14th Triennial General Assembly of the Council of Churches in Malaysia

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.

08 May 2013

Behold I Make All Things New

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) expresses warm greetings to the Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM) on the occasion of the 14th Triennial General Assembly and the Dedication of the new Ecumenical Centre, held from 23-25 April 2013, at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The CCM

is an ecumenical fellowship of Churches and Christian Organizations in Malaysia. It is one of the three constituent members of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM). Established in 1948, the CCM is the largest ecumenical body in Malaysia that brings together 18 denominations and 11 associate organizations representing around 450,000 Christians in Malaysia. The CCA was represented by Rev. Grace Jung Eun Moon, Executive Secretary, Faith Mission and Unity.  The Statement of the 14th Triennial General Assembly titled “Behold I make all things new” shares these moments of celebration and fellowship.

Statement of  The 14th Triennial General Assembly, Petaling Jaya, 23-25 April, 2013

A historic occasion will be remembered in the calendar of CCM, when on this day 23 April, 2013 the Ecumenical Centre was dedicated to the Glory of God.  Heads of churches throughout the country together with invited guests congregated in the afternoon for the dedication of a brand new building. Heads of member churches participated in the service with President Bishop Datuk Dr. Thomas Tsen bringing God's message, reminding all present a new beginning that God wants to continue to do through the body of Christ.

After the service the congregants toured round the modern 3-storey building with 85,000 sq. ft. facilities that comprise 22 guest rooms, function rooms, exhibition centre, multipurpose hall, a cafeteria, a boardroom, book & souvenir gift shop, and a beautiful chapel.

In his presidential address, the outgoing President, Bishop Dr. Thomas Tsen, declared it was only God who can make everything new.  "Behold, I make all things new!" (Rev. 21:5). He left us with reminders to remain united in diversity, love and care for one another through prayer and deeds when facing challenging situations, carry out the common mission to be the 'salt and light' of the world and to continue to grow in commitment, strength and maturity especially in the area of prayer.  He concluded in thanksgiving to God for the enriching and fruitful journey of CCM, resulting from the faithfulness of God's people responding to His call, and expressed his desire to see more indigenous and youth leaders being empowered for the increasingly challenging future of all churches in the country.

The challenging messages, on the Assembly theme during the bible study sessions by Bishop Emeritus Dr. Hwa Yung are wake up calls alerting the churches to have lives of prayer, holiness and unity so that spiritual authority will be given to bear witness for Christ, "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations." (Rev. 2:26)

We are assured of not laboring in vain, remaining steadfast and immovable, we will see "a new heaven and a new earth," in church renewal and revival and blessings to the nation.  Churches are encouraged to build the nation by being a voice with authority through credibility and working hard for the long haul, and moving forward as a mighty army for the Lord and the nation.

The Assembly placed on record its disappointment and concern that the Elections Commission had fixed the polling day on a Sunday, the Christian Sabbath and day of worship, as this has inconvenienced many parishes and congregations, in particular, those with churches located in mission school compounds where the schools are used as polling stations, and those in the interior in Sabah and Sarawak. The Assembly believed that the Elections Commission should take into cognizance the sensitivities and practices of all religious groups when choosing future polling dates.

With the 13th General Election only a week away, the delegates truly appreciate the panel discussion for the GE13: "What's At Stake?"  Christians are reminded that we all need to pray for a free and fair election.  It is our duty to exercise our responsibility in this democratic process.

We thank the Bible Society for the distribution of the 'confiscated' copy of the Alkitab and a copy of the translation by A. C Ruyl (1612/1629) of the Book of Matthew, where the word "Allah" was already used.  All glory to God for the release of the detained Alkitab in 2011, thus making it available.

In concluding his tenure of 3 year term, the delegates thanked Bishop Thomas for his leadership and welcomed the new President, Bishop Philip Lok.

Concluding Prayer

"Almighty and eternal God who alone can work wonders and give in a measure which exceeds our thoughts and desires, grant to us and to our churches the grace of the your Holy Spirit.  Unite us all in one love that altogether we may accomplish the work you have entrusted to us, and be a blessing one for the other in Christ's name AMEN."

By Heads of Churches and Assembly Delegates

25th April 2013

  The Assembly also elected new officers and executive committee members of CCM who will lead the vision and mission of CCM for the next three years. They are:

President:                             Bishop Philip Lok

Deputy President:            Archbishop Bolly Lapok (Anglican Kuching)

Vice- Presidents:              Bishop Dr. Solomon Rajah (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia)

Bishop Dr. Ong Hwai Teik (The Methodist Trinity Annual Conference)

Rev. Jensey Mojuin (Protestant Church in Sabah)

Honorary Treasurer:     Mr. Andrew Lai (Anglican West Malaysia)

General Secretary:         Rev. Dr. Herman Shastri

We pray that God will bless the new office bearers with wisdom and strength as they take up their new responsibilities.    Pic Below: Celebrating the 65th CCM Anniversary