“Annual Asian Ecumenical Institute of CCA provides unique platform for training prospective ecumenical leaders in Asia,” says CCA General Secretary

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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13 October 2022

AEI–2022 students at CCA headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand

“The ecumenical movement gives you a broader fellowship and mutual solidarity in working together for the unity of all God’s people and the entire creation. The Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI), organised annually by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), is a unique opportunity and platform for prospective Asian ecumenists to be trained and to learn about mutual interactions and Asia’s manifold cultural contexts,” said the General Secretary of the CCA, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, to the participants of the AEI–2022 during the closing ceremony on the afternoon of 12 October 2022, at the CCA headquarters on the Payap University campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In a valedictory address at the final day of the month-long AEI the CCA General Secretary recalled the beginnings of the AEI.

“The CCA continues to provide this platform for young people to live together as a community, participate in activities, and learn together,” the CCA General Secretary added, recalling that the AEI has been a good platform and opportunity because those who have graduated from the programme have gone on to become church leaders, members of ecumenical councils, CCA staff, and theological educators.

“This provides a new impetus for young people to move forward as well as an opportunity to better understand things and gain some insight into some of the relevant issues,” added Dr Mathews George Chunakara.

For four weeks, internationally acclaimed ecumenists, theologians, academics, and social activists from various ecclesial traditions who have worked in the worldwide ecumenical movement shared theological reflections and thematic presentations on missiology, Biblical hermeneutics and intersectional theologies, gender justice and inclusivity, eco-theology and stewardship of God's creation, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, and post-humanism and its implications for the church.

The students delivered presentations on a variety of topics, including gender justice, indigenous spiritualities, digital revolution: advantages and disadvantages to the mission and ministry of the church, the plight of persons with disabilities and the call for full inclusion in society, social injustices in their respective communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence against women and children, Muslim-Christian harmony and promotion of interfaith harmony, and the Eastern church’s ethos with regard to ecology.

Aside from classroom sessions, AEI–2022 participants were involved in field visits for inter-religious interactions.

The theme of the AEI–2022 was ‘God of Hope, Sustain Your Creation in Harmony’.