29th General Synod: United Church of Christ America

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.

15 July 2013
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

“God’s Vision:_____________”

The 29th General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) was held from 28 June to 2 July 2013 at Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, Long Beach - California, USA. It was attended by 754 voting delegates and around 1000 visitors from local churches and from UCC ecumenical and global partners. As the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) is one of the global partners of UCC, the General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang, was invited to the General Synod of UCC.  Bishop Reuel Mariqza, General Secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines was also present, along with other UCC partners from Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Europe, Carribbean and Canada, and representatives from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

Inspired by the book of Habakkuk, especially Habakkuk 2:1-3, the theme of the general synod is: “God’s Vision__________”  Through the worship experiences each day, the participants sought God’s vision in the transitional moment in the life and ministry of UCC, as reflected in the Litany of Response during the opening worship:

Go to the watch post of your life 
and wait to hear what God will say to you;
keep watch to see what vision the Holy One will show you.
With roots as deep as the earth,
and hands reaching to the heavens,
we wait for the One who is speaking still.
 
God, call us to the edge,
and show us the ways that lead to life!
 
Go to the watch post of your life
and feel the stirring of God’s Spirit within your soul;
prepare your heart with courage to receive the vision.
With spirits free to sing and dance,
unburdened by the distractions of life,
we wait for the gift of emptiness.
 
God, call us to the edge,
and renew us with your powerful glory and grace!
 
Go to the watch post of your life
and wait to hear what God will say to you;
keep watch to see what vision the holy One will show you.
 
 The motto of UCC is “God is still speaking.” The UCC national setting is trying to reach four goals of being: a Bold, Public Voice; a Welcoming, Reachable Congregation; Engaged Disciples; and Excellent, Diverse Leaders. They believe that gifts to the Church’s Wider Mission make this ministry possible.  Each of the four worship services at General Synod 2013 reflected the theme of God’s Vision in a different way.
 

In addition to the Business Sessions, the synod also provided opportunities for participants to engage with the present facts and issues central to the specific resolutions through sessions know as Educational Intensives before their deliberations in the Committees and Plenaries.  Participants were also exposed to various challenging issues in the life of the UCC through Workshops. Worship, theological reflections and keynote speeches were inspirational in facilitating the participants to address various issues on justice and peace. The Youth Gathering was held along with the Synod, and from time to time they joined the synod sessions. This provided space for youth to be part of the important occasion of the church, such as synod meeting. Exhibitions featured displays and resources of various ministries of UCC including theological seminaries related to UCC. An area was thoughtfully set apart as a place for refreshments and meeting friends. The participants supported the different ministries of the denomination through sponsored lunch and dinner gatherings.

All in all, the five days synod meeting was a wonderful space to discuss God’s Vision and the future ministry of UCC, and offered inspirational opportunities for the participants to journey together in faith. In spite of the diversity of its members, the UCC tried their best to be an inclusive community faithful to God’s calling for peace with justice in the midst of many changes and challenges in the present society. For the final night of the biennial gathering on Tuesday, July 2, God’s Vision was a call to new life after the church moved into a single board of governance from the previous five-board structure. The invitation to be part of this synod has become a blessing of learning opportunities and a personal spiritual recharging for many international partners.

Henriette Hutabarat Lebang