News
South African activist and Anglican priest Fr Michael Lapsley, SSM (Society of the Sacred Mission), will offer a presentation about his life and work in the Healing of Memories project. He will speak on 30 November at 15:00 in the Visser 't Hooft Hall of the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Switzerland.
Lapsley, born in New Zealand, was sent after his ordination in 1973 to South Africa. Because of his increasing involvement as a chaplain in the anti-apartheid struggles he was expelled from the country in 1976. An assassination attempt through a letter bomb in 1990 cost him his hands and the sight in his left eye.
Later, Lapsley returned to South Africa and participated in the transition to the post-apartheid era. In 1998 he founded the Institute for Healing of Memories, a project that has taken him around the world to work with victims – as well as perpetrators – of violence and trauma.
Lapsley's memoirs, written with Stephen Karakashian and entitled Redeeming the Past: My Journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer, has been hailed as "a uniquely alive, wonderful narrative" by Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gordimer. The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit called the book "a phenomenal saga of a wounded healer".
The memoirs also won plaudits from former South African president Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Rowan Williams and Desmond Tutu. Helen Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand, said, "This story will inspire suffering people across the globe who long for freedom and hope." The book is co-published by the WCC and will be available for sale and signing at the event.
The presentation is sponsored by the WCC, which has supported Lapsley's work for ten years. This event, which is free and open to the public, will include remarks by Lapsley concerning his life and work, followed by a question-and-answer session, a reception and book-signing.
Father Michael Lapsley Story (YouTube video)
Redeeming the Past: My Journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer (on Amazon)
