Asian Churches Call for the Need to Move Beyond Conflict

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)
05 December 2014
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

Moving Beyond Conflict:
Towards Peace with Justice, Human Security and Dignity
Yangon, 25th November 2014

“War fought in the name of God is war against God” said Al-haj U Aye Lwin, Chief Convener, The Islamic Centre of Myanmar, during a Consultation on “Building Peace with Justice, Human Security and Human dignity", jointly conducted by the World Council of Churches Commission of Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), and the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC), from 24-25 November 2014, at Yangon Myanmar .

About forty church and ecumenical leaders in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Laos and Sri Lanka, called for the need to equip the churches with the capacity to build peace with justice, human security and human dignity to move beyond conflict towards a world of peace with justice, and the well-being of all, as expressed by the words ‘security’, ‘shalom’ or ‘fullness of life for all.’

Though the Asian continent, where 60 percent of the world’s population lives, is appreciated and applauded as the center of world’s economic development and growth, it still continues to struggle to overcome threats to peace with justice and human rights.

The participants identified: Social and economic issues such as increasing poverty, inadequate health care; environmental issues like exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation, Peace and security issues such as armed conflicts and violence, militarization, arms buildup, proliferation of nuclear weapons, spread of small arms and light weapons; Religious issues such as ethnic and religious conflicts, communal violence, and Socio-political issues such as political unrest, lack of rule of law and democratic governance, human rights abuse; and suppression of legitimate right to self-determination, as major issues that lead to different types of conflict.

They emphasized that as long as there is injustice, poverty, corruption and fraud there will not be peace. The cost of war and the lack of peace in the Asian region is to be understood, not only in the context of civil wars and violence; but, also in the context of situations where the denial of basic socio-economic and cultural rights, result in the negation of human rights and the denial of justice.

The concepts of peace, justice, and righteousness were deeply rooted in the prophetic traditions. Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah and Amos had raised their voice, warning that the collapse of the nation would significantly be due to lack of undertaking justice responsibilities by judges, politicians and religious leaders.

Will the Christian leaders, like the prophets, raise their voice against the abuse of power, unjust political systems, exploitation of the poor, the needy the minorities and the powerless? Will there be a Kairos moment in the history of Asia, a time when we experience a crying need, a yearning for justice, for a socio-economic and political transformation; a moment of truth seeking peace, justice, reconciliation and human dignity.

Will justice roll like a river? Will the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field, a forest? Will there be peace as a result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever? Will love and faithfulness meet? Will righteousness and Peace kiss each other?

The Consultation that was held as part of a week-long celebration of the centenary year of the Myanmar Council of Churches brought together lay and ordained theologians and church leaders from South and South East Asia.

During the Interfaith Panel Discussion, Professor Dr. Ashin Dhamma Piya representing the Buddhist community called for clear understanding of problems, educational reforms and respect for one another and Ms. Kathleen Thein, who spoke on behalf of the Hindu communities stressed on the need for empathy; a readiness to help everyone with hurting anyone; promotion of interfaith understanding for unity, reach a viable consensus to gain happiness and peace.

WCC programme executive for human rights Christina Papazoglou underlined the importance of holding this consultation in Myanmar at this moment in time, when the country is going through a very promising but also challenging peace process. “Given the ethnic but also religious connotations of the conflict, interfaith dialogue and cooperation is of vital importance in order to move towards a lasting peace for all the people of Myanmar,” she added.

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