Asia Regional Consultation Discusses Church’s Role in Addressing Concerns on HIV/ AIDS, Human Sexuality and Reproductive Health

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.

21 August 2018

NR photo

An Asia Regional Consultation organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) on ‘HIV / AIDS, Human Sexuality and Reproductive Health’ explored possibilities of creating space for churches in Asia to discuss and be in dialogue with each other  on concerns related to HIV and AIDS, human sexuality and reproductive health that include aspects of physical, psychological, social, emotional and spiritual make up of an individual.

Organised as part of CCA’s special programme on Acting Together in Combating HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA), the consultation held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 15 to 18 August 2018 brought together representatives of churches and ecumenical organizations from 8 countries in Asia.

The participants who attended the consultation were specially invited from among the churches and related organisations that had experience in addressing the concerns related to  HIV / AIDS, human sexuality and reproductive health.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, CCA General Secretary in his introductory remarks at the opening session stated that the pandemic of HIV and AIDS has now been recognized as an important issue to be addressed by the churches in Asia even though there had been hesitation by churches when CCA had initiated the work in this area in the early 1990’s. However, a comprehensive framework for achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights, including the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS was not on the agenda of churches in Asia due to various reasons.

The CCA General Secretary added, “Asian churches need to address the concerns of widespread HIV/AIDS and its prevention as part of broader questions  in relations to sexual and reproductive health as they are becoming more relevant in Asia today”.

Rev. Alfred Candid Jaropillo of the United Church of Christ, Philippines conducted the worship and reflected on the diversity of God’s creation, and how we were beautifully made in God’s image and need to embrace each and every one.

The contextual bible study facilitated by S N Among Jamir of Nagaland Baptist Convention in India highlighted the significance of reading and re-reading the Bible in the current context of inclusivity, welcoming the strangers, and how to be hospitable and not hostile to the strangers and the marginalised in society. .

The presentation on ‘Theological Perspective of Human Sexuality’ by Rev. Stephen Suleeman of Jakarta Theological Seminary in Indonesia reflected on the HIV/ AIDS situation in Indonesia and the need to understand human sexuality and reproductive health in vulnerable situations.

Dr Ronald Lalthanmawia, Coordinator of HIV and AIDS Programme of CCA emphasized that the gamut of the problems related to human sexuality and gender in the medical field needed to be understood in a context that everyone was created differently and it was imperative to have a common understanding amidst all diversities.

Pastor Carlene Nomorosa of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines explained the impact of the negligence in addressing sex and sexuality in society in a proper way which was leading to young people being dependent on information from the wrong sources and developing a misconception about human sexuality.

Dr Sawako Fujiwara from Tohoku Gakuin University in Japan outlined the ecumenical responses on human sexuality over the years and the challenges and good practices of the issue in the context of Japan.

“The ecumenical journey on addressing the topic of human sexuality had been responded to indifferently thus far and so there was a necessity to open-up spaces of dialogue to change the attitudes and perceptions”, added the young woman theologian  and academic, Dr. Sawako.

Rev. Fr. Abin Abraham in his presentation highlighted how “a two-fold ministry of empowerment and sensitization has led to the success of the initiative of the transgender project of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in India, in which more than 200 Transgender and Intersex were part of the project in Mumbai, India.”.

He expounded the experiences learned and how it was important to empower the churches and the marginalized community as well as the significance of addressing socio-economic needs of the transgenders in society.

Participants pointed out the need to consolidate the efforts of various churches in Asia that had responded positively to the issue and they emphasized upon the importance of creating a common platform to facilitate sharing of resources and mutual exchange of learning.

"There should be a continuous theological reflection in the Asian context and continue to build awareness and sensitize churches and its leadership”, the participants opined.

The consultation identified the importance of recognizing diversities in human sexuality as being part of our lives, reflecting biblically and theologically on the issue, responding positively in creating safe spaces among our communities and reaching out to the affected communities to give them a sense of belonging.

The consultation ended by re-affirming that “we are all created in the image of God with all our inequities and differences. Following the footsteps of Jesus, we are called to prophesy among our brothers and sisters who experience injustices, violence and alienation due to their sexual differences that they should also have the fullness of life.”