RITUALS OF ENCOUNTERS in Healing: Pastoral Care and Counselling

Sunday, 21st - Saturday 27th, August, 2011
(Check-In Sunday 21st from 2pm; Check-Out Saturday 27th by 10am)

The Business Meetings for the EC,CC and COUNCIL  
prior:20th, August, 2011
and after: Saturday 27th, Aug 2011 (end: 2pm)

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Invitation to participate:

Dr. H. Papuni

Tena koutou te whanau o ICPCC; greetings to our ICPCC family.

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers on the loss of our beloved Reverend Canon Jim Biddle earlier this year. He held you, the global family of ICPCC and your ministry as pastoral care workers and counsellors, deeply in his heart and we are committed to seeing to fruition his dream of hosting you here in Rotorua in 2011.

Jim would have shared with you our Maori saying:
       He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
       What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, people, people.

As the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, we Maori have encapsulated this saying in our approach to pastoral care and counselling.

We invite you to share our concept of Hauora (Maori Health and Well-being)
through an exploration of

       Rituals of Encounters in Healing: Pastoral Care and Counselling,
       in Rotorua, Aotearoa/New Zealand in August 2011.

We chose this theme based on the model above (Durie, 1984) of a traditional Maori meeting house and the rituals of encounter we use there to welcome guests into the whare/house. The model demonstrates health and well-being as a four-dimensional holistic and spiritual treasure to be acknowledged and nurtured. Fundamental to Maori health is the health of our land and our relationship to our land is how we identify ourselves. Our traditional welcome signifies to both host and guest that the encounter ritual we engage in is a sacred exchange of both self and soul. Without these rituals of encounters, the acknowledgement of the twin treasures of life and soul that each of us holds within ourselves cannot safely be shared with others in a healing relationship.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our land and hearing about your encounter rituals for healing.

Te Taha Tinana (Physical well-being)
The most familiar dimension in healing is the physical; for Maori, physical wellbeing of both land and body are desirable.

Te Taha Wairua (Spiritual well-being)
Spirituality is acknowledged to be the most essential requirement for health. It is believed that without a spiritual awareness an individual can be considered to be lacking in wellbeing and more prone to ill health.

Te Taha Hinengaro (Mental & Emotional well-being)
Thoughts, feelings and resultant behaviours are vital to health in Te Ao Maori (the Maori world). Communication through emotions is important and more meaningful than the exchange of words.

Te Taha Whanau (Family & Social well-being)
Family is the prime support system providing care, not only physically but also culturally and emotionally. For Maori, whanau is about extended relationships rather than the western family concept.