, president-elect and executive director attended conferences of our other cognate groups. With the 2009 Summit, which includes the partner organizations of the Spiritual Care Collaborative, we will maintain the spirit of collegiality without additional travel. For meetings such as COMISS and the religious endorsers, board members and other past national APC leaders who live in the areas of the meetings will represent us during 2009. An online meeting tool is being used by the board and leadership, which makes it possible for several persons to meet without the costs of travel.
Your elected, volunteer and staff leaders are aware that there is no substitute for face-to-face collegiality. At the same time, we are aware that financial challenges may make it difficult for members to attend gatherings and educational events. During 2009, we will be investigating online methods that will provide you with new opportunities for education, the sharing of information and collegiality. State and regional groups are developing unique ways to be in contact with each other.
We are also aware that print newsletters and journals are important for some of our members. The move to electronic publishing reduces the extremely high costs of paper, press setup, printing and postage. All electronic communication is set up so you can choose whether to print it for leisure reading or "go green" and view it on screen. Members who do not have access to the Internet may still contact the national office for hard copies.
The APC leadership is acutely aware of the challenges our membership may be facing within their employing organizations, and how they may impact you and those you love personally. Know that you are being carried in our thoughts and prayers.
As always, we invite you to offer your suggestions to the board via future@professionalchaplains.org on cost-efficient ways APC can meet the challenges before us, as well as ways to continue to support you in your work. Your board is committed to its covenant, which includes:
"In this mutual pledge and covenant, and by its practice, we understand ourselves to be keeping faith with the trust placed in us by our membership and to be enacting the tenets of our religious faith to love and respect each other, to speak the truth and to promote the common good."
The Reverend Susan K. Wintz MDiv BCC is the president of APC. She serves as staff chaplain at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. She may be reached at sue.wintz@chw.edu.
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Redefining the Role of APC Executive Director
by the APC Personnel Committee
In any nonprofit organization, the role and expectations of the executive director are closely linked, and complementary to, the role and expectations of the board. At APC, this transition of management leadership coincides with a significant and intentional transition in the philosophy of the board's role from a managing board to a stewardship board. Thus, this statement recognizes the fact that board membership and leadership changes, at least partially, on an annual basis; and that the president and president-elect have, at most, four years of contributing service. Furthermore, this will provide ongoing, continuous and consistent leadership to maximize the growth and change that comes with board turnover. It assumes that board succession is based on skills in understanding issues, experience in APC and chaplaincy, understanding of nuance and politics, and connection to the membership.
There are two strong models of leadership within the nonprofit association world:
- An organization that is led by a board charged with developing and leading strategic effort, providing stewardship over a strong executive officer.
- An organization that is led by a board charged with managing the organization through an administrative office.
In the past, APC has been organized around model 2. That model has served us well in the past. As our organization has grown and developed, that model has been becoming less and less effective. Even though APC's leaders are skilled, respected national leaders in the profession, they are also full-time working professionals, people for whom this is a pro bono commitment, not a second job.
After a time of research, study and reflection, the personnel committee will recommend to the APC board that there be a change in the leadership paradigm at the national level. This will be discussed in Orlando, and the below suggested narrative will be used to guide the search for a new executive director. This organizational change will necessitate a change in the position description of both the ED and the APC president.
Executive Director Narrative Description
The executive director is a mature, skilled professional who, as the ED, will lead a team of skilled professionals in office management, program leadership/development, educational programming, certification processes, communications and marketing, and strategic/institutional/financial development.
It is clear to the membership and the public that the ED directs the organization's administration, executes its strategies, communicates with the membership and implements its programs. The ED works closely with the leadership of cognate and other professional bodies, and with peers in the pastoral care profession. The ED can be expected to communicate the organization's needs, values and plans to any audience, and even travel as needed to communicate these needs. The ED is, effectively, the APC's executive, enabled and expected to make all tactical and operational decisions, to support and implement all board initiatives, and to serve the board from within its confidence.
