March 1, 2021
Last week my state was in the news as we suffered in a winter weather event. You may be aware of the swath of frigid weather across the south and southeast. The “Polar Vortex” hit Dallas, TX on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The temperatures dropped dramatically, and the precipitation changed from snow to sleet to ice.
In preparation for the 2021 ACPE Annual Conference: Creating Room to Breathe, ACPE has identified key themes from the Anti-Bias survey of ACPE members. In the following weeks, ACPE will be publishing the key themes that emerged from the Anti-Bias survey results and questions for reflection.

Key Theme #1 – We think we are doing a better job than we might actually be doing … 
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.
Greetings from the Accreditation Commission! I hope that all is well with you, your programs, and your students. I am excited to share information with you about portfolio reviews and our deep dive this year.  The portfolio review process will begin in July 2021 and will conclude by the end of October.
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.
Celebrate JCPC's anniversary with a testimonial. JCPC readers are invited to provide a testimonial about the ways that Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling has helped them. 
In Case You Missed It
ACPE welcomed and trained 16 new Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP) Trainers over the weekend. This second cohort of SIP Trainers spent Friday and Saturday getting oriented to the SIP Program, the 30-hour SIP curriculum, and other details of this new ACPE initiative.
Our February Article-of-the-Month looks at chaplains' involvement in Advance Care Planning and includes a useful list of tasks related to that activity that could be valuable for chaplains' self-assessment of competence in the area.
Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members
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
For those of us who are devotees of the liberal arts, it is delightful to discover a scientist who is also a poet. More than that, Christy Ducker knows something of the deep wounds we carry:
A Schientist's Advice on Healing
by Christy Ducker

Try to accept
this fat red hurt
is your starting point,
in the way a pen must be put to paper
     in one particular spot,
then move
beyond
the globby flap
of blame
     and past
          the mono-sulk
               of pain.
Change the subject,
before it’s too late.
Sketch out
what health
you do possess,
what signal-cascades,
what flotilla of cells
circumnavigate you,
then draw yourself back
     together again,
in a language
     of your own.
Your body’s talk
is loose as lymph —
it’ll have you open out
     as a tree,
or sneak up on pain
     as assassin,
     sidekick,
     or wolf.
Encourage this
for healing won’t come at you
     straight.
Embrace the lack of heroics —
this isn’t Hollywood,
it’s you,
in a plot
that may
or may not resolve.

As we pass from a month of celebrating Black history into a month of the same for Women’s history, it seems apt to listen to one of the wise women of Gullah country, Natalie Daise: 

This Week on the Calendar
March 2
Clean Monday (Eastern Christianity)
The beginning of Great Lent for Eastern Christian churches, which starts 40 days before Orthodox Easter (Pascha), counting Sundays. On this day, referred to as "Clean Monday," Orthodox Christians leave behind sinful attitudes and certain foods as they prepare for the Great Lent. This is a seven-week period of fasting to prepare for Orthodox Easter, the greatest feast of the year.

March 2 - 20
Fast of Ala (Baha'i)
The Baha'i calendar is comprised of 19 months of 19 days each. The fast of Ala occurs during the last month of the Baha'i year, when Baha'is fast from sun up to sun down. All healthy individuals between the ages of 15 and 70 participate in the fast, which is done in spiritual preparation for the New Year, Naw Ruz.

March 7
Meatfare Sunday (Orthodox Christianity)
Traditionally, this is the last day that Orthodox Christians eat meat before commencing their fast, which lasts until Easter.
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
Washington DC
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s ministry provides physical and spiritual comfort to patients in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, care of the whole person.
Lexington, KY
University of Kentucky HealthCare currently has two residency positions available. Read more and apply today!
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.