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October 18, 2021
Since the latest COVID-19 surge, I’ve noticed a pattern in the way conversations or meetings often begin. Someone will ask, “So how is everyone doing?” The responses often include, “You know….” “I’m here.” “Whew.” Sometimes it’s not even words: “Nnnngth.” “Mmmmph.”
The Leadership Development Committee (LDC) received a robust response to our call for nominations earlier this year. Our committee prioritized diversity, association needs, and member’s professional development in our work to create the proposed slate.

Like the last few elections, ACPE will use SimplyVoting to conduct a ranked-choice ballot. We welcome your feedback and questions regarding our election process. Please email me at shawn.mai@parknicollet.com.

Upcoming Important Dates
  • October 20: Polls open.
  • November 3: Polls close.
  • November 8: Election results published in the newsletter, website, and SharePoint.
ACPE Educator and former ACPE Board Member Chaplain Jan McCormack, associate professor and chair of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Programs at Denver Seminary, was awarded the 2021 National Citizenship Award by the Military Chaplains Association of the United States of America, on Oct. 5, in Columbia, SC.

This prestigious award is presented annually to recognize an individual or individuals who make a significant contribution in public service and who support the values and needs of US military members and their families.
The ACPE Central States CoP presents an education day focused on Ethics: “How much time do you spend on ethics?”
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 from 10:00am to 5:00pm (Central Standard Time). All are welcome.

Please join for any of the sessions and gatherings you are able to or interested in. For more information contact Katherine.Higgins@acpe.edu.
Register for the 2021 Gathering of Spiritually Integrated Practitioners (formerly known as Kanuga) which will be held virtually October 22-24, 2021. Rev. Jill L. Snodgrass, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University Maryland, will serve as the keynote speaker. Her presentation entitled “The Spiritual Struggle of the Living in the Liminal” will anchor a weekend filled with thoughtful workshop sessions and beloved community. 10.5 NBCC and GAMFT Hours Available
The ACPE North Central CoP will host a fall gathering on November 19 starting at 10:30am ET. All are welcome.

Please join for any of the sessions and gatherings you are able to or interested in. For more information contact Katherine.Higgins@acpe.edu.
Stetson University, with the help of a generous $1.7 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, welcomes proposals for studies on Research in Religious and Spiritual Competencies in Clinical Training. 
In Case You Missed It
Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members.
We invite all ACPE Certified Educators who are working with Educator Candidates to join us for informal consultations. The drop-in meeting will take place on the first and third Mondays of the month, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm Eastern time.
Weekly Highlights
This Week's Reflection
Mark Nepo, poet and cancer survivor, has a gift for the ways he lets language probe the depths of human experience. In this poem, he invites us to connect in our woundedness, to allow the soft center of who we are to stay open to others so that we might share in the joy of others as well as the pain, to delight in mutual wonder, to allow our lives to soar:
Drinking There
by Mark Nepo

No matter how many conversations I
start, they all end with me kneeling at
the same deep well. And drinking there,
I remember who I am. I rise from that
drinking able to see, again, that we are
at heart the same. And the secret wound
you show me there is my wound which I
have hidden for so long. And the secret
joy you bring into the open is my joy
which I thought I had lost. Experience
has us meet in the most unexpected ways.
Until we’re forced to show the soft center
that never dies. Until our soul appears in
the world like a pearl before it hardens.
Until the gift of life stirs in our hand
like a tuft of feathers that needs to
be loved into a wing.

When one reflects on the concept of design thinking, silliness is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But how can silliness be a tool to invite greater depth, greater self-understanding, and perhaps greater social cohesion? With thanks to Mary Martha Thiel for sharing, take a look at Lee’s creation - and the creation is so much more than the silly hats:

This Week on the Calendar
October 19 
Mawlid A-Nabi (Islam (Sunni))
The observance of the birthday of Islam founder Prophet Muhammad, which is celebrated in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. Shi’a Muslims celebrate it five  days later than Sunni Muslims.

October 24
Martydrom Day of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Sikhism)
Anniversary of the Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 CE, the ninth guru.

Mawlid Al-Nabi (Islamic (Shi’a))
The observance of the birthday of Islam founder Prophet Muhammad, which is celebrated in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. Sunni Muslims celebrate it five  days earlier than Shi’a Muslims.
This Week in our Thoughts
  • ACPE Emeritus Rev. Timothy Little passed away on the morning of October 12, 2021 in Sacramento, CA. Timothy began the ACPE CPE program at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, CA in the 1980’s and worked with UC Davis for 30 years. Timothy was in local and state leadership with both ACPE and APC. He shepherded dozens of candidate through the APC Board Certification Process. He mentored many in the ACPE CEC process as part of the East of Bay and Sacramento peer groups. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://obituaries.tridentsociety.com/obituaries/roseville-ca/timothy-little-10398916 for the Little family.


Visit the ACPE Memorials and Milestones page for more details. Please email webmaster@acpe.edu to add someone to our thoughts.
CAREER & RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES
Sanford Health is looking for an innovative CPE Educator to enhance and grow our dynamic CPE program at Sanford Health.
CPE residency on the beautiful shores of Lake Superior in Level I trauma center!
Communities of Practice Events
Other 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.