Bishop Dr. Yap Kim Hao, CCA’s third General Secretary passes away

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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17 November 2017

 

IMG

Bishop Dr. Yap Kim Hao, former general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) passes away in Singapore on 16 November.

Bishop Kim Hao served CCA as general secretary from 1973 to 1985. He was elected the general secretary of CCA for a first four-year term at the Singapore assembly in 1973 and re-elected for second and third terms at the Penang (1977) and Bangalore (1981) assemblies.

Born in Ipoh, Malaysia in 1929, Yap Kim Hao was consecrated the first Asian bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia in 1968.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the CCA in a condolence message stated that Bishop Kim Hao left a remarkable legacy in Asian ecumenical movement through his dedicated and tireless work for the churches and the Asian ecumenical movement.

“His vision and passion for enabling the churches in Asia to be true witnesses of Christ amidst Asia’s pluralistic religious, diverse cultural  contexts and complex political contexts through CCA’s various initiatives in the 1970s’ and 1980’s helped CCA to be positioned as the prime leader  of the Asian ecumenical movement”, said  Mathews George Chunakara.

Recollecting the contributions of Bishop Yap Kim Hao, one of his predecessors who  laboured for  building up CCA as a credible regional ecumenical organisation, the CCA General Secretary added,  “Bishop Yap Kim Hao was instrumental in  initiating several  innovative programmes and projects of CCA for more than a decade, including the inter-religious dialogue, humanitarian aid assistance to the war-torn Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, health and healing, and ecumenical youth leadership development training”.

“Bishop Kim Hao’s commitment to respect for other religions and cultures in Asia’s pluralistic religious context was evident even after his official retirement from the church and ecumenical organisations. His strong passion for the marginalized and vulnerable was demonstrated through his deep involvement in inter-faith activities; his support and pastoral care for the migrant workers, sex workers, the physically handicapped, and people with HIV/AIDS”,  noted Mathews George Chunakara.

In recognition of his contributions, Bishop Kim Hao was presented with several awards, including an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Baker University where he earned his first degree; a Distinguished Alumni Award by Boston University School of Theology; and the Order of Jerusalem Medal presented to him by the World Methodist Council.

In 2014, the Yale-NUS College, Singapore’s first liberal arts college established the Yap Kim Hao Professorship in Comparative Religious Studies with an aim to enhance the academic study of multiple religious beliefs, practices, and experiences.

Bishop Kim Hao is survived by his wife and four children. His funeral will take place on 21 November in Singapore.