In his new book, After Whiteness, an Education in Belonging, Willie Jennings envisions the work of formation at the center of theological education as primarily a practice of belonging. Jennings knows theological education; he is a professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale Divinity School, and the former dean of Duke Divinity School. In this book he brings together fragments – of poems and dreams, of stories from the academy, of theological scholarship across centuries – and demonstrates in real time how the fragments are the fertile ground of belonging, and the place of possibility. It is a beautiful and challenging book.
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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 #5: We are shaped by our history; shaping our future differently will require intentional changes in our present practice.
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After decades of collaboration and a few years of negotiations, the Boards of Directors of the ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education and the Association of Professional Chaplains met concurrently on March 18, 2021 at 10:00am EDT/9:00am CDT to entertain a motion that the organizations officially merge. Both organizations approved the motion.
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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.
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Like last year, each center will experience an overview portfolio review (Part I of the Review Form). This overview will ensure that you have something that is reasonably developed for each required item and that it has been updated for this year.
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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.
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Certified Educators, are you due for a peer review in 2021? Information about the process may be found in the certification section of the Members Home SharePoint site, here. Please contact Katherine Higgins with any questions.
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Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics. Each posting is accompanied by a personal reflection from a PEC member discussing how they live out these commitments*.
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ACPE Spiritual Care Professional and Editor of the ACPE Research articles John Ehman tests a Spiritual Care Advocate program to improve cancer patients' sense of spiritual support and health care outcomes at the end of life in this month's article.
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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.
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In the wake of Passover and Easter, as we remember the Shoah, as we begin Ramadan, as we delight the triumph of good over evil with those who celebrate Diwali, as we see principalities and powers do what they do, even as the people cling to a hope larger than the moments we know, this poem from Mary Oliver reminds us of where we are, perhaps where we always are, and hopefully how we might change as we look to the future: |
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Of The Empire
We will be known as a culture that feared death
and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity
for the few and cared little for the penury of the
many. We will be known as a culture that taught
and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke
little if at all about the quality of life for
people (other people), for dogs, for rivers. All
the world, in our eyes, they will say, was a
commodity. And they will say that this structure
was held together politically, which it was, and
they will say also that our politics was no more
than an apparatus to accommodate the feelings of
the heart, and that the heart, in those days,
was small, and hard, and full of meanness.
© 2008 by Mary Oliver from her 2008 collection, Red Bird, p. 46. Published by Beacon Press 2008
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Sony has published its finalists for its World Photography Competition. Each of these images could be a source of meditation all by themselves. Take a look:
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This Week on the Calendar |
April 12
Ramadan begins at sundown (Islam)
Observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad.
April 13
Ugadi (Hinduism)
Ugadi is the Hindu New Year, often celebrated with a ritual bath, prayers, and the eating of pachhadi: six flavors that represent six different life experiences. There’s bitter, tang, sour, spice, sweet, and salty, to represent sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise.
Vaisakhi (Sikhism)
The festival which celebrates the founding of the Sikh community as the Khalsa (community of the initiated). On this day, Sikhs gather and celebrate Vaisakhi at their local Gurdwaras (Sikh house of worship) by remembering this day as the birth of the Khalsa.
April 14
Solar New Year Mesha Sankranta (Hinduism)
On this day, worshipping Lord Shiva, Hanuman, Vishnu and Maa Kali are considered auspicious. Devotees take sacred bath in holy water bodies of Ganga, Jamuna, and Godavari. On this day, some communities believe in preparing a special drink, which is called Pana to be consumed by everyone.
Yom Ha'Atzmaut begins at sundown (Judaism)
Yom Ha'Atzmaut is the national Independence Day of Israel, commencing in 1948. Many celebrate the holiday with picnics, singing and dancing, and Hallel, a Jewish prayer of praise and thanksgiving, is often recited.
April 16
Yaqui Deer Dance (American Indian)
A ceremony which integrates ancient rites of the Yaqui people (Arizona) with the Christian Easter ceremony
April 19
Festival of Ridvan begins at sundown (Bahá’í)
Annual festival commemorating the 12 days when Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith, resided in a garden called Ridván (Paradise) and publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger for this age.
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This Week in our Thoughts
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ACPE Emeritus Thomas H. Cole died on April 3, 2021. During his career he worked at Memorial-Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, TX where he served as Director of Pastoral Care for many years, helping to train at least 6 ACPE Educators before retiring.
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Boston, MA
Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, MA) is looking for a Full Time ACPE Certified Educator
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Durham, NC
Available: First-Year CPE Residency positions Residency Program: July 1, 2021- June 30, 2022
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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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