2021 Canadian Association of Parish Nursing Conference
“A time of networking with colleagues, engaging with speakers and hearing from our Board of Directors.”
Date: May 14, 2021
Location: Virtual
Due to COVID-19 and its ability to cause uncertainty, we have decided to offer our AGM via Zoom instead of in person.
Available for Download
2021 Conference/AGM Wrap Up
Autumn is upon us already and the CAPNM Virtual Conference and AGM is already a distant memory. A big thank you to all attendees and the conference planning committee for a day of stimulating conversation and renewal. Also, thank you to all who took the time to respond to the survey. Your reflections and feedback were wonderful to hear, and we thought it best to incorporate your responses in this report.
Our theme for this years conference was “ Stretching and Growing Interfaith Conversations”. We were privileged to have our very own Margaret Clarke (spiritual care practitioner/educator) help us figure out HOW to navigate an interfaith dialogue within our practice as Parish Nurses. Kathy Murtha (Retreat-Coordinator/Facilitator specializing in Interfaith) provided INSIGHT to the symbols, beliefs, and traditions of other faiths. Paul McKenna (consultant in world religions and interfaith dialogue ) guided us with RESOURCES for the planning committee and his work on the Golden Rule Poster featuring the Golden Rule scripturally and symbolically in 13 religions. We are truly grateful to have experienced a small sampling of their collective wisdom.
The response from attendees was exciting. Here are some take aways:
- Inclusivity in meeting spiritual needs is important. We need to meet others with open curiosity rather than judgement.
- All faiths have commonalities. Be curious, engage others, explore through conversations
- Extraordinary Faith- tolerance through understanding others
- Try to be more observant and accept opportunities to conversation
- Continue to be kind and open to all of Gods children
- The little booklet on interfaith practices was excellent and has some good very concrete teaching that can easily be added to practice.
- we need to focus on commonalities
As you can see, the Conference delivered thoughtful insight on the topic of Interfaith dialogue. For those of you who could not attend, we encourage you to join us next year! A big thank you to Shelly, our administrative guru, who came through for us with her expert tech and organizational skills. For any resource information please contact Capnm directly
Many Blessings and God’s Peace to you all.
On Behalf of your 2021 Conference Planning Committee
Co-Chairs, Karen Watson and Judy Johnson