CCA to organise Regional Symposium on ‘Family Life and Family Values: Transition from Tradition to Modernity’

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.

30 July 2021

 

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) will organise and facilitate an Asia Regional Symposium on ‘Family Life and Family Values: Transition from Tradition to Modernity’ from Tuesday 3 August to Thursday 5 August. The online programme will be facilitated through Zoom and held from 13:00 to 17:00 hrs (1 PM to 5 PM) Bangkok (Thailand) time.

The symposium aims at addressing specific concerns and issues related to changing family life and values, strengthening family values across generations, and exploring ministerial methodologies of being the Church as God’s instruments to guide, support, equip congregations to accompany the people and communities with pastoral care for family counselling.

Explaining the thematic focus of the three-day event, the CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara stated that traditionally the family has been a powerful institution with tremendous influence on society, and when family values become nurtured and promoted within the families, those were reflected in society. However, in modern times the sanctity of family values has changed. The changes in traditional values are evident in roles and responsibilities of family members and their attitudes, family structure, changing lifestyles, and their impact on health and well-being of family members.

“The traditional family values, as fostered in good families, were viewed as unwritten codes that actually guided and shaped the behaviour of individuals; but those values are being eroded,” added the CCA General Secretary.

In a context where the magnitude of changes that families and societies have been experiencing appear to be far greater than what was experienced before, the symposium will address themes and issues that are posing serious concerns in the Asian context.

The topics and themes that will be dealt during the three days of the symposium will include ‘Changing Family Values in Asia: Tradition versus Modernity, Diversities in Family Values’; ‘Families in Transition in Asia: Marriage, Divorce, Cohabitation and Legal Bases’; ‘Biblical-theological Perspectives on Family Values’; Understanding the Papal Exhortation on Love in the Family (“Amoris Laetitia”: “The Joy of Love”); ‘Challenges of Digitalisation in Family Life’; ‘Healthcare in Tradition and Modernity’; ‘Intergenerational Relations with Aged Family Members: Tradition and Values in Transition’; and ‘Churches’ Role and Engagement in Accompanying Families’.

Social scientists and ethicists, family counselling professionals, health and healing ministry practitioners, Christian theologians, family jurisprudence experts, and social workers will facilitate discussions in the various sessions.

The resource persons of the symposium include Tantu Wrespati (Indonesia), Vijula Arulanantham (Sri Lanka), Fr. Emmanuel K. Rozario (Bangladesh), Dr Sarala Samuel (India), Dr Youn Joo Lee (South Korea), Dr Wen-Fu Wang (Taiwan), Havilah Dharamraj (India), and Sr. Rhodora Asuncion R. Alarcon (Philippines). Dr. Mathews George Chunakara will deliver the opening address.

Participation in the Symposium is recommended for and will be exceptionally beneficial to pastoral counsellors and family healthcare providers, especially those working with children and the elderly, and representatives from churches and national ecumenical councils in Asia.

 Registrations are now invited here: https://bit.ly/cca-family

For more information, please refer to the Background Information note: