CCA executive committee meeting charts out 15th General Assembly and pre-assembly events

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.

19 March 2023
CCA Executive Committee Meeting–2023 Bangladesh

Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Executive Committee of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) met from 3–6 March 2023. While some members joined the meeting online, others met in person at the HOPE Foundation Centre in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The hybrid meeting charted out specific programmes of the 15th General Assembly of the CCA, to be held later this year from 27 September to 4 October 2023 in Kottayam, India.

The main theme of the 15th General Assembly is ‘God, Renew us in Your Spirit and Restore the Creation’. Three sub-themes linked to the main theme are ‘Towards Affirming the Will of God’, ‘Towards Dwelling in Harmony with the Creation’, and ‘Towards Attaining Life in its Fullness’.

The Executive Committee reviewed the composition of the Assembly delegates and participants and decided on final seat allocations based on the membership of each member church and member national councils of churches.

The General Assembly will comprise 500 participants in different categories, such as voting delegates that are elected and/or appointed by member churches and councils; Officers of the CCA; and non-voting delegates such as fraternal delegates, ecumenical partners, observers, visitors, registered participants for specific non-business sessions, pre-assembly event participants, stewards, students of the Asian Ecumenical Institute, specially selected theology students and faculty members from theological institutions in and around Kottayam, as well as co-opted staff and CCA staff.

The Executive Committee also heard reports from the assembly planning and worship preparation committees. The members carefully looked into the details of the schedule of the assembly and various components of the assembly, which will begin with the opening session on 28 September and close on 3 October 2023.

Hosted by the National Council of Churches in Bangladesh (NCCB) and the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), the CCA Executive Committee was welcomed and greeted at the opening session by the NCCB General Secretary Rev. David Doss, and the Chairman of the CCDB Commission David Halder.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the CCA General Secretary, presented the General Secretary’s report to the Executive Committee which covered a wide spectrum of issues and themes to be addressed by CCA in the emerging Asian context. The General Secretary further shared information on several policy matters and guidelines related to finance, future sustainability, organisational administrative structures, and legal existence in Hong Kong and in Thailand.

The initial draft of a report on programme evaluation in the post-Jakarta period was presented by external evaluators and discussed by the Executive Committee.

Two additional Executive Committee meetings are scheduled in the pre-General assembly period, which will be held in July and September 2023.

Bishop Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Acting Moderator of CCA, concluded the Executive Committee meeting with closing remarks and Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza, Acting Vice-Moderator, led closing prayers.

More photos can be found here.