A Message from APC President…
Dear Members of APC:
I am honored and grateful to serve as the President of the Association of Professional Chaplains for 2020 – 2021.
I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to our outgoing President, Joe Perez, for his leadership this past year. Throughout a year of global pandemic and national division, he has guided APC with support for our members and raised up the important role of professional chaplains for such a time as this. Thank you Joe for your many years of service to APC and especially in this past year as its president.
As I look forward to 2021 we still face the ongoing challenge of the Covid 19 pandemic. Our communities are stretched to the breaking point. Our front line workers, first responders and essential workers have been running a marathon for 10 months now. Our own members are digging down deep into their spiritual resources and using their professional training to provide spiritual care to people who have lost livelihoods and loved ones. And our own chaplains are among those people who have known these losses and changes.
Know that your board of directors for APC is working hard to make resources available that will support our chaplains on the front lines. Most important for us is to face this challenge together, arm-in-arm, side-by-side with opportunities for peer support using Zoom and webinars for learning. As we stay connected we will discover in new ways the power of our community and we can return to our settings with renewed appreciation that what we bring to people is so important and matters greatly for the well-being of all whom we serve.
I am grateful for the exceptional leaders that serve our membership on the board of directors. The board is committed to supporting our members in this critical time and also looking ahead to the future. We are in the second year of our 3 year strategic plan, building out the pillars of Value, Strategic Partner Relationships, Technology and Education. Our vision looks forward so that people may have access to the highest quality spiritual care by professional chaplains who are developed and supported by the APC.
Also, I am grateful for our outstanding team at the national office which is led by our CEO Pat Appelhans. Pat and the team continue to amaze me in the ways that they nimbly and creatively find a way to make incredible things happen for our members. Of special note was the staff support and work of the BCCI Commission led by Jana Troutman-Miller that accomplished 260 BCC interviews in October and November. Incredible!
Lastly, I am grateful to you our members. You are the face and heart of APC. You are the professional chaplains who step into the struggles and suffering of others, each and every day. By your presence and your compassion you make a difference. In hidden and quiet ways, you help people to find the strength and love they need today and to realize a hope for tomorrow. Thank you.
Rev. Jon Overvold MDiv BCC is the Manager of Pastoral Care and Education at New York Presbyterian – Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.. He serves as President of the APC Board and may be contacted at president@professionalchaplains.org.
