CCA hails the World Council of Churches on 70th Anniversary

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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24 June 2018

 

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“Ever since the founding of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in 1957, both CCA and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have been journeying together in our common goal of mission in unity and witness, and building peace with justice”, observed CCA General Secretary Dr. Mathews George Chunakara in a message conveyed to WCC on the occasion of the 70th anniversary.

The 70th anniversary celebration was held in conjunction with the week-long Central Committee meeting of WCC, held  in Geneva, Switzerland from 15 to 21 June 2018.

 Recollecting the history of the founding of the CCA in 1957, the tenth General Secretary of CCA Dr. Mathews George Chunakara stated, “The 70th anniversary celebration of WCC reminds us to reflect on the longstanding relationship between the CCA and the WCC. We remember the founding of the Christian Conference of Asia six decades ago, as the first Regional Ecumenical Organization in the world, in which the WCC had played an important role together with the international Missionary Council”.

The message of greetings by the CCA General Secretary to WCC leadership further added that “CCA and WCC enjoy the privilege of having almost the same member constituencies in Asia; and both organizations addressed many pertinent issues confronting Asia during the past several decades through various joint initiatives and actions”.

The General Secretary of CCA recalled that “the common journey and joint actions in serving the Asian churches and the ecumenical movement by both CCA and WCC have fostered ecumenical collaboration necessary for united action in mission and prophetic witness”.

The 70th anniversary was commemorated in a series of events including a Service of Celebration of the 70th anniversary at the St. Pierre Cathedral, Commemorative events at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, a visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to WCC and addresses by the Pope at an Ecumenical Prayer service in the WCC Chapel in the morning and at the Vissert Hooft Hall of the Ecumenical Centre in the afternoon on 21 June.

The World Council of Churches was founded in 1948 at its first assembly held in Amsterdam.

Click here to download link Congratulatory message to WCC 70th anniversary