NOTE FROM CHAIR ASHA: Namaste Friends! Five months ago in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic we launched NAHCA, a pioneering organization dedicated to the professional development of Hindu spiritual care providers. The enthusiasm shown for this emergent association at our inaugural event was deeply humbling and reflected the pressing needs it seeks to fulfill. |
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We are now entering into a holy and joyous season for Hindus, during which we celebrate Durga Puja/Navratri and Deepavali/Diwali. We ask you, in this season of dana, or charitable giving, to make a generous donation. Your donation will help us broadly articulate the relevance of our Hindu dharmas to our younger generations and bring healing to community members who are suffering. We have a goal of raising $7,000 in the next two months. What will your financial support be creating? Sharing resources to support our journeys as spiritual caregivers Building a beautiful and robust communications platform Becoming an endorsing body for future spiritual caregivers Supporting clinical pastoral education in Hindu spaces, like temples Providing grants to Hindu chaplains Developing webinars and training How to donate: You can donate via PayPal - search for NAHCA108@gmail.com and choose “friends and family” so you incur no fee. Or you can email our NAHCA Treasurer Preeta Banerjee (preeta@whiteleafadvisors.com) to send a check. Once we have our website up and running this process will hopefully go more smoothly! One more note: Due to the pandemic, the IRS is delayed in processing 501c3 applications. Ours should have been approved last month. However we are still able to fundraise with the expectation that we will be approved and can send out tax documentation as soon as we are able. Please donate today! Asha Shipman NAHCA Chair asha.shipman@yale.edu |
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATE We held our fourth webinar and the first of the Fall series, September 25 with Brian Landau, co-founder and CEO of Vennly. We learned about the importance for spiritual caregivers to find their voice and use novel ways to share their messages of care. Please know that if you are interested in this or any past webinars, you can purchase them soon! |
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In the meantime, Join us for the first webinar in our Fall webinar series: Friday Oct 23, 2020 noon EDT Human Experience as Expressed in Divine Hindu Art Speaker: Ms. Sangeetha Kowsik, designer/artist
and Senior Hindu Spiritual Life Advisor for NYU Sangeetha will discuss how she channels her artistry to provide spiritual care, refute cultural biases and stigmas which will allow care recipients to see their lives as worthy and precious. Diversity of forms associated with the Divine allows for a multiplicity of ways that we can identify with and connect with the Divine. By allowing for a multiplicity of ways to connect with the Divine, the Hindu chaplain can support a care recipient in diverse ways. Please save the date for our Fall line-up and join us Nov 20 for our webinar on Hindu hospital Chaplaincy and Dec 20 for our next webinar in the series of social justice and spirituality. Any Spring webinar requests regarding themes, topics, and speaker suggestions? Please email preeta@whiteleafadvisors.com |
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JOIN ME Oct 23, 2020 at Noon! Namaste Friends, my name is Sangeetha Kowsik, I serve as the NAHCA’s secretary and am a designer/artist/chaplain by profession and created our logo and branding. Questions? Please email me: sangeetha1011@gmail.com READ BELOW FOR CONCEPT : |
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Our Fall Webinar is about Human Experience as Expressed in Divine Hindu Art. I feel "art" is the way to connect to the formless divine, yet Hindu Art is rich in pictorial deceptions of the divine in numerous different forms! How does "Hindu Divine Art" teach us day to day lessons? COME FIND OUT! Look closely at the details! I will explain the human experiences clearly illustrated in the numerous, diverse, beautiful art forms of Hindu Art (Temple sculptures, Paintings, dance, music, stories,
etc & much more) ! Oct 23rd @12 noon I drew "Devi's face" to symbolize : "Human Experience (depicted in Divine Art" The divine is formless & genderless, yet we worship in numerous beautiful human like forms! Art is the way to connect & experience the Divine's prescence. |
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RESOURCES AND UPDATES FROM BRAHMACHARI and VINEET: We hope you enjoyed our opening to last month’s newsletter on
‘what is Hindu chaplaincy?’ The Resources Committee is delighted to help NAHCA members connect with opportunities to learn and grow. Whether one is already working as a chaplain, is on the path to becoming a chaplain, or is simply interested in learning more, we are happy to provide relevant and reliable ways to build a powerful toolkit. We serve in three main ways: Helping to define Hindu chaplaincy and develop the standards for
well-rounded, prepared chaplains; Identifying pathways for endorsement and equivalency for Hindu chaplains or those interested in exploring chaplaincy as a vocation; Creating curricula for professional development and learning opportunities around Hindu approaches to spiritual care and chaplaincy.
Please reach out to us, Brahmachari V. Sharan (vr349@georgetown.edu ) and Vineet Chander (vineetchander108@gmail.com) as we are currently developing partnerships with educators and institutions of learning to better equip NAHCA members
with viable opportunities and resources. |
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MEMBERSHIP UPDATE FROM SANJAY: I am Sanjay, your Membership coordinator and would like to share with you some benefits of becoming a member of NAHCA. NAHCA supports spiritual care from a Hindu lens across the spectrum from spiritual to religious to philosophical to practical aspects. |
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Membership includes: - opportunities for professional development, mentorship & networking *webinar series (see note from Professional Development chair below) - training guidelines for hiring institutions and to aspiring Hindu chaplains - written and electronic resources on Hindu spiritual care and Hinduism. (see note from Resource Development chairs below) - scholarships and awards (to be announced) -support in our functioning as an endorsing body for Hindu chaplains aspiring to work in higher education, healthcare, military, corrections and community settings. Please contact me with any questions about membership at vedantik@yahoo.com. Already a NAHCA member? Please join the NAHCA Hindu chaplaincy Higher Education forum led by Asha Shipman and/or the NAHCA Hindu Healthcare Chaplaincy Forum, led by Shama Mehta The groups will meet via Zoom; dates determined by member availability. Please email the forum leaders [asha.shipman@yale.edu; shama.mehta7@gmail.com] to signal your interest in joining a group. |
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NAMASTE, EVERYONE! September has kept us busy with new information coming through for healthcare chaplains and how the pandemic continues to change how we do our work. To allow for more growth in the field of Hindu Healthcare Chaplaincy, we have formed a small committee that will focus on how to better equip and demonstrate hospital Chaplaincy. |
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We continue to seek partnership with the Hindu mandirs across the USA. If you are a Hindu Mandir leader or work with Hindu Mandir leaders and would like to explore how a Hindu Chaplain can serve the temple community as well as how the temples can be an important partner to NAHCA, please get in touch with me at shama.mehta7@gmail.com. |
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