CCA mourns the passing away of Japanese ecumenist and peace activist Rev. SHOJI Tsutomu

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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30 August 2020
Rev. Shoji Tsutomu

CHIANG MAI: A veteran Japanese ecumenist and peace activist, former General Secretary of the National Christian Council in Japan (NCCJ) Rev. Shoji Tsutomu passed away on Tuesday 25 August 2020.

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, he became an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ), for 41 years.

Rev. Shoji was General Secretary of the NCCJ from 1978 to 1985.

The General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) Dr. Mathews George Chunakara expressed condolences on the demise of Rev. Rev. Shoji Tsutomu, and stated that with the passing away of Rev. Shoji, the Japanese churches have lost another committed ecumenist who contributed immensely to the Asian ecumenical movement for many years.

As the General Secretary of the NCCJ, Rev. Shoji was instrumental in bringing the Japanese churches and the civil society organizations together on a common platform for advocacy on human rights, democratization and peace building.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara recollected the contributions of Rev. Shoji in facilitating and hosting the historic Tozanso international ecumenical conference organsied by the World Council of Churches.

He was also one of the leading church leaders who could convince the then leadership of the WCC to be engaged in facilitating international ecumenical solidarity for the Korean peace process which eventually led WCC to organize the famous Tozanso conference in 1984, added Mathews George Chunakara.

In his capacity as the General Secretary of NCCJ, Rev. Shoji was involved in various CCA programmes in 1970s and 1980s.

As a young student at the Union Theological Seminary in New York during late 1960s, Shoji was deeply influenced by the churches’ involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement in the USA. Upon return to his native Japan, he became involved in peace movement in Japan.

Rev. Shoji was also known for his long-time activism on the issue of denuclearization.  As a member of the Inter-religious Coalition on Nuclear Power Administration, he was deeply involved in the network of anti-nuclear power plant activists in Japan.  He was a member of the WCC delegation to the 3rd Conference of the Parties (COP3) of the UN Framework Convention (1997) on Climate Change in Kyoto.

Rev. Shoji’s contributions for organizing campaigns against the arrest of the Japanese born ethnic Korean students, the Suh Brothers who were studying in South Korea. The Suh brothers were arrested and detained by the Army Security Command of South Korea over alleged violation of the National Security Act and their involvement in the democratization movement.  Shoji played an active role in organizing a nationwide campaign with active roles by the Christian community and the civil society organsiations in Japan to advocate for the release of the Suh Brothers from the South Korean prison.

He served as a Director of the Tomisaka Christian Center, an ecumenical theological research institute for many years. Rev. SHOJI Tsutomu dedicated the last part of his life for building up the Korea Museum in Tokyo, established by a citizens group that included Koreans, Japanese Zainichi Koreans, and Japanese in order to learn together the history of Japan and Korea. He was the first director of the Korea Museum.

A memorial service will be held at Kyodan Ohizumi Church in Tokyo, on 31 August 2020.