Asia Region Pre- WCC Assembly Meeting

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).

First Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
Second Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
23 March 2013
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

  Asia Region Summit

Bangkok Christian Guest House  

March 18 – 21, 2013

The Asia Region Pre-Assembly Meeting organized by the WCC at the Bangkok Christian Guest House from 18-21 March 2013, brought together about 50 participants representing the delegates of CCA member churches in Asia to the 10th WCC Assembly, which is to be held in Busan, South Korea from 30 Oct–8 Nov, 2013. The Asia region Pre-Assembly served  as a curtain-raiser that gave the participants the opportunity to prepare and familiarize themselves with the agenda and the procedure of the Assembly.

The WCC staff from Asia introduced various Assembly programs such as: Business and Committees, Ecumenical Conversations and the concept of Madang. They introduced some of the documents to be discussed at the Assembly, acquainted them with the WCC Consensus Practice that will be used during the Assembly, and also explained the Nominations process for future leadership in the WCC.

Participants got the opportunity to reflect on the theme of the WCC Assembly, “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.” Dr. Soritua Nababan, a member of the WCC Presidium from Asia underlined that this prayer reflected our helplessness in the midst of mounting problems that are being faced by people in daily life. More specifically, participants engaged deeply in group discussions on “Asia and the Issues of Justice and Peace at the Assembly” and “Asia and Religious Plurality in the Assembly”; and the significance and challenges to being Christian Witnesses in Asia.

It has been a tradition of the WCC Assembly since Harare Assembly in 1998, to provide an opportunity for the Assembly participants to get to know the region where the Assembly is being held. It is in this light that participants specifically discussed the preparation of Asia Plenary, the time and space in the program of Busan Assembly, when the participants of the whole Assembly will be introduced to the emerging issues in Asia from the perspective of the theme of the Assembly.

A presentation on the Asia Ecumenical Movement and the Asian contribution to the leadership of WCC and the wider ecumenical movement, was made for the interest and background  information of the participants. They were entrusted with the task of sharing the discussions and the experiences in Bangkok with fellow delegates from their churches and countries.  Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang, CCA General Secretary, Rev. Grace Moon, Executive Secretary for CCA-FMU and Dr. Alphinus Kambodji, CCA Consultant for HIV & AIDS, represented CCA in this meeting.

Henriette Hutabarat Lebang