Asian Ecumenical Institute of CCA to train prospective Church and ecumenical leaders

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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12 July 2019
IMG_1246Participants of AEI-2019

Twenty-seven young ecumenists from across Asia are currently attending the month-long Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI) organized by the Christian Conference of Asia. The AEI aims at providing ecumenical formation and leadership development training for prospective church and ecumenical leaders and is being held at the CCA headquarters in Payap University Campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Focusing on the theme ‘Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Struggle for Peace with Justice in Asia’, this year’s Asian Ecumenical Institute commenced on 1 July 2019.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the CCA stated, “The real value of the AEI would materialize and be recognized only after a few years. At least some participants of each year’s AEI training will eventually emerge as church or ecumenical leaders in their respective churches and in the region”.

“The month-long intensive training course and opportunities for interactions and dialogue while living together with their peer groups from multi ethnic and cultural Asian contexts will enrich and enable each participant to be more proactive and nurture ecumenism in their respective local context”, added the CCA General Secretary.

Romella Robinson, an ordained woman minister from the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, shared her hopes and expectations from the AEI and stated “Ecumenism is not well known and is unheard by many in my local context. I am here to learn from the participants belonging to different church traditions in Asia and to develop strategies for nurturing much-needed grassroots-level ecumenism in Pakistan. I am fascinated to be part of this training”.

Frans Pangrante, an indigenous youth from Indonesia’s Toraja Church, shared that he had learnt the theories of ecumenism while doing his theological studies, and was now at the AEI to experience ecumenism in action.

“The AEI will be a great opportunity for mutual learning, discussions and developing collaboration with other participants of AEI”, said Pangrante.

This year’s outdoor study sessions include visits to the village of Mae-ai on the Thailand-Myanmar border, interactions with refugees and stateless people, visits to the stateless children’s school in Chiang Rai, and meeting with Buddhist monks for dialogue on faith in the context of religious plurality.

The faculty for AEI consists of internationally acclaimed ecumenists, theologians, academics, social activists as well as CCA programme executives.

Prominent members of the faculty of AEI include Dr. Wesley S. Ariarajah (Emeritus professor at Drew University in the USA), Dr. Eh Tar Gay (Vice-President of the Myanmar Institute of Theology), Rev. Dr. R.C. Thomas (Professor of Systematic Theology in India), Rev. Dr. Binsar Pakpahan (Professor at Jakarta Theological Seminary), Rev. Dr. Pradit Takerngrangsarit (formerly  President of the Payap University and the Dean of  the McGillivray College of Divinity in Chiang Mai), Dr. Le Ngoc Bich Ly (from the Institute of Religion and Culture in Thailand, Vietnam), Venerable Dr. Phramaha Boonchuay Doojai (Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand), and Mr. Jelvas Musau (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees),  Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the CCA and CCA staff members Dr. Chuleepran Srisoontorn, Rev. Jung Eun Moon, Dr. Reynaldo Racaza Ty, Rev. Dr. Ngur Liana, Dr. Ronald Lalthanmawia, and Ms. Rosiana Purnomo.

The Asian Ecumenical Institute will conclude its sessions on 30 July, 2019.