The APC Personnel Committee is comprised of Karen Ballard BCC, chair; David Johnson BCC, president-elect; Harry Burns BCC, board representative; Tim Ettenheim, public member; and Karrie Ann Oertli BCC, member-at-large. Karen Ballard may be reached at kballard@chmca.org.
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Pastoral Care of Journalists: An Overlooked Need
by Dorie Griggs MDiv
You've seen the footage, read the stories about big news events like Hurricane Katrina. But few of us realize what's going on with those who bring us the news. And the bigger the story, the bigger the impact is on journalists who cover it.
John McCusker is a native of New Orleans and was a part of a team at the Times-Picayune to win a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Katrina. His audio slide show, "The Ghosts of Katrina," with its haunting photos and music, highlights the tragedy of a city still largely deserted and in need of repair, and the personal struggle of one man. The show, produced, narrated, and photographed by McCusker, should be viewed widely by groups and organizations who can send work teams to help.
"The Ghosts of Katrina" also serves as a reminder to chaplains that journalists, like other first responders and care providers, are not immune to human emotions. Journalists are deeply affected by the events they report, and struggle with a balance between compassion for their subjects and professional distance.
Unlike other first responders, they are not trained in how to cope with regular exposure to traumatic events. Too often journalists are thought of as "the media," instead of individuals with feelings and emotions. An opportunity exists for chaplains to be a caring, listening presence to journalists.
A chaplain can reach out to news journalists in many ways:
- Put any discussion of religion aside and be a listening presence for the journalist.
- Send an e-mail after reading a story with "thank you" in the subject line. In the body of your message, express appreciation for their work and recognize the difficulties of reporting on the difficult situation. Very rarely do journalists hear words of appreciation.
- A chaplain can work through local journalism associations to provide workshops and coordinate educational sessions for first responders and the local journalists who report on violence, trauma and other difficult stories.
A growing field of study around journalists and trauma has developed in the psychological and psychiatric community. The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, founded by Dr. Frank Ochberg MD, is the leader in this field. According to its Web site: "The Dart Center is a global network of journalists, journalism educators and health professionals dedicated to improving media coverage of trauma, conflict and tragedy. The center also addresses the consequences of such coverage for those working in journalism."
Dorie L. Griggs MDiv currently lectures in journalism schools and with news organizations on self-care for journalists, and serves on the APC Communications and Publications Council. She lives in Roswell, GA and can be reached at dorie@dorielgriggs.com.
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New Inter-Religious Journal Seeks Contributors
The Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue (JIRD) has issued a call for submissions for its inaugural edition. The journal is a forum for academic, political and social discussions related to the unique experiences and interactions of different religious traditions. Students, faculty and alumni from seminaries of all affiliations are welcome to submit an original article. Upon its receipt, each submission will undergo a peer review by members of JIRD's Board of Scholars and Practitioners, who serve in seminaries and institutions that represent a wide range of faith traditions. The editors-in-chief, Joshua Stanton and Stephanie Hughes, may be reached at JIRDialogue@gmail.com. |
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Library of Congress offers Health and Spirituality Fellowship
The Library of Congress invites qualified scholars to apply for a post-doctoral fellowship in the field of health and spirituality, the David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality. Made possible by a generous endowment from the International Center for the Integration of Health and Spirituality (ICIHS), the fellowship is named in honor of the Center's founder, David B. Larson, an epidemiologist and psychiatrist, who focused on potentially relevant but understudied factors which might help in prevention, coping and recovering from illness.
The fellowship is designed to continue Dr. Larson's legacy of promoting meaningful, scholarly study of these two important and increasingly interrelated fields. It seeks to encourage the pursuit of scholarly excellence in the scientific study of the relation of religiousness and spirituality to physical, mental, and social health. The fellowship provides an opportunity for a period of six to 12 months of concentrated use of the collections of the Library of Congress, through full-time residency in the Library's John W. Kluge Center.
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