CCA and WCC virtual prayer service focusses on World Food Day and the right to food for all

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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16 October 2020
Ecclesiastical and ecumenical leaders from CCA and WCC member constituencies at the World Food Day-2020 online prayer service

CHIANG MAI: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) jointly organised an online prayer service on World Food Day, 16 October 2020.

The online prayer service, with the participation of representatives from the CCA and WCC member churches and councils from across Asia, was an opportunity to reflect on the urgency of responding for much-needed advocacy to address the alarming trend of food insecurity.

In his introductory address, the General Secretary of the CCA, Dr Mathews George Chunakara said, “We all have a role to play in the ‘Food for Life’ campaign. On this World Food Day, let us be aware and vigilant of the profound impacts we make through our choice of food. This moment calls the attention of the churches to promote sustainable and life-giving agricultural practices that will preserve the earth’s natural resources, health, and the environment.”

The CCA General Secretary further stated that the online prayer service was also an occasion for the Asian churches to pray together for the farmers and agricultural labourers who produce varieties of food items, those who transport the produce to markets, the traders who sell the products, and all those who are involved in making the food available to everyone.

“We need to be reminded that we all have a role to play in the Food for Life campaign; we must not let sustainable habits fall by the wayside, despite the uncertainty of the pandemic,” said Dr Mathews George Chunakara.

The interim General Secretary of the WCC, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, in his address to the participants, explained the component of “togetherness” in the theme of World Food Day and said that no one was to be left behind.

Fr. Sauca spoke of three aspects related to food—food that was sustaining, food as being spiritual, and food that needed to be shared with all.

“Food is the umbilical cord to nature that can never be severed. We must be responsible and aware that food is meant to be shared, not simply consumed or hoarded—food should not be used for profit or to exploit the vulnerable,” the WCC interim General Secretary added.

Sofia Monsalve Suarez, the Secretary-General of FIAN International, a human rights organisation that works for the right to food and nutrition, delivered the biblical reflections during the virtual service.

Ms Suarez highlighted the interrelatedness of the global food shortage with other violations of human rights, and also how the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the manner in which industrialised global food systems were contributing to ecological destruction, leading to the emergence of zoonotic diseases, and were perpetuating the vulnerability of infections due to unhealthy food and living environments.

“In the course of 2020, we have gone through experiences of discomfort, uncertainty, disquiet, and anxiety. Although the challenges we face overwhelm us, let us be comforted by the verses from Isaiah 43:18–19— ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’ We need open eyes, open ears, open arms, and open hearts to recognise the streams in the wasteland…God is indeed doing a new thing,” said Ms Suarez.

The facilitators of the online prayer service representing the member churches and councils of the CCA and WCC in Asia included: Rev. Dr Henriette Hutabarat Lebang (Gereja Toraja Indonesia, member of WCC Central Committee); Rev. Dr Kim Sungjae (General Secretary, National Christian Council in Japan); Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey (Church of Ceylon, Member of CCA Executive and WCC Central Committees); Rt. Rev. Humphrey Peters (Church of Pakistan); Roma Ann Nisha Prodhan (Church of North India, member of WCC Central Committee); Rev. Kingphet Thammavong (Lao Evangelical Church, member of CCA Executive Committee); Nirmala Gurung (National Council of Churches in Nepal, member of CCA Executive Committee); Rev. Irma Balaba (National Council of Churches in the Philippines); Kaythi Min Din (Myanmar Council of Churches); and Dymeas Sovy (Kampuchea Christian Council in Cambodia).

The full text of the World Food Day–2020 liturgy can be accessed here: https://www.cca.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/World-Food-Day-2020-Liturgy-of-Virtual-Service.pdf

Watch the proceedings of the World Food Day–2020 virtual service on our social media: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianConferenceofAsia/videos/348122623128534