Prophetic witness challenges churches to be heralds of God, agents of justice, and advocates of transformation suggests Filipino theologian Bishop Marigza

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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06 May 2023

Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), and the CCA Acting Vice Moderator, speaks on 'Ecumenical Diakonia: Prophetic Witness and Participation in the Struggle for Peace with Justice' on the fourth day of the ACELC

Jakarta, Indonesia: At the Asian Church and Ecumenical Leaders’ Conference (ACELC), Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), who is also the Acting Vice-Moderator of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), said that through prophetic witness the Church is challenged to be ambassadors for Christ and heralds of God, agents of justice, and advocates of a new reality so that transformation and reconciliation could be experienced by all people. 

Delivering a sobering message and a call to action in the session entitled ‘Ecumenical Diakonia: Prophetic Witness and Participation in the Struggle for Peace with Justice’ on the fourth day of the ACELC, Bishop Marigza said, “The biblical concept of shalom is more than peace…it is wholeness, well-being, growth, harmony, security, and equality—not just the absence of violence and war. No justice, no peace! Know justice, know peace!” He also outlined the struggles or complexities involved in being prophets or human rights defenders in the Filipino context. 

The prominent ecumenical leader further said that as ambassadors of Christ, the Church is meant to speak on God’s behalf and proclaim God’s message, a message of reconciliation; as agents of justice, we are called to stand up and speak out against anomalies of exploitation and inequality; and as advocates of a new reality, where people commit themselves to be changemakers.

“In a world under the reign of greed, we must proclaim the reign of God. In a world where injustice prevails, we must proclaim justice and the righteousness of God. We need to see and proclaim an alternative reality to that of the reign of greed and injustice, we need to prophesy what is right. We must not just speak pleasant words, we must not declare illusions—for the faith we profess demands such; the God, the Lord of hosts, whom we serve, requires us to do so,” emphasised Bishop Marigza.

Bishop Marigza also put forth an acrostic ‘PROPHETS’: where ‘P’ was no palliative solutions, ‘R’ was for righteousness and justice, ‘O’ was for overhauling the system, ‘P’ was for pastoral care, ‘H’ was for holding on to the will of God, ‘E’ for exposing the wrongs and evils of our times, ‘T’ for truth-telling, and ‘S’ for sacrifice and self-emptying.

Answering a question from the audience “Where are our prophets today?” Bishop Marigza declared, “Many prophets of their times were reluctant or not eager to do that task…Moses had many excuses, Jeremiah said he was too young. While we may be hesitant to engage in prophetic witness today, we must show serious prophetic discernment and a profound response. The ecumenical movement was most dynamic when we were doing works of advocacy and prophetic witness; we must not lose sight of our history and scriptural roots as the revitalised ecumenical movement today.”

Rev. Romella Robinson, from the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, moderated the session on the fourth day of the ACELC, which was attended by over 100 Asian church and ecumenical leaders.