Letter to the President of Pakistan

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

04 April 2011
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

His Excellency, Asif Ali Zardari
President
Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Your Excellency:

We bring you greetings and blessings from the General Committee of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), a regional ecumenical organization representing a 100 member churches and 16 National Councils of Churches in 22 Asian countries.

We were shocked and deeply saddened by the assassination of Mr. Shabhaz Bhatti, Minister for Minority Affairs and the only Christian Member of Parliament in the Pakistan Government.

CCA has also received information regarding the killing of two and wounding of Christians after Muslim youths allegedly attacked them outside a church building in Hyderabad last 22 March 2011.

In the past, through the media we have been informed of killings of civilians based on false accusations of desecrating the Qur’an, with the perpetrators using the Blasphemy Laws as justification for the killings.

CCA joins the call from the international community for an urgent and impartial investigation of the case and to bring the perpetrators to justice. We would also like to see more control of the misuse of the Blasphemy Law as justification for such criminal act.

CCA as an ecumenical family in Asia also denounces and condemns the burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an in the United States on March 20, 2011, overseen by Florida pastor Terry Jones. Such act is unbecoming for one who professes love and respect for neighbors. We reiterate here what we said in our statement on the burning of the Qur’an issued in September 2010, stating that

“As a Christian regional organization, CCA exists to promote unity, CCA holds on to the fundamental belief that each faith has gifts to share for our mutual enrichment. Through the years CCA has done its share to be a venue for the discovery and sharing of those gifts and by promoting dialogue and collaboration in addressing the issues that concern people in Asia regardless of the religious faith they hold.”

The churches in Asia offer our prayers and solidarity along with our ecumenical accompaniment of both Muslims and non-Muslims in Pakistan, who have all been rendered victims by a culture of impunity. We enjoin all our Member Churches and Councils in Asia to actively advocate for the rights of minority groups to be respected and protected in Pakistan.

Respectfully yours,

REV. DR. HENRIETTE HUTABARAT LEBANG
General Secretary