CCA Organises Youth Conference for Shaping a New Ecumenical Paradigm

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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16 July 2016

GP MEDAN1

An ecumenical youth conference aimed at shaping a new ecumenical paradigm in Asia brought together fifty young people at the HKBP Theological Seminary in Pematangsiantar, Indonesia from 12 to 13 July.
The young participants included representatives from different denominations from around the North Sumatera area, including Roman Catholic church, who are committed to promoting the ecumenical movement at the grassroots.

Promoting ecumenism and sharing CCA’s mission, to encourage the youth to be ecumenically aware in their society and churches. We hope that it will provide opportunities for wider exposure to the ecumenical movement and so that they can be more meaningfully involved in advocating for issues of social justice across the borders through ecumenical youth networks.”

While sharing about the outcome of the youth program, the coordinators Dedi Pardosi, Jebasingh Samuvel, Angela Kim and Casey Faaui,said,“ the new initiative of reaching out youths at the grassroots level as part of promoting ecumenism and sharing mission and vision of ecumenical values provided opportunities to encourage the youth to be ecumenically aware in their society and churches”.

“We hope that it will provide opportunities for wider exposure for young people to the ecumenical movement, so that they can be more meaningfully involved in advocating for issues of social justice across the borders through ecumenical youth networks.”

During the conference, Rev. Bonar Lumbantobing shared with the young participants that “Before, young people used to come together with a big purpose in mind, to educate and move for social action. When they went to a place, the place was changed. But today, youth movements are too busy with their own programs and their own lives. We need to come together again and lead strong movements to create change in the grassroots once more.” He challenged the participants by saying, We need to inspire others to move for making changes, just like the generation of young people before us and try to be corrective forces in society as part of our faith and witness.”

With the different denominations gathering together, the youth participants established networks and planned to work ecumenically to address issues and obstacles that the youth are facing today in church and society.
The youth participants selected were in leadership positions in their churches and communities that mostly had little practical knowledge in ecumenism and the ecumenical movement.

The ecumenical youth conferences is a new CCA initiative to revitalize and expand the involvement of youth in the Asian Ecumenical Movement with the hopes to nurture and promote the next generation of ecumenists in Asia, starting from the grassroots.