Shawn Mai shared the following beautiful poem as the opening reflection for the ACPE Board of Director’s meeting last week:
“The Way It Is”
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
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ACPE’s Board of Directors met by videoconference on November 8 and 9, 2021. Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic forced the association to cancel in-person leadership meetings again this fall. However, although virtual, our time together was productive, meaningful, and exciting. We even participated in a “kindness quest” with volunteers serving on ACPE’s other commissions and committees. The quest was a fun team-building exercise and a rare opportunity to see old and new friends. |
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The 2022 conference theme, “Freedom, Wonder, and Liberation: Anti-Bias Practices of Spiritual Care and Education” invites the engagement of all our organizational members by facing the urgency of this moment. We need the collective wisdom of our chaplains, our educators, and our psychotherapists as we continue to face the interlocking pandemics of bias, injustice, and COVID-19. The deadline to submit proposals is November 28, 2021.
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Save the Date for GivingTuesday at ACPE. GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. ACPE's goal is to raise $10,000 and to invite 20 new donors to make a gift to the Foundation for ACPE. This year GivingTuesday is on November 30, 2021.
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Join us for the Spiritual Assessment Resource Room on November 19 at 12:30 EST. Two panelists will briefly present their models and approaches to teaching spiritual assessments in different contexts. Danielle Buhuro and Caitlyn Bailey will then dialogue with the group about what informs their assessment practices, the challenges they face in their work with students, and how they navigate those challenges.
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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.
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2022 Membership Invoices will be sent via email the week of 11/22/2021. Please check your spam/junk folder to make sure that you have received it. If you do not receive an invoice by 11/29/2021, please contact us at accounting@acpe.edu. You can also contact us if you would like to make changes to the billing email address.
Once you receive your invoice by email, you can print it in PDF format – there is a printable PDF link located under the due date of the invoice. Simply click the link and enjoy this new feature.
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The Anti-Bias Work Group has convened several groups to better understand the variety of biases within our organization and the work of spiritual care and education. The Ableism group comprises of Amy Canosa, Bill Gaventa, Angelika Zollfrank, and Katherine Higgins.
The Ableism group is interested in talking with ACPE Educators and Psychotherapists who identify as having some form of disability about the ways that disability, and attitudes from others about it (ableism) have impacted your pastoral and professional development and practice.
In the medical model of disability, it is a personal attribute or condition; in the social model, it is a result of attitudes and environments. We are interested in both, as well as how issues of accessibility, accommodations, and stereotypes have been part of your journey. For now, we do not have a survey or questionnaire. We would simply like to hear individual stories. You are invited to send written reflections to Katherine.Higgins@acpe.edu or send an email and we will arrange for conversation.
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The Spiritual Assessment and Intervention Model (AIM) Manual, an evidence-based manual to teach the important skill of spiritual assessment, was developed by retired ACPE Educator Michele Shields, Laura Dunn MD (Stanford), and ACPE Educator Allison Kestenbaum.
The manual can be downloaded from spiritualaim.org. Feel free to spread the word and direct others to the website for download rather than forwarding the PDF. You can follow AIM on Twitter @spiritualaim
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Thank you to all the members who participated in the 2021 ACPE Election! We are especially grateful to all the candidates for their tireless commitment to ACPE. We had 708 (34.6%) of 2049 electors vote in this election.
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Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members.
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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.
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This is a season of collective exhaustion. Every ACPE member with whom we have communicated in the last couple of months has shared their own sense of fatigue, of longing for something more like “normal,” of hoping that someday soon they will feel the energy and enthusiasm that first drew them to their work. In this poem, Cristina Norcross invites us even in the midst of this to celebrate the resilience we have experienced and witnessed. She writes, “I wanted to celebrate ordinary moments of courage, strength, and connection that become extraordinary when faced with recovering from illness or injury. My father passed away in December 2020, and I will always cherish those last few weeks I spent with him in the hospital. I was proud to cheer him on with every courageous step he took. When everything else falls away, we are left with moments of deep connection.” |
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There are wires and cords
that stretch out,
hang dangling
from the hospital bed,
the transparent filigree
of a floating jellyfish.
One leads to the phone
to order food.
One leads to the TV, so we can stare at
cooking shows with delicacies not available here.
One leads to compression wraps
for your vulnerable legs.
Another leads to the IV ports
in your bruised, crepe-skinned arm.
In between your long spells of sleeping
and my knitting,
we enjoy the pretend competition
of the contestants cooking.
We marvel at how quickly
they move about the kitchen.
I marvel even more at your careful movements
and the miracle of progress after your fall.
We count the steps you take
as if you are skipping stones—
any number makes you a winner.
You fight for everyday markers of strength,
your efforts a perfect ten.
This is the Olympics of rehabilitation.
Cotton gown diamond patterns
become your fashion.
We look out the window as day becomes night.
Another day passes
in the goldfish bowl of recovery,
a blue ribbon day of taking five steps
just to turn around
and walk back to the bed.
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When you think about Antarctica, images are likely going to come to mind of white, bleak landscapes. And yet, the topography as well as the variety of life forms are incredibly complex and beautiful. Check out this video of one scientist’s helicopter flight. With the sound off, it is almost a meditation on the wonder of creation:
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This Week on the Calendar |
November 15
The Advent Fast (Orthodox Christianity)
Marks the beginning of the forty-day vegetarian fast in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity or Christmas day.
November 19
Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Birthday (Sikh)
A very important holiday in the Sikh faith as Guru Nanak Dev’s was the First Guru of the Sikhs and the Founder of Sikhism. He was born in mid-November; the holiday is celebrated according to the lunar date.
November 22
Feast Day Qawl (Bahá’í)
The Baha’i calendar has nineteen months, all named after attributes of God. Qawl is the Arabic word for speech. The word "feast" suggests that a large meal will be served, but that is not necessary for a Bahá'í Feast. The use of the term "feast," in this case, means that the community should enjoy a "spiritual feast" of worship, fellowship and unity – although refreshments are usually available.
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This Week in our Thoughts
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Sanford Health is looking for an innovative and strategic-minded CPE Supervisor to enhance and grow our dynamic and established CPE program at Sanford Health - Fargo.
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Ascension Seton in Austin, TX has open positions in our current full-time residency program for completion of three CPE units starting November 29, 2021 and ending on August 19, 2022.
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Other Educational Opportunities |
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ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education |
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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.
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