Past Congresses

• August 1979
  Edinburgh, Scotland – The Risks of Freedom
  “The kind of world we know today, with its insidious pressures, its serious stresses and its severe strains, demands new insights into pastoral care and new understandings of human behaviour and relationships.” Rev’d Denis Duncan: Chair of Congress.
• August 1983
  San Francisco, USA – Symbols and Stories in Pastoral Care and Counselling
  Pastoral counsellors and teachers from different continents presented traditions and stories of healing. In this congress it became clear that we needed to develop care and counselling for systems and structures, not only for individuals and families.
• August 1987
  Melbourne, Australia – Pastoral Ministry in a Fractured World
  The first presentation of liberation theology by basic ecclesial community perspectives from Latin America. Cultural diversity broadened further through the attendance of a large proportion of Asian participants.
• August 1991
  Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands – Pastoral Care and Context
  Clarification of the Council’s work: A body which enables communication to take place at an international level. A co-ordinating committee of 12 representatives formed to enable focus on the contextual setting and needs between congresses.
• August 1995
  Toronto, Canada – Babylon & Jerusalem: Stories for transition in a strange land
  Problems become more visible: how to address the political context of PCC; how to address spiritual diversity (Christian/Jewish relations)
• August 1999
  Accra, Ghana – Spirituality and Culture in Pastoral Care and Counselling
  Seilsorge: Soul Care – Care of the total person
• August 2004
  Bangalore, India – Global Economy, a challenge for Pastoral Care, Counselling and Religious Traditions
  The call to pay attention to the impact of social, cultural, political, economic and environmental issues within the struggle for power and territory within a shrinking world. Seeking to understand how pastoral traditions relate to long-standing and emerging spiritualities and religious faiths.
• August 2007
  Krzyzowa, Poland – Treasure in Earthen Vessels
  Care of Souls facing Fragility and Destruction – Individual and Systemic Perspectives In the destruction of life foundations, not only individual species or humans are threatened but all living things…”Within such vulnerability, every day is a new opportunity to be the clay pots we are created to be – fragile, porous, prone to molding, expecting only of ourselves that we bear in some modest way the kind of hope and vision and love and justice that points beyond our limited energies, our days, our wisdom to that which is eternal and ultimately reliable.” Kathleen Greider.
• August 2011
  Rotorua, New Zealand (Aotearoa) – Rituals of Encounter in Healing: Pastoral Care & Counselling
  The Maori ritual of welcome signifies to both host and guest that the encounter ritual is a sacred exchange of both self and soul – incorporating four elements for wholistic healing and wellbeing.
  Te Taha Tinana (Physical well-being of land and body)
  Te Taha Wairua (Spiritual well-being)
  Te Taha Hinengaro (Mental & Emotional well-being)
  Te Taha Whanau (Family and Social well-being)
• October 2015
  San Francisco, CA (USA) – Care in our Global Village: Interfaith, Interculture and Virtual Reality Relationships
  Local issues cannot be approached in isolation from the processes of globalization. Local issues must be assessed in terms of a global hermeneutics as spirituality becomes more intertwined with technological developments and the digitalization of the globe.
• August 2019
  Malacca, Malaysia – Learning to Serve People Of Other Cultures
  Come join the gathering of outstanding professionals from around the globe, to explore, share, learn and exchange ideas and experiences of the impact of culture on Pastoral Care and Counseling. In an exotic and challenging cultural environment……..in a racially, socially, politically, and religiously diverse context in Southeast Asia.