CCA mourns the passing away of former staff member, Rev. Dr Ngur Liana

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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09 April 2021

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) was deeply grieved to learn of the sudden death of a former member of the staff, Rev. Dr Ngur Liana. He passed away on 8 April 2021 in Tahan-Kalaymyo, Chin State, Myanmar.

Rev. Dr Ngur Liana served as a programme staff of the CCA from 2017–2020 and coordinated the Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology programme division of the CCA. His contributions to the CCA included co-organising several programmes in the field of mission and contextual theology, as well as major events such as the Asia Mission Conference in 2017 and the Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS)–IX in 2019.

An ordained minister of the Methodist Church, Rev. Dr Liana had held several positions in his native Upper Myanmar Methodist Church. Before being appointed in the CCA in 2017, he had served as the Principal of the Myanmar Theological College in Mandalay, Myanmar. He had completed his doctoral studies from the Department of Theology, University of Birmingham.

Expressing condolences on the sudden demise of his former colleague, the General Secretary of the CCA, Dr Mathews George Chunakara said that it was with great shock and sorrow that the news about the passing of Rev. Dr Liana was received. He was an unassuming and friendly person who was loved and respected by all his colleagues.

Recollecting Rev. Dr Liana’s academic contributions, the CCA General Secretary stated that he had devoted substantial years of his ministry to construct a relevant Mizo theology of mission in the Mizo Christian context.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara recollected how his former colleague had been proud of his sincere efforts in drawing theological hermeneutics from the interaction of the Gospel and Mizo traditional religious and cultural elements, such as the concept of “God-human-world with the aim of reinterpreting them to reconstruct a Mizo Theology of Mission”.

The CCA General Secretary added that Rev. Dr Liana would be fondly remembered by all who had come across him, and that his life and witness, spiritual gifts, and contributions to the CCA would be remembered forever.

Rev. Dr Ngur Liana was 61 years old. He is survived by his wife and three sons.  

He will be laid to eternal rest in his hometown, Tahan-Kalaymyo, Chin State, in Myanmar.