February 15, 2021
Pandemics. Plural. COVID-19. Racial inequity and white supremacy. We have talked a great deal about both of these. But there are others as well.
We invite all ACPE Certified Educators who are working with Educator Candidates to join us for informal consultations and conversations via Zoom in 2021. 
The drop-in meeting (no RSVP required) will take place on Mondays, beginning from 12:00pm to 1:00pm Eastern time.  
Please check your records! You are due for a peer review this year if your last review was in 2018 or if you were certified in 2018. If you have not yet experienced the new peer review process, then you are past due! We have contacted all those who, according to our records, are due this year. If you believe you are due but have not received any communication, or if you cannot remember if or when your last peer review was, please contact Katherine Higgins. Information about the peer review process may be found here. 
ACPE rolled out a new Salesforce database, website, and SharePoint sites in 2020. Join John Roch, Director of Communications & Technology, and Carl Jones-Reid, Technology Specialist for a Tech Talk ACPE this week on
  • February 17 at 9:00am ET
  • February 18 at 4:00pm ET
  • February 19 at 12:00pm ET
The Glaz-Plummer Plenary Address for the Annual Conference 2021 is proudly presented May 10, 2021 by Emilie M. Townes Dean and distinguished professor of Womanist Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
In Case You Missed It
The Eastern Central Community of Practice presents "A Culture Under Stress: Standing at the Intersection of Spiritual Care and Psychology" with Dr. Wade C. Rowatt on March 5, 2021 from 9:00am–3:00 pm ET.
Based on feedback from educators, students, and staff, we developed an updated how-to guide for students enrolling in a CPE unit. The guide is also posted on the website for future reference.
The ACPE SIP Program offers trainings to help mental health practitioners work more competently with spirituality in the context of psychotherapy. The 30-hour NBCC-approved continuing education curriculum is a specialty training for persons who have previous training in psychotherapy.
Weekly Highlights
This Week's Reflection
Sometimes the things that seem out ordinary can be most jarring. Eve Ewing captures this idea in this poem. It seems particularly apt as we recognize Black History Month.
I saw Emmett Till this week at the grocery store
by Eve L. Ewing

looking over the plums, one by one
lifting each to his eyes and
turning it slowly, a little earth,
checking the smooth skin for pockmarks
and rot, or signs of unkind days or people,
then sliding them gently into the plastic.
whistling softly, reaching with a slim, woolen arm
into the cart, he first balanced them over the wire
before realizing the danger of bruising
and lifting them back out, cradling them
in the crook of his elbow until
something harder could take that bottom space.
I knew him from his hat, one of those
fine porkpie numbers they used to sell
on Roosevelt Road. it had lost its feather but
he had carefully folded a dollar bill
and slid it between the ribbon and the felt
and it stood at attention. he wore his money.
upright and strong, he was already to the checkout
by the time I caught up with him. I called out his name
and he spun like a dancer, candy bar in hand,
looked at me quizzically for a moment before
remembering my face. he smiled. well
hello young lady
      hello, so chilly today
      should have worn my warm coat like you
yes so cool for August in Chicago
      how are things going for you
oh he sighed and put the candy on the belt
it goes, it goes.
NPR’s series “Tiny Desk Concerts” has founds its way into musicians’ homes. There is an intimacy but also a sense of longing in these brief concerts, especially for those of us who love a concert venue. This episode with Max Richter, filmed in black and white, offers six short pieces by the artist. They are meditative and evocative. His words at the end of the set invite grief:
This Week on the Calendar
February 15
Nirvana Day (Buddhism)
Celebrates the day when the historical Buddha achieved complete Nirvana, upon the death of his physical body. This day marks the Buddha’s death and when he reached Nirvana at the age of 80. Nirvana is the end to all wanting, and thus the end to all suffering that craving brings about. Buddhists who observe Nirvana day often do so by examining their lives, in order to make changes needed to help them achieve perfect peace.

February 16
Vasant Panchami (Hinduism)
This festival is dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of learning. On this day, schools and colleges often organize special worship of Saraswati, many participate in special activities at Hindu temples, and young children are taught their first words.

Shrove Tuesday (Christianity)
Also known as Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday and Carnival Day. Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the beginning of Lent, during which Christians are supposed to examine their lives, confess their sins, and receive advice on mending their ways - as the time of Lent represents purification. In Old English, the word "shrove" referred to the act of listening intently to someone and giving advice. The French term for this day, Mardi Gras, means Fat Tuesday, which is said to come from the custom the French had of using up all the fats they had in the house for cooking, since the food during Lent's time of "fast and abstinence" would entail leaner cuisine. The fat would be baked into rich meals on Mardi Gras, and often what was cooked ended up being a pancake of sorts; thus the custom still observed in some parts of the western world of eating pancakes on the day before Lent.

February 17
Ash Wednesday (Christianity)
The first day of Lent for Western Christian churches, a 40-day period of spiritual preparation for Easter, not counting Sundays. In the Western Church, Lent - the fasting season marking Jesus' time in the wilderness - commences with Ash Wednesday. Many Christians attend church, where their foreheads are marked with ashes in the form of the cross. The ashes consist of the burnt remains of palms blessed on Palm Sunday the previous year. The cross of ash symbolizes belonging to Jesus Christ and reminds people of their human mortality.

February 22
Triodion begins (Orthodox Christianity)
Triodion is the three-week preparation period before Lent begins. Followers gradually modify their diets and meditate on themes like humility, repentance and forgiveness, to prepare for the great fast, prayer, and worship that happens over Lent.
This Week in our Thoughts
  • No news to report

Visit the ACPE Memorials and Milestones page for more details. Please email webmaster@acpe.edu to add someone to our thoughts.
CAREER & RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES
St. Joseph, MO
Mosaic Life Care of St. Joseph, MO is seeking an ACPE Certified Educator/Staff Chaplain.
Saginaw, MI
Covenant HealthCare is a 600+ bed, full-service hospital with a Level II trauma center and 4,500 employees.
Educational Opportunities
ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education
ACPE is the standard for spiritual care and education. Our diverse membership includes Certified CPE Educators, Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapists, Spiritual Care Professionals and Practitioners, Pastoral Counselors, Chaplains, Faith Communities, and Seminaries. Our multi-disciplinary, multi-faith, multi-racial community of professionals provides education, connection, and formation through continuing education, networking, and leadership development.
 
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 members are actively engaged in a wide variety of professional development activities including communities of practice, conferences, spiritual care research, and informal networking. We are more than just an association: we are a movement committed to the transformation of the human suffering.Our opportunities for formation and community enrich our member's work of healing and transforming people and communities in the US and across the globe.