Spiritual Care Association Names Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz Director of International Relations
The growth of SCA's international offices has necessitated a position to collaborate more closely with international colleagues. Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz will fill that role by assisting others in connecting to SCA resources to further their professional development and personal growth, and advance chaplaincy worldwide.
NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Spiritual Care Association (SCA), the first multidisciplinary, international professional membership association for spiritual care providers, announced today Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz as Director of International Relations.
"The growth of our international offices has necessitated a SCA position to collaborate more closely with our international colleagues. Now with 17 offices in 16 countries and more in development, the opportunity for a worldwide campaign for the integration of spiritual care in health care is upon us. SCA is grateful for our partners and their passion for the spiritual care agenda," said the Rev. Eric J. Hall, SCA's president and CEO.
Berkowitz will assist others in connecting to SCA resources to further their professional development and personal growth, and advance chaplaincy worldwide.
"I admire SCA's efficiency, vision, and scope. I studied international relations and love interacting with people from different cultures. I speak four languages and am excited to use my knowledge of chaplaincy and organization building to help colleagues thrive and reach their full potential," said Berkowitz.
Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz (nee Carey Knight) was born and raised in Montreal. She earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Harvard University in 1993 and a master's and Rabbinic Ordination from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem in 1998. She served as Assistant Rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan for three years and spent seven years in Boca Raton, Fla., as an adult educator.
Berkowitz lives in Jerusalem where she is one of Israel's first accredited hospital chaplains. She was in the first cohort of Israeli spiritual support providers in 2014 and one of the only Israelis to be accredited also by the American/International Neshama Association of Jewish Chaplains. Her pastoral training was at Lenox Hill Hospital in N.Y., Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, Jewish Theological Seminary (long distance interfaith clergy course), and Hebrew Senior Life in Boston. She founded Kashouvot in 2010 to place spiritual caregivers in healthcare settings, educate the general public about the role of chaplaincy, and advance the professionalization and recognition of the field. She provided pastoral care at the French Hospital for five years and currently directs Kashouvot with its staff of eight chaplains and seven student interns.
Berkowitz is the author of Taking the Plunge: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to the Mikveh and various other articles and publications including pieces in the Women's Torah Commentary, Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook, Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine and Journal of Pastoral Care. She was a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the conservative movement for 10 years. She also performs bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings for Israelis and visitors. She finds her spiritual center in nature and through pottery. You can read about her work at http://www.kashouvot.org.
About Spiritual Care Association
HealthCare Chaplaincy Network's affiliate, the Spiritual Care Association, is the first multidisciplinary, international professional membership association for providers of spiritual care in health care that establishes evidence-based quality indicators, scope of practice, knowledge base, and testing to become a Board Certified or Credentialed Chaplain. Membership is open to chaplains and other health care professionals, clergy and organizations. For more information, visit http://www.spiritualcareassociation.org or call 212-644-1111.
SOURCE Spiritual Care Association
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