AEI–2020 students affirm commitments to justice and pledge to serve their communities

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).

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02 December 2020
Students of AEI–2020 (partial only)

CHIANG MAI: At the end of the month-long annual ecumenical formation and leadership training, the Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI) of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), the 36 students from across Asia who attended it collectively affirmed their commitments to faith and justice in all forms and also pledged to disseminate in their communities and congregations the lessons they learnt from AEI–2020.

The AEI–2020 concluded with the valedictory session on 30 November 2020. The students prepared and led the closing worship, which included elements from indigenous Asian religious traditions.

In his valedictory address, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of the CCA, congratulated the students on successfully completing the month-long programme, despite the constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CCA General Secretary told the students that the course had trained them on all aspects of stewardship and that it was time for them to step up and take charge, putting into action all the insights and perspectives they had gained. While admiring the concrete proposals and plans of action suggested by many students for application in their local contexts, the General Secretary inspired and encouraged the AEI–2020 batch of students to stay connected, to network, to collaborate, and build bridges beyond boundaries, as the future was in their hands.

The students shared their reflections and learning at the end of the ecumenical formation and leadership development training programme.

Amal Sarah, a postgraduate student of environmental sciences who currently works at the diocesan women’s desk in the Church of Pakistan, found that the AEI made her realise that the problems afflicting Pakistan were common to several other countries. “I hope to work among rural congregations and raise awareness of the issues I learnt during AEI, especially those of climate action, eco-justice, gender justice, and human rights,” she shared.

Ming Xie, a theological student from the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand, said that the AEI experience had been inspiring. “I am able to relate the Word and the Work to the World,” he said.

He also called AEI a “mini Pentecost” that brought together people who spoke many languages with different expressions—from scattering to gathering. He highly appreciated the message of ecumenism and was keen on sharing his new insights with the youth groups in his local congregation.

Martha Bire, Managing Director of an NGO called The Eastern Indonesian Women Network from the Protestant Evangelical Church in Timor, Indonesia, found the lessons highly relevant to the work she does.

“The sessions on human rights has empowered me to enable my church to make more serious commitments to the fulfilment and realisation of human rights not just for those in our congregations, but for everyone in the region, regardless of their background or religion. As an activist and theologian, my task now is to connect the issues of human rights with the biblical message of love and inclusion,” she said.

The students appreciated the contributions by the resource persons and facilitators, a team that comprised 12 internationally reputed faculty members, as well as CCA staff.

A total of 36 students selected from various Asian countries attended the month-long training, which, being completely virtual, was a first-of-its-kind venture by the CCA.