A CONGRATULATORY SPEECH PRESENTED BY CHAP. PROF. LAW NWATU, ON OCT. 25TH, 2022; ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD CHAPLAINCY/SPIRITUAL CARE WEEK CELEBRATION, HELD ON SUNDAY 23RD TO SATURDAY 29TH OCT, IN THE YEAR AD. 2O22; WITH THE THEME: "RELEVANT AND RESPONSIVE IN TIMES OF CRISIS".

Beloved Professional Chaplains, My Fellow Colleagues in Chaplaincy Profession, Members of ALL Chaplaincy Organizations and Members of Other Care Giving Professions, Greetings!

I heartily welcome you all severally and collectively to this Year's Week long World Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care Week Celebration, that has taken off from Sunday, the 23rd to Saturday the 29th of Oct.in the year of The Lord, AD2022, Tagged, "Relevant And Responsive In Times Of Crisis".

This is to inform us all that it is on Record and in Public Domain that every other known Profession in the World; is given Only A DAY In The Year, to be Recognized, Remembered, Honoured and  Celebrated but Chaplaincy Profession, has One FULL WEEK in The Year to be Celebrated and Celebrate, as we are doing this week. This is to Show and Appreciate the Uniqueness of Our Great Chaplaincy Profession.

CHAPLAINCY, A Profession of Highly Educated, Qualified And Competent Professionals, Called Professional Chaplains, Offering Wholistic PROFESSIONAL CARE, To The Traumatized And NEED SATURATED World In STANDARDIZED PROFESSIONAL WAYS, Is Celebrated World Over This Whole Week and Heartly Say: Bravo, Chaplaincy Profession! Bravo, Professional Chaplains!

May I welcome you all once again to this Celebration.

CHAPLAINCY as The Most Comprehensive Profession Of Professional Caregivers, Provides Total Care for The Total Man.

CHAPLAINCY Has By Its Practices And Services, Proved To Be A Calling Unto A Specialized Ministry Of Care Giving, Counseling, Problem Solving, Conflict Resolution, Victims Assistance, Crises Normalization, Tension Easing, Home Mending, HOPE Building, Life giving Therapy and Sympathizing with People In Various Traumatized Situations And Conditions; Like The Present Day FLOOD VICTIMS IN THE WORLD, AND ESPECIALLY IN NIGERIA.

May I remind All Chaplains, more especially All Certified and Board Certified Chaplains, Among whom I am one; that this ONE WHOLE WEEK Of Celebration Of Chaplaincy, has offered us Another Opportunity to Showcase Our Professional CAPACITIES  And COMPETENCIES. We need to Prove to The World and to Assure Ourselves the more, That Chaplaincy Profession and Professional Chaplains, Still Remain Relevant And Very Responsive, even in This Time of Different Crises, Among Which The Ravaging FLOOD IS ONE.

CHAPLAINCY PROFESSION IS VERY RELEVANT.

Chaplaincy Profession and Professional Chaplains are Very Relevant and Comprehensively Unique due to The Uniqueness of the Indept manner and precision with which they approach and carry out Their Professional Practice and Services Delivery of CARE.

This is why the Whole World is enundated with Various Life Transforming Chaplaincy Care Activities all through this week.

I say A Big Thank You and Congratulations to All Professional Chaplains and Chaplaincy Bodies that are Standing Tall in different Cities and Countries of The World, delivering:

▪️Mental health Care Services.

▪️Psychotherapuetic Care Services .

▪️Psychospiritual Care Services.

▪️Psychosocial Care Services, and other aspects of Chaplaincy Care and Services that people have enjoyed and are enjoying from Chaplaincy Profession and Professional Chaplains of all Categories, up to The Board Certified Chaplains.

This Year's World Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care Week Celebration that we are enjoying today, with the Tag, "Relevant And Responsive In Times Of Crisis", Is The Thirty-seventh(37th), Occasion of the Celebration in the World.

It is on Record that Nigeria joined The World in This Celebration of This Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care Week, Thirteen(13) Years ago; in The Year AD2009.Nigerians First Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care Week Celebration was Held in The City of PORTHARCOURT, Rivers State, From Where I Am Speak Now, and I am very happy that I WAS AMONG THE FIRST CELEBRANTS.

All Thanks to Our PG. of APC Global, in the person of Chap. Prof. Mike-Jacobs, Our Number 1. Chaplaincy Educator in Nigeria and By extension, in Africa.

CHAPLAINCY IS VERY RESPONSIVE IN TIMES OF CRISIS.

Periods of Natural Disasters, Bereavement, Accidents, Violence, Psychological cum Emotional Trauma, Wars, Loss of Jobs, Marriage Breakage, Sicknesses and Diseases, Financial and Material Lack etc constitute Times of Crisis. All Chaplains, especially Certified Professional Chaplains are expected to be Professionally Responsive to those affected by those Crises at such Times of Crisis. By providing Preventive, Palliative or Advocacy Practice and Services Delivery to the Victims of  such Crises, Chaplaincy Profession and Certified and Licensed Professional Chaplains, Show their Relevance and Responsiveness, in Times of Crisis.

Based on Differences in Areas of Specialization, Capacities, Competencies, Experiences and Scope of Practice; Professional Chaplains should be readily available and handy with Professional Visitation, Ministry of presence and Professional Therapeutic Services, to prove The Relevance and Responsiveness of Chaplaincy Profession and Professional Chaplains in Times of Crisis. May I remind us again that we should Now and Always, Show Our Professional CAPACITIES, COMPETENCIES, RELEVANCE And RESPONSIVENESS, And It Has To Be Within The Professional Periphery And The In Compliance with the Laws of The Land.

To The Organizers Of This  Year 2022 World Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care Week Celebration, Under The Able Leadership of Our APC Global Founder and President General, Chap. Prof. Mike-Jacobs AP.,CPC,CHECK. And his Great Team I Say: Happy Successful Outing Of The Year! To All Chaplaincy Bodies and All Certified Professional Chaplains, I say MORE WINS! And To My Board Certified Professional Colleagues In Chaplaincy Profession, Happy Successful Celebration Week!!

Let us All Maintain Our Professional Relevance and Responsiveness through Chaplaincy/Spiritual Care Practice and Services delivery.

Thank you very much and Remain Richly Blessed!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Chap.Prof. Law Nwatu Ph.D, CPC, BCC.

(Professor of ANDRAGOGY and CHAPLAINCY EDUCATION.)