What Do We Do and Why Do We Do It.


Father Michael Lapsley was born in New Zealand and
ordained in Australia. In 1973 he went to South Africa as a young Anglican priest where he became chaplain to both black and white students at the very height of apartheid oppression. In 1976 he was elected National University Chaplain. That was the year of the Soweto uprising in which many black school children were shot and killed. Father Michael began using his public platform to speak out on behalf of students who had been shot, detained, and tortured, and shortly thereafter he was expelled from South Africa.
He spent the next 16 years as chaplain to the liberation movement in exile, travelling the world to mobilize particularly the faith community to oppose apartheid and support the struggle for freedom. While still in Zimbabwe in April 1990, 3 months after Nelson Mandela's release from prison, he was sent a letter bomb from South Africa disguised as religious literature. In the blast, he lost both hands, the sight of one eye, and was severely burned. Accompanied by the prayers, love, and support from around the world, he began his own journey from victim to survivor to victor.
That was the year of the Soweto uprising in which many black school children were shot and killed. Father Michael began using his public platform to speak out on behalf of students who had been shot, detained, and tortured, and shortly thereafter he was expelled from South Africa.
In 1993 after returning to South Africa, he became Chaplain of the Trauma Centre for Victims of Violence and Torture in Cape Town. There he devised a Healing of Memories process that created safe spaces where any South African who wished could, in a collective setting, begin to work through the psychological, spiritual and emotional effects of the nation's past. In 1998, with increasing demands for this process nationally and internationally, he formed the Institute for Healing of Memories.
In addition to South Africa, the Institute now works with victims of war, violence, and genocide in places like Rwanda, Burundi, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, and East Timor. Recently the Institute has begun training the staff of an organization in East Harlem that operates a shelter for abused, disabled women. Father Michael’s own experience of inner healing has helped him connect with people in countless cultures who experience systemic violence and personal pain. He challenges individuals and communities to move through a journey of healing towards forgiveness and reconciliation.
Fr. Michael was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of KwaZulu Natal in recognition of his work on behalf of healing and reconciliation in South Africa and the world.

In1998 Fr. Lapsley worked for the Trauma Center for Victims of Violence and Torture in Cape Town, which assisted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, then started theInstitute for Healing of Memories (IHOM NA is the North American Component). He was the subject of the biographical work Priest and Partisan: A South African journey (1996) by his fellow South African priest andtheologian Michael Worsnip.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

BARRIER FREE LIVING HOSTS HOM WORKSHOP




Barrier Free Living (BFL www.bflnyc.org) brought an intense three-day ‘Healing of Memories’ workshop to participants of its Transitional Housing and Secret Garden programs this May.

The Transitional Housing program provides safe shelter and case management services to people with disabilities who are homeless. Secret Garden specializes in working with people with disabilities who are also victims of abuse.
The workshop is an ongoing partnership between BFL’s President/CEO Paul Feuerstein and Fr. Michael Lapsley who heads the Institute for Healing of Memories (http://www.healingofmemories.co.za/) in Cape Town, South Africa. It offers a model for healing through creative group activities which explore emotion, reconciliation and forgiveness.
“This experience helped me begin to release the negative low self esteem I have carried with me all of my life,” said Alejandrina Cruz, a client at Secret Garden. “I have grown mentally and spiritually.”
Fr. Michael developed the Healing of Memories workshops while heading the Chaplaincy Project of the Trauma Centre for Victims of Violence and Torture. The workshop evolved from his experience of living in exile, losing both hands in a parcel bomb explosion, and listening to the stories of the survivors whom he counseled at the Trauma Centre.

BFL customized a Healing of Memories workshop curriculum for both staff and residents at its programs. Agency staff from BFL’s Transitional Housing, Freedom House and Secret Garden programs serve as facilitators, guiding the three-day event.

Activities include sharing poetry about disability; drawing 'life stories’, and creating a symbol of peace,' which is shared during a final celebration.

“This is my first time as a workshop facilitator and the experience was exhilarating,” said Cynthia Amodeo, Coordinator of Generations of Freedom at Freedom House. “To see participants begin their path toward real healing through creative expression was awesome.”


For more information about Healing of Memories visit http://www.healingofmemories.co.za/ For information about Barrier Free Living visit http://www.bflnyc.org/
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)