News
-
The Foundation’s Support of Diversity, Equity and InclusionJun 23, 2021
This year’s annual conference themed “Creating Room to Breathe” challenged all of us to reflect how we as an organization and as individual members can commit to anti-racist practices.
-
A Transformational Period of DiscernmentJun 15, 2021
Over the past several months, the ACPE board has been communicating about a possible merger with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). For some members, this has been a conversation that dates back to the 1980s. For others, this is a new idea that has raised important questions. Every week since March 18, 2021, when the Board of Directors approved a motion to bring the vote to merge to the membership, we have worked to provide videos, Q & As, town halls, and meetings with CoPs to address questions, concerns, hopes, and curiosities about what this will mean.
-
Return to…Normal?Jun 14, 2021
A couple weeks ago I had the chance to spend a few days at the beach with my family. It was a welcome break, and I remembered how important it can be to step away from the regular, daily demands of work and home, and make space for rest and creativity.
-
Centering Peace Education (CPE)Jun 8, 2021
Shawn Moore Israel is a chaplain who serves with The International Fellowship of Chaplains, Kairos Prison Ministry, Indy Vineyard Missional Food Pantry&Racial Reconciliation Ministry, and Ascent 121. She finished her first unit of CPE at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana- April 2021. Shawn can be reached at shawnisrael49@gmail.com
-
Summertime and the living is busy!Jun 7, 2021
The summer is upon us, which for many of us means the beginning of summer CPE units. Some will end this unit in celebration of a year well done. Others will welcome new students beginning a single unit in their summer break from theology school. Certified Educators, Educator Candidates, and staff members will welcome new faces with high expectations. For some of us, this represents a refreshing return to a summer routine interrupted last year by COVID-19. In my shop (my primary experience is in a healthcare environment), the summer means a bit of shuffling to accommodate the summer group into the physical space, revisiting classroom scheduling, and lots of orientation before sharing of clinical responsibilities. Oh, and on-call. Within a couple of weeks, the new folk will be welcome care providers for our patients, their families, and the staff who attend them.
-
I Look Forward to the Merger with APCJun 7, 2021
It seems like yesterday that members of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors were beginning a process of discerning whether or not to consolidate with The Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators. Deciding to merge with an organization of professionals from a related but different discipline was challenging, and we weighed the possible advantages of coming together. I had the privilege of participating in a summit of AAPC members who considered our needs as an organization, and what it might be like to join with another association.
-
Leadership Development Opportunities in ACPE
Jun 7, 2021
Having come to the end of our historic annual conference, I am reflecting on the talent among us, how that is nurtured and encouraged. What a gift to hear the voices of newer educators and particularly those who are pushing and leading us to make anti-racist commitments in our lives and ministries. I am also reflecting on the way that CoPs both already are and can become instruments to nurture new leaders and operationalize our anti-racist commitments.
-
For your professional ethics edification in JuneJun 4, 2021
For June, instead of commenting on specifics about our ethics standards, I would like to share some resources for learning about professional ethics as well as, create a space where we might give attention to a question I have been grappling with, “Why, racism is ethically/morally wrong?”
-
A Journey to Myself - A Resident Chaplain’s ReflectionJun 2, 2021
At the beginning of my CPE journey, I asked myself a question I am sure every CPE student has asked themselves in the past. Why am I doing this? I'm sure at the beginning we all have an answer to the question. Looking back from the end of my journey, my answer differs greatly than from the beginning. At the beginning the answer was shallow, because God called me to this. This was the answer I had heard my entire life from ministers, so it sounded like a reasonable enough answer. I didn’t know how wrong I was.
-
Technology is best when it brings people togetherMay 28, 2021
Almost one year ago, ACPE launched a new database and new website. The technology upgrades provided us an opportunity to evaluate our association’s communication strategy. Our old website attempted to speak to many audiences – Certified Educators, Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapists and Practitioners, Educator Candidates, current and potential CPE students, Center Administrators, Servant Leaders, Spiritual Care Providers, Donors, and many more. With so much information crowding the site, its effectiveness diminished. We realized we needed to seek new ways to communicate with ACPE members and the world.
-
Foundation for ACPE and the Proposed Merger with APC
May 19, 2021
As we are pondering the proposed merger some of us may ask: “What’s going to happen to our money?” to which some others who are new to ACPE or just very busy would respond: “What money?” Indeed, we have some money.
-
For your professional ethics edification in MayMay 13, 2021
Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members.
-
Call for Nominations: Deadline to apply is July 8thMay 12, 2021
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.
-
We who believe in freedom cannot rest
May 11, 2021
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.”
-
Mid-Conference Dispatch
May 7, 2021
As you likely know, we are currently one week in to our 2021 Annual Conference, Creating Room to Breathe. A courageous and visionary team of our colleagues have been working hard for over two years to develop this conference to give us the tools to have difficult conversations about race and our own racism and the space in which to have them.
-
Like a Homecoming: Report from a SIP TrainingMay 3, 2021
Sometimes you don't know what you need until you receive it. ACPE's 30-hour Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP) training was such for me. It felt like a homecoming, and it increased my sense of congruence, confidence, and commitment to my calling.
-
An Association at Work
May 3, 2021
With the virtual Annual Conference approaching, summer groups being planned, and fall programs on the docket, I imagine we are all busy. Sometimes I recognize that I’ve not come up for air to observe all that others are doing around me or taken a moment to absorb all that is steadily accomplished. This week, I received information from our commissions on their good work.
-
ACPE Offers First Certifications in Spiritually Integrated PsychotherapyApr 24, 2021
Jennifer Macchia, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Caleb Pusey, of Asheville, North Carolina, are the first persons to complete the process for ACPE’s new Certification in Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy. Macchia met with a Certification Review committee on March 29, and Pusey met with a Certification Review committee on April 12.
-
Doing the Work despite HesitationsApr 24, 2021
It sounded like a wonderful idea. A webinar series meant to underscore the realities of racism in healthcare, the origins of white supremacy and how that intersectional, socially constructed and maintained oppression met the experiences of educators and students in CPE, an intentional climb and invitation toward liberation and wholeness and better world-making. For a number of reasons, I was excited about joining colleagues in the work of gathering materials for the 8:46 Webinar series.
-
We Want to Hear from Our Members: How Can the Foundation for ACPE Support a Student Equity & Access Initiative?Apr 23, 2021
What an exciting time to witness such historic transitions in our organization. We are poised to address multifaceted social upheaval in ways that provide a transformative, yet practical impact on our communities, even our world. What will we do as an organization to seize the opportunity presented to us?