August 9, 2021
Last week was a bright spot amid challenging times. We celebrated #ACPEproud week, honoring the work of our colleagues across the country, celebrating accomplishments and transitions, and remembering those who have died. Though we could not gather in person, in our usual ways, a series of videos and a social media campaign gave many of us the opportunity to recognize and give thanks for our colleagues in ACPE.
Last week, I updated you on our process for the election of the Implementation Workgroup. I continue to be overwhelmed by our members’ brilliance and commitment to spiritual care and education. After reviewing the applications and speaking with the applicants, the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) concluded all 23 applicants eligible for the ballot. Thank you again to my colleagues on the LDC: Mary Browne, Saundra Casey, Pamela Lazor, Jill Rasmussen-Baker, and Satoe Soga.
The Curriculum Resource Room on Moral Distress/Moral Injury is now on SharePoint. 
 
On Friday, July 23, over 40 ACPE Certified Educators and Psychotherapists joined together for the first ever Curriculum Resource Room, an experience designed to invite dialogue and sharing about how particular topics are addressed in center curriculums. The first topic of conversation was Moral Distress/Moral Injury. We are proud to share the recording of the session, along with the slides that were shared as part of the presentation. Click here to view the page in SharePoint.
 
We encourage you to save the date for our next Curriculum Resource Room on Teaching Research to CPE Students on Friday, September 24, 2021 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm ET.
The #ACPEproud Store Remains Open
Did you already get your #ACPEproud gear? It's not too late! The #ACPEproud store will remain open through September 30, 2021.

A portion of the proceeds will support the Foundation for ACPE, innovative spiritual care programs, and professional development opportunities for ACPE students.
"My name is Woody Spackman, a retired educator with ACPE and a colleague of Joe Whitwell who has served the United Methodist Church and the ACPE for over 60 years. As a pastoral educator and pastoral counselor, Joe has helped countless persons in crisis of personhood and identify. In 2016 Joe had a tragic fall which has left him without the use of his lower extremities plunging him into both a physical and spiritual crisis. After extensive rehab he has regained his cognitive functions and spirit; but requires extensive physical and mobility assistance. Joe’s wife and family has arisen to the occasion and serves him daily along with some medical care assistance. Due to the extensive past and continuing medical costs which are not covered by our current medical system, resources are simply not available to meet some of the most important needs such as social interaction, transportation and medicines. It’s safe to say Joe and his family have exhausted most of the family reserves."

$10,000 has already been secured from the United Methodist foundation to support this effort. The ACPE Professional Well Being Committee enthusiastically supports this effort and hopes our colleagues can help make a huge difference in Joe’s life.
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.
The Reflective Practice journal has a new website. The members of the Reflective Practice Editorial Board hope this new website will be easier to navigate and be more visually accessible and to anyone who uses it.
ACPE will host the 2021 Annual Member Meeting via Zoom on August 19, 2021 at 3:00pm eastern. Member registration is now open. After registering, we will review your request to ensure membership status. Once approved, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting
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
The longing for the simple amidst so many complicated aspect of life is understandable, and yet it is a little like hoping that ice will be warm or days will have a few extra hours. This poem, from Deborah Paredez, holds the wonder of human ingenuity alongside the limits of our planning, insight, and/or ingenuity. Named for the Mars explorer, this poem reminds us that life is complicated, that irony is always and already among us, and that there are always different choices one can make:

We’ve landed on the planet named after the god of war and the power’s 
out all over Texas my mother’s buried under her grandmother’s 
quilt while they’re looking for signs of life on the surface of the long-dried lake- 
bed my cousins huddling around the clay pot heaters they’ve rigged 
from overturned geraniums and the candles they keep lit 
for the dead the heatshield reaching extreme temperatures in the final moments 
of descent ice-sleeved branches cleaving from their trunks and downing 
communication lines and lines and lines down the block for what’s left 
of clean water in the ancient river delta the rover arriving to drill down 
as scientists cheer in control towers oil men feast and fatten 
their pockets craters across the desolate expanse early 
transmission from the hazard avoidance camera can't help 
but capture its own shadow darkening the foreground. 

Copyright © 2021 by Deborah Paredez. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 7, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets. Accessed at https://poets.org/poem/perseverance
As we transition from ACPE Proud week to the end of summer units, the anticipation of fall residencies, new clients for counselors, and new courses for students, there is also a strong mix of openings and hesitations. We said goodbye not two weeks ago to Jap Keith, a founder of ACPE. And we continue to talk with APC about a joint future. The emotions of this season are strong, and this moment with the London cast of “The Lion King” in their post-pandemic reunion captures so many of those emotions:

Dr. Yoke Lye Kwong, D.Min. BCC is an ACPE Certified Educator and the Director Clinical Pastoral Education at Christus Health in Corpus Christi, Texas. Dr. Yoke Lye Kwong wrote a haiku as a reflection and celebration of the official gathering of the AAPI Community of Practice.

This Week on the Calendar
August 9
Hijra begins at sundown (Islam)
The month of Muharram marks the beginning of the Islamic liturgical year. This first day, al-Hijra, remembers the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. It also marks the beginning of the ten-day Shīʿite Remembrance of Muharram, a period of intense grief and martyrdom of Hussein, the son of Ali and grandson of Muhammad.

August 15
Feast of the Assumption of Blessed Mary / Dormition of the Theotokos (Catholic Christianity)
According to Roman Catholic doctrine and the traditions of the Catholic Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mary, the mother of Jesus) "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This means that Mary was transported into Heaven with her body and soul united. The feast day recognizing Mary's passage into Heaven is celebrated as The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics.
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
John Muir Health is looking for a compassionate, dynamic, and creative ACPE Certified Educator.
CPE Residency positions are available in Brownsville and Harlingen, TX
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.