Bishop Teresa Snorton challenged us that though we will grow tired, we cannot grow weary. Dr. Emilie Townes noted we are already tired and weary. Throughout our annual conference, I can feel both among our members. Some are tired and laboring on. Some are too weary to take the next step. And yet most of us can hear “Ella’s Song” playing somewhere in the back of our minds: “We who believe in freedom cannot rest.”
Of course, we must rest, we need to breathe, we need to ground ourselves for the next step forward, for the energy and courage to face whatever form the resistance takes this time. Because we know it will come. It always does, often dressed up as something else, but always deep down the same old thing. “We who believe in freedom cannot rest.”
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The Leadership Development Committee is now officially receiving applications to serve on the initial board of the new organization, IF the members approve the proposed merger between ACPE and APC by a super majority in the July referendum.
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We have had such a powerful and challenging week of learning and growing together at #ACPEAC21. We are looking forward to week 3!
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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.
This month Tahara Akmal, ACPE Certified Educator from MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC writes about professional relationships with other persons in the ACPE center, institution in which employed and/or the community.
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In March, the Boards of Directors of ACPE and APC met concurrently and approved a proposal to merge. Each association’s membership will now vote on the proposed merger in July. To help ACPE members make an informed decision, ACPE is hosting town halls, Q&A sessions, interviews, and SharePoint conversations.
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What an exciting time to witness such historic transitions in our organization.
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The Accreditation and Certification Commissions are excited to share two innovative opportunities for the continued development of CEC programs in our centers!
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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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This coming Friday, May 20, marks the end of the extraordinary and powerful 2021 ACPE National Conference, “Room to Breathe.” Many of us are not ready to exhale, having been filled with such important dialogue, experience and engagement. Where do we go from here? William Stafford reminds us that wherever we go, we have to start. And as Katherine Higgins noted so keenly last week in her This Week article, all that we need is already here for this journey. Here’s Stafford’s poem: |
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You Reading This, Be Ready
by William Stafford
Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life –
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
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We have heard many people ask how to begin the work of systemic racism and white supremacy. Sometimes it begins with one small step. Sometimes it comes through a powerful reimagining. This story is an example of the latter, and it makes us long for more clergy like the Reverend David Kennedy in the world:
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This Week on the Calendar |
May 17
1746 Chhota Ghallughara (Sikh)
The Chhota Ghallughara was the first massacre of Sikhs targeted to wipe out the entire population. Around 7,000 Sikhs were killed, 3,000 were captured and later beheaded, and the persecution lasted several decades. Gurdwaras were destroyed and scriptures were burnt. Anyone caught saying the word “Guru” was sentenced to death.
May 23
Declaration of the Bab (Bahá’í)
Commemoration of May 23, 1844, when the Báb, the prophet-herald of the Bahá’í Faith, announced in Shíráz, Persia, that he was the herald of a new messenger of God. The Baha'i Faith is considered to have begun on May 23, 1844, which was the day that the individual known as “The Bab” declared his mission. The world's 5 million Baha'is have basic principles that include belief in the oneness of the human race, the unity of religions, equality of the sexes, and universal peace. Baha’is are followers of Baha'u'llah, who was born in Persia in 1817.
Pentecost (Catholic and Protestant Christianity)
Celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles following the Ascension of Jesus. Name indicates 50th day after Easter.
Zarathosht-no-Diso (Parsi Zoroastrian)
Death anniversary of Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) the founder of Zoroastrianism. It is a day of special prayers, with lectures and discussions held on the life and works of the prophet. There is no mourning in the Zoroastrian religion, only remembrance and prayers for Farohars (souls) of the departed.
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This Week in our Thoughts
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Former ACPE President Max Maguire died very peacefully on May 11, 2021 at 1:30pm with family surrounding him with encouragement and love. The memorial service will be scheduled for sometime in June and will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis.
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ACPE Retired Educator David Hurst died on April 27, 2021 after a protracted illness. A husband, father, and grandfather – David leaves behind many in whom he invested his life – both personally as a friend and family member and professionally as a clinical educator and counselor. A small, private memorial service was officiated by the Rev. Dr. Paul Simpson-Duke, co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor.
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Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw, Michigan has an opportunity available to work in an organizational culture that “depends on its CPE Program”
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Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma, Arizona seeks CPE Resident
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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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