CCA General Assembly set to begin in Kottayam, India

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.

25 September 2023

CCA General Secretary at a Press Conference in Kottayam

Kottayam, India: The 15th General Assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) is set to commence this week in Kottayam, India, under the theme, “God, Renew Us in Your Spirit and Restore the Creation’.

Meeting from 27 September to 4 October, the General Assembly, which normally takes place every five years, is the supreme decision-making body of the CCA.

500 participants are expected to join the 15th Assembly, which was delayed by two years and was postponed twice due to the pandemic. 

 Pre-Assembly events also will take place at different venues, namely, the Asian Ecumenical Women’s Assembly (AEWA), the Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA), the South Asia Sub-Regional Consultation on ‘Ecumenical Diakonia, Towards Attaining Sustainable Development Goals’, and the Asian Ecumenical Migrants Advocacy Network (AEMAN) Forum meeting. Sessions of the annual Asian Ecumenical Institute are also underway in Kottayam.

The CCA Executive Committee will also meet for the final time prior to the General Assembly on 26–27 September.

With a focus on the climate emergency, environmental issues, renewal, and restoration, and care for creation, different thematic plenaries will address the main Assembly theme as well as the subthemes, ‘Affirming the Will of God’, ‘Dwelling in Harmony with Creation’, and ‘Attaining Life in Its Fullness’.

Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay (General Secretary of the World Council of Churches) will inaugurate the Assembly in the afternoon on 28 September and deliver the thematic address.

Dr Judy Berinai (Malaysia), Rev. Dr Ferdinand Anno (Philippines), Rev. Dr Vicky Balabanski (Australia), Rev. Dr Raj Bharat Patta (India/UK) will be the main thematic speakers during the Assembly.

An interfaith panel session reflecting on ‘Renewal and Restoration of Creation: Dwelling in Harmony’ will feature speakers from Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, and Jainism.

Fifteen different topics related to the main Assembly theme and sub-themes will be discussed simultaneously in the afternoon on 1 October at three different venues in Kottayam city – the CMS College, Orthodox Theological Seminary, and the Mar Thoma Syrian Theological Seminary.

The Asian Ecumenical Festival on 30 September will be a public gathering which will showcase Asia’s rich diversity. The Chief Guest of the Asian Ecumenical Festival will be the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr Pinarayi Vijayan.

Asia Sunday–2023 will be observed on 1 October, with Assembly participants joining several local congregations in and around Kottayam for Sunday worship. The theme of the Asia Sunday–2023 will be same as that of the Assembly theme ‘God, Renew Us in Your Spirit and Restore the Creation’.

“The 15th General Assembly will be yet another landmark in Asian ecumenical history” stated CCA General Secretary Dr. Mathews George Chunakara.

“The diverse components of the Assembly, and the opportunity for the participants to be immersed in the rich spiritual and worship sessions in the mornings and evenings, facilitated by Asian church leaders together with the local churches belonging to different liturgical traditions, will be unique,” added the CCA General Secretary.

Through the deliberative sessions during the Assembly, the participants will review the strategic programme plans introduced and implemented since 2016 and discern future programme directions for the next five years of the implementation period.

“It is expected that the General Assembly being the highest decision-making body of CCA, and the discussions and suggestions based on the General Secretary’s report, will help the new governing board elected at the Assembly to set new directions for CCA to address the challenges that lie ahead,” said Dr Mathews George Chunakara, who has been leading the largest body of the Asian ecumenical movement as its General Secretary since the post Jakarta 14th Assembly in 2015.  

Founded in 1957 as the first Regional Ecumenical Organisation in the world, has 99 member churches and 17 national councils of churches representing 65 million Christians in Asia; from Iran in the west to Japan in the east, and from Nepal in the north to New Zealand in the south.

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and five CCA member churches from Kerala – the Church of South India, Malabar Independent Syrian Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, will jointly host the 15th Assembly.