Across Aotearoa, people young and old gathered on Anzac Day, 25 April, to commemorate and honour the courage and sacrifice of those who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Less widely known is that Anzac Day is also marked inside prisons. Where possible, prison chaplains organise ceremonies as part of weekend church services
If you read just one section of our newly released Annual Report 2025, we encourage you to read the prisoner stories. These short, powerful reflections, written by men and women in prison, include stories such as Love and light in my darkest hour, A constant positive presence, and Guiding us through challenging times. Together, they
After eight years, eight months, and eight days, we said a heartfelt farewell to our Chief Executive, John Axcell, at the end of January 2026. The day before his departure, Board members, managers, Corrections staff, and national office staff gathered to acknowledge and celebrate all that John has achieved through his exceptional leadership of TTPCA.
Chaplaincy has been part of prison life in Aotearoa for more than 150 years, but for the past 25 of those, it’s been delivered by one dedicated organisation funded by the government — us! On the fifth of November 2025, the TTPCA whānau came together for a special evening of celebration, connection, and reflection as
The sixth public Annual Report by Tira Tūhāhā Prison Chaplaincy Aotearoa is now published. We invite you to read it here. The Report has some great stories from prisoners, chaplains, and a prison General Manager, along with infographics on our work across all 18 prisons. The stories written by men and women in prison about the
Volunteers have always been an important and vibrant part of the ministry of Tira Tūhāhā Prison Chaplaincy Aotearoa. While the last few years have presented some difficulties for regular involvement by volunteers at many of the prison sites, over the past six months it has been exciting to see the gradual return of volunteers to
An exciting recent development for the chaplaincy teams at all prison sites has been the rollout of a branded clothing range for chaplains. This has been a project that Richard Ward, our Regional Manager for the Auckland Region has overseen over the last two years. The process has taken longer than expected due to COVID
TTPCA farewelled its Board Chair of six years, Anne Dickinson, at the recent October Board meeting. During the farewell, Anne was given flowers and gifts, and also presented with a pikorua symbolising the relationship she has formed with TTPCA and her commitment to bicultural relations in the organisation. Anne made a pivotal contribution to the
We have a new image to go with our new name! In November 2022 the Board changed the name of our organisation to Tira Tūhāhā Prison Chaplaincy Aotearoa and they have just approved a new logo to go with the name. The logo image depicts: te Wairua Tapu (Holy Spirit) represented in the manu (bird),
In November 2022, the Board decided to change our organisation’s name. Our new name is: Tira Tūhāhā Prison Chaplaincy Aotearoa. Our Board members: Bishop’s Kito Pikaahu and Richard Wallace, and Te Aroha Rountree came up with the name which draws on Epeha 1:18 (Ephesians 1:18) and the 12 heavens of Māori religion and mythology. Tira: