CCA observes Asia Sunday 2022 at CCA headquarters in Thailand

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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23 August 2022
The staff members stationed at the CCA Headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This year’s Asia Sunday was observed on 21 August 2022, on the theme ‘Christ's love reconciles and unites’. The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) member churches and ecumenical councils observed Asia Sunday in their respective localities.

The staff members stationed at the CCA Headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand, organised a special observance of Asia Sunday–2022, which was held on the morning of Monday, 22 August 2022.

The special liturgical service was specially marked by the sound of indigenous musical instruments, the singing of hymns from the Sound the Bamboo Hymnal (CCA Hymnal), and the reciting of heartfelt petitions and supplications.

Asia Sunday is being organised this year as a lead-up to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Dr Mathews George Chunakara, CCA General Secretary stated, “The CCA views the observance of Asia Sunday–2022 on the eve of the WCC Assembly as a time to reflect on the forthcoming WCC Assembly theme from an Asian perspective.”

This year, the CCA urged its member churches and councils to pray not solely for the CCA’s mission and ministry with Asian churches, but also for the upcoming 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which will be held from 31 August through 8 September in Karlsruhe, Germany, and has as its focus the theme ‘Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity’.

The full text of the CCA’s special Asia Sunday–2022 liturgy can be found here: