Welcome to the IPCA Oceania Region Home Page on 

 

Mission Statement "Uniting, Encouraging and Equipping a Global Network of Prison Chaplains as they share God's Love and Restoring Justice"

WHO ARE WE?  We are the Oceania Region of IPCA, the International Prison Chaplains' Association. We are the youngest region of IPCA, established at the fourth Quinquennial Worldwide Prison Chaplains Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2000.   Till then the area of Oceania was part of the IPCA Asia Region.    As the sixth designated region of IPCA, our aim is to promote and advance the principle and aims of IPCA, which is to establish and develop a Worldwide Network of communication, information sharing and mutual support among prison chaplains around the world.   The Oceania Region covers the wide geographical area of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Islands of the South Pacific.

Enjoy your visit to our home on the Web!
If you are involved in prison ministry or if you are interested in issues of justice and pastoral care, we hope you will feel at home at this site. Get to know us, learn from the contributions of our members, and share your experiences with us. You will find things to help in your work, words to inspire and stories to tell.

Prison Chaplaincy.
In every corner of the world, large numbers of men and women find themselves incarcerated, justly or unjustly, for varying periods of time in conditions that range from good to horrific. They are all needy and deserve access to pastoral and spiritual care.

At times, this care is provided in an exemplary manner through religious services and counselling by officially appointed prison chaplains. In many countries however, those involved in prison chaplaincy and criminal/social justice areas work in extremely difficult, unpaid and dangerous circumstances. They often volunteer their services if there is no appropriate infrastructure, and receive little community approval for their mission.

Yet this same group of people can and does wield enormous influence within their social context by confronting suffering, human rights issues, and challenges the mentality of despair to both victim and offender.

Chaplains are essentially bearers of hope. They are often sources of food, medicine, literacy, family connectivity and bureaucratic advocacy and intervention. They share God's love. They are essentially bearers of hope.