‘Called to Prophecy, Reconciliation and Healing: A Theological Basis for Challenges in Post War Sri Lanka’

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).

No preference updated.

20 June 2012
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

‘Called to Prophecy, Reconciliation and Healing: A Theological Basis for Challenges in Post War Sri Lanka’ 

27 –29 May 2012, Sri Lanka

30 participants comprising pastors, women and youth leaders from different denominations in Sri Lanka gathered together for a CCA-FMU Conference on the theme ‘Called to Prophecy, Reconciliation and Healing: A Theological Basis for Challenges in Post War Sri Lanka’ at Meth Arana –Athrugiriya, Sri Lanka, from 27 – 29 May 2012.  Meth Arana, an idyllic hillside retreat centre, provided an ideal backdrop for discussions on healing and reconciliation in the post war struggles in Sri Lanka.
Participants of the Conference at Sri Lanka
The Consultation, which was conducted in collaboration with NCC Sri Lanka, aimed at building a solid theological basis for church ministries focusing on the theme ‘Called to Prophesy, Reconcile and Heal’, analyzing the role of religion in conflict situation, learning best practices in healing and reconciliation as seen in war torn situations, and nurturing young leadership especially in peace building process.
The Rev. Ebenezer Joseph, General Secretary of NCC Sri Lanka and Rev. Ruki Fernando facilitated the participants to discuss the contemporary situation in Sri Lanka and the response of churches in Sri Lanka.
Activity in Conflict Transformation

Rev. Francis Selvaraj (Director of Visthaar Academy of Justice and Peace Studies in India), Rev. Dr. Vincent Rajkumar (Director of Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society in India) and   Rev. Jacky Manuputty (Peace activist from the Protestant Church of Mollucus, Indonesia) shared their reflections and experiences on how the churches and christian communities are involved in peace movements in India and Indonesia. This helped the participants to think of their roles as prophets, reconcilers and healers. 

Some of the important observations made were that the process of reconciliation and healing was a long one and had to start with the understanding of the trauma and pain of the victims, helping them to reflect and reconstruct the painful memories of the past into transformative power. They also felt the need to have a training manual/resource materials on the theological basis of peace building (collect and print all the sermons, bible reflections and stories on prophesying, reconciling and healing), strengthen the programs on individual churches on healing andreconciliation, and enhance more collective Peace initiatives at the national level
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Perhaps the most significant outcome was the affirmation of the role of women in war situations, both during the war and in post-war situations, especially in healing, reconciliation and peace building, and the need to document the experiences of women and children.