CCA reaffirms to facilitate HIV-competent churches in Asia on World AIDS Day

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).

First Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
Second Preference:
General Secretariat (GS)
30 November 2016

aids

In a statement issued as part of the observance of World AIDS Day 2016, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), urges its member churches and councils to remember the 35 million people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses globally, and prays for the 78 million people who continue to live with HIV and AIDS.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the CCA stated, “as the world commits to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, let the churches in Asia be engaged more vigorously to combat HIV and AIDS and to empower all affected people to have access to proper treatment, care and support services. The right to health belongs to everyone, everywhere”.

The CCA General Secretary further added that, “an end to the AIDS epidemic will also guide the world in addressing the critical linkages between health, development, injustice, inequality, poverty and conflict. Together, we can put an end to the epidemic if everyone, without exception, plays their role for the collective protection against HIV and AIDS”.

HIV and AIDS has been a special focus of the CCA with several programs, over the past years, being initiated and facilitated to build HIV-competent churches and communities in Asia.

The focus of CCA’s HIV and AIDS program has been based on the theme, A Holistic Approach to Building Sustainable HIV Competent Churches and Communities in Asia.

The programs of CCA comprise mainstreaming HIV and AIDS issues by focusing on equipping theological education institutions and churches, as well as incorporating HIV and AIDS issues in theological education curriculums; providing training of trainers (TOT) on pastoral counseling, peer education training for youth and women; training on holistic approaches to HIV and AIDS program management; facilitating capacity-building on accompanying, equipping and empowering churches to be more competent in combating HIV and AIDS; strengthening networks and collaborating with ecumenical and interfaith communities on joint efforts in the protection and care of ‘Brothers and Sisters Living with HIV’ (BROSLIH) and ‘Key Affected Populations’ (KAP), including People With Disabilities (PWD), by providing theological seminars on HIV and disability; conducting national and regional roundtables with interfaith communities and KAP to improve understanding, strengthen communication and promote joint action.

For the years 2017-2020, CCA’s strategic plan will focus on Action Together in Combating HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

The General Secretary said that the new thrust of the HIV and AIDS program will have a strong advocacy component and also interfaith collaboration and networking.

Read the full text of the CCA General Secretary's statement on World AIDS Day 2016.