Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU)  Responds to Climate Change Crisis 

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:
General Secretariat (GS)
Second Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
25 July 2016

GP 2

A regional consultation organized jointly by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) of the Roman Catholic Church, with the participation of the Asian Evangelical Alliance (AEA),  agreed to undertake joint actions and concerted efforts to respond to the climate crisis.

Known as the Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU) and initiated in mid 1990s by CCA and FABC,   the Seventh summit of AMCU took place in Medan, Indonesia from 13 to 15 July focused on the theme, “Crisis of Climate Change in Our Common Home”.

Representatives of CCA, FABC and AEA from various Asian countries participating at the Seventh AMCU emphasized the urgency to encourage Asian churches to join in a network of diverse groups, including non-governmental organizations, and to engage in educational programmes that aim to raise the consciousness of the people as well as to engage in advocacy actions to mitigate climate change.

Hosted by CCA and its member church in Indonesia, the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP), the consultation was attended by about 50 participants from various Asian countries.

The themes addressed at the consultation included the impact of climate change in Asia, biblical -theological reflections, ethics of eco-justice, Pope Francis’ Laudato Si and its significance, advocacy to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as plans for joint actions on how to move forward for the ecological renewal and eco-justice in different Asian contexts.Fr. Alwyn D Silva (India), Dr. Reynaldo R Ty (CCA / The Philippines), Prof. George Zachariah (India), Rev. Betsan Martin (New Zealand), Fr. Pius K. Fernando, (Sri Lanka)  and Rev. Jung Eun Moon (CCA/South Korea) led various sessions.

 Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of CCA, in his introductory remarks stated that the initiative of AMCU by CCA and FABC since 1994 envisioned joint actions with an aim to foster wider ecumenism not only at the regional level, but also at national and local levels in Asia. As the impacts of climate change increase every day,  degradation of ecological balances and  risks to both humans and the environment also increase, and in this situation, Christians cannot negate alarming signals of the crisis of climate change.

Fr. William LaRousse, Secretary of the Ecumenical Relations of FABC, said that since the joint initiative of AMCU began, the main focus was on “making visible our unity in Christ” and this was aimed at studying the theology of ecumenism, sharing vision of Christian unity, and building on what unites while overcoming what divides – all from their respective perspectives including the socio-political issues.

The participants in their final analyses concluded that the Church, together with non-governmental organizations, can build a network to help build awareness and mobilize citizens for collection action, as well as promote a change in lifestyle. 

Various participants shared their local situations on effects of climate change: in mainland Southeast Asia, specifically Myanmar and Thailand, deforestation and the use of Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) which contaminate indigenous organic crops are major concerns;  the culture of instant gratification contributes to pollution and climate change. In South Asia, the poor are most affected in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Major problems in these countries include deforestation, urbanization, and multinational profits. Major concerns in the rich countries of Asia, such as Taiwan, South Korea, and New Zealand, major concerns include extreme weather conditions, floods, droughts, landslide, oil spills, water contamination, overconsumption, and excessive energy use.

Participants visited the campus of Universitas HKBP Nommensen in Medan to plant several trees as a small gesture to engage in small efforts to mitigate climate change.