Finally we got to meet!
The Bangkok conference was to be held in 2020, but as we all know that was not possible due to the pandemic. During the ten years that has passed between the last conference in Sydney 2015 and now, the world has changed a lot.
But IPCA has managed to survive and this year we celebrated our 40th anniversary. Around 125 prison chaplains from 33 countries met at the headquaters of Church of Christ in Thailand, CCT. The days where filled with plenary speakers, workshops and prayers. Both in the form of devotions and church visits on the Sunday. And on the conference “Prayers corner”, where chaplains pinned prayers written by inmates in the prisons where the delegates serves.
More importantly, the days where filled with chaplains meeting each other. Getting to know new collegues and friends, to learn about the different conditions in prisons all over the world.
This conference there was delegates from all of the six regions, which has not always been the case.
During the conference the new steering committee was presented and the election for the new worldwide president took place.
The new president, Marie-Louise Norozi from Sweden presented her motto for the mandate period;
Step by Step, Mouth to Mouth, Face to Face.
A motto to work by for the forthcoming five years, to make IPCA more known among prison chaplains and grow as an organisation.
Step by step, the way prison chaplains meets inmates.
Mouth to mouth, meening for chaplains to talk to collegues about the importance of having our worldwide organisation and it´s regions as a platform for promoting our topics towards the correctional systems, governments aswell as the UN. And to learn from each other.
Face to face, the only way for us to be able to meet Christ within our fellow man.