CCA extends Centennial Greetings to the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China

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.

30 September 2018

 

As the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China (HKCCCC) marks 100 years of its mission and witness at a Thanksgiving Holy Communion service and commemorative event on 29th September, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) extended centennial greetings and best wishes.

The centennial thanksgiving service held at the Asia World Expo was attended by more than 10,000 people, and led by Rev. Dr. Eric So, the General Secretary of HKCCCC.

“One-ness is the foundation of the Church as to the prayer of Christ in Gospel ‘that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you’, and the  HKCCCC has been following the mission of Christ, keeping our unity in Christ, loving and serving our neighbours and witnessing Gospel. We are given another mission to keep our spirituality of unity and pass it down to our next generations”, said Rev. So in his message.

In a centennial greetings message to HKCCCC, the CCA General Secretary Dr. Mathews George Chunakara stated that “the occasion of this thanksgiving service and commemoration of the centenary is a time to pause and look back; to give thanks for God’s guidance and blessings, to take stock of what has been passed on to HKCCCC and then move on to higher and greater achievements for God’s glory”.

The CCA General Secretary recalled the historical past and stated, “As we try to understand and re-read the history of the formation of the HKCCCC, we cannot but be challenged to accept what has been given by God, and the efforts of many faithful servants who dedicated their lives to reach people for Jesus Christ”.

Mathews George Chunakara further added that the belief and vision of the then church leaders in China to shed the insulting label of "foreign religion" ultimately led to their conviction that a united church could contribute to China at a time when the country was facing problems from outside and civil discontent within.

“The thanksgiving service of today combined with the centennial commemoration is an invitation to take a new look with intimate and joyful gratitude to God in the on-going journey of mission and witness of the HKCCCC”, he added.

The formation of the Church of Christ in China, the forerunner of HKCCCC can be traced back to 1918 when the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in China called a meeting in Nanjing to look into the desirability of forming a union of churches. In following years, especially the May 4 Movement in 1919 and subsequent events in China aroused a great passion for nationalism, and anti-Christian feelings in China due to Christianity being suspected as a tool of cultural invasion by the imperialistic Western powers.

The prayer of commitment at the thanksgiving service affirmed to “keep the vision of unity, to witness the gospel, and to bring hope, in actions of love, righteousness and reconciliation towards the God’s people” in the years ahead.   

The HKCCCC has been actively participating in the regional and global ecumenical fellowships through its membership in the Christian Conference of Asia and the World Council of Churches.

To read CCA General Secretary’s Message to HKCCCC, click here CCA-GS_Centennial-Message.pdf