ACPE's weekly digest to keep you connected, better informed, and well-resourced for the week ahead.
July 3, 2017
Trace Informal
ACPE's Monday Briefing is a weekly digest from ACPE Executive Director Trace Haythorn
 
Each week you will receive related articles and updates on ACPE transitions. Also included are helpful links to keep you connected, better informed, and well-resourced for the week ahead.
Wishing you and yours a happy and patriotic Independence Day! Knowing how deeply divided our nation is, I pray we find each other in a time such as this with the kind of creativity, compassion, and commitment that gives birth to a new era for this young nation.
ACPE Office Updating Software
Please prepare for downtime the week of August 7-11, 2017, as we update our association management software. You can read more about what will be unavailable here
Innovative CPE Project Application Due August 4. 
The 2017 Innovative Program Award grant cycle is now open! Applicants are invited to submit proposals for innovative CPE projects that do not exceed $10,000. This year $29,000 is available in funding. Learn more about how to apply here
A Poem for Reflection
This year more than any other, I found myself tearing up as I read this poem again. May we live into its fullest intent in the days, months and years to come:
"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Something extra
This series, "Tell My Story", captures a dialogue between pairs of people around specific first impressions and the assumptions we make about others in a matter of moments. There are several episodes, and a new season is launching soon. Take a look: He Assumed Religion Didn't Matter and Was Totally Wrong! | Tell My Story, Blind Date
Some Extras From You

Chaplaincy - Betsy Coughlin

 

My alarm chimes at 6 a.m. By 8:45 I leave for Vanderbilt University Medical Center where I work as a hospital chaplain, specializing in obstetrics. Each day is precarious. Like an Improv actress, I find myself in scenes of death and crisis without a script. I companion a new oncology patient who receives a grim diagnosis; I offer a blessing for a premature baby on her first and last day of life; I guide an elderly war veteran through end of life reflection-where meaning has been found and how he wishes to say goodbye. But before, before I walk the thin space between death and life, it is morning. From my shoebox apartment I light a candle, brew three cups of coffee, and write.

From a student of Unyong Statwick

We always look, but rarely see
Ourselves in others, or others in ourselves.

If I can look and also see
What's shared is substance; What's different is shadow.

The line that divides you and me
Is but the illusion of one perspective.

Mine eyes are not enough for me.
I want to see through the eyes of humanity
This Week on the Calendar
Monday, July 3
*Ghambar Maidyoshem ends - Zoroastrianism
Ending the celebration of the creation of water, the sowing of summer crops, and the harvesting of grain.

Tuesday, July 4
*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.

Wednesday, July 5
*Birthday of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji - Sikhism
Celebrating a renowned martial artist who was named the 6th of the 11 Sikh Gurus (1595 - 1644 C.E.).

Thursday, July 6
*Birthday of the XIVth Dalai Lama - Tibetan Buddhism
Celebrating the 82nd birthday of His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, born in 1935 C.E. in northeastern Tibet. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan government in exile and is revered as the fourteenth in a succession of manifestations of Avalokiteśvara, the enlightened being (bodhisattva) who embodies compassion in Buddhist practice.

Saturday, July 8
*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.

Sunday, July 9
*Martyrdom of the Báb - Bahá'í
Anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb, the forerunner of Báhá'u'lláh, in Persia in 1850 C.E. The Báb and 20,000 of his followers were killed because of their religious convictions throughout the mid-1800's. Work is suspended on this day.

*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.
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