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For Print Version
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Te Ara Pono Ministries
“I am the light of the world, whoever follows me
will not walk in darkness but have the light of Christ” |
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Te Ara Pono, translated as ‘The Way of Faith’, is a prison ministry
under the governance and guidance of Wellington Diocese Anglican Cursillo
and delivered in partnership with Prison Fellowship NZ and the Corrections
Department.
This Te Ara Pono Ministry is based around an intensive four day in-prison course which has been adapted and modified from the standard resident Cursillo course and Kairos, a similar short course run in high security prisons in American and Australia. Conducted in November each year the TAP course has been gifted into Unit 7 the ‘Faith Based Unit’ at the Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt, Wellington by dedicated teams of Cursillista’s with a special calling to Prison Ministry. The foundation course was carried out in November 2007. The ministry is about taking the light of Christ, and the saving message of Jesus, into the place Satan considers his own. As Paul said to the Colossians, “For he has rescued us out of the domination of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of Sins”. Col 1:13-14. The image at the top of the page shows the Light of Christ coming into the prison cell and banishing the darkness.
Te Ara Pono also sees a vital need to support TAP inmates upon release. One of the ways we can help is by engaging with the whole Cursillo community with their local churches to mentor these ex prisoners once they are out. The future of Te Ara Pono is in the hands of our God – wherever He wishes to take it; perhaps we will be in other units within Rimutaka or a local woman’s prison, or gifting this ministry to the wider Cursillo family within New Zealand to also take up the challenge and blessing of changing lives through the power and saving knowledge of Jesus. Mark Wing
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Out
of Darkness – Light
Te
Ara Pono is essentially seen as a 4th Day ministry. It’s all about what you
will do after the course to change your life. This ministry continues to
gain wide interest and even wider prayer support from within the Wellington
Cursillo community. Te Ara Pono has grown from one course a year, to
numerous teams of Cursillistas carrying out ‘standing alongside’ visits back
into the unit about every six weeks in order to support the growing
community of TAP graduates along with other Christian inmates inside the
Unit.