OCAMPR Conference Proposal Submissions

OCAMPR Conference Proposal Submissions

Our understanding of human personhood directly affects how we communicate, how we make decisions, and how we participate in our communities. We invite you to join us at this year’s OCAMPR Annual Conference on Embodied Life : Perspectives on Human Personhood where we will collectively reflect on the Orthodox perspective on what it means to be human. As Gregory of Nyssa describes, we are given “a twofold origin of formation, blending the divine with the earthly, so that by means of both [we may] have enjoyment of each, enjoying God by means of the more divine nature and the good things of earth by the sense akin to them.”

How does this understanding that we are physical and spiritual beings affect how we interpret our professional identities? From both a theoretical and practical standpoint, we may feel a dissonance between our spiritual lives and secular jobs that reject the partaking of the divine nature as a defining element of what it means to be human. What does the spiritual body mean to an Orthodox Christian physician? What does the embodied mind mean to the Orthodox Christian psychologist? What does it mean to the priest that the parishioner lives as a physical body endowed with Spirit? We will explore these and other topics, evaluating what it means, from the medical, psychological, and pastoral perspectives, that human beings live as spirit-endowed clay (Genesis 2:7); clay that, according to the Epistle of Barnabas, suffers. How does this guide our respective practices of facilitating healing, wellness, and wholeness?

OCAMPR requests that proposals for presentations reflect professional, academic discussion on critical issues regarding the helping professions and pastoral care, specifically as it relates to our Orthodox Christian faith. Although presentations reflecting the conference theme are preferred, other subjects related to the overall mission of OCAMPR are welcomed. Panel discussions are prioritized.

Proposals are due May 15, 2024 and will be reviewed by members of the OCAMPR board and conference committee. Presenters will be notified by email if their proposal is accepted, accepted with revision or not accepted. Please see the specific instructions below for conference workshops, panels, and papers. Note that presenters who are accepted are required to register for the conference. Presenters receive a discount on registration. Address any questions to ocamprconference@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your submissions!

https://ocampr.org/workshops-and-papers/

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