CCA roundtable meeting held in Hong Kong

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.

08 November 2004
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

CCA General Secretary Dr Ahn Jae Woong addressing the CCA
roundtable meeting on 8 November in Hong Kong. Also seen are
member of the CCA Presidium Bishop Joseph Mar Irenaeus
(on his right) and CCA Treasurer Israel Paulraj and Associate General
Secretary for Finance Prawate Khid-arn on his left

Asian churches urged to become instruments for
building communities based on peace and justice

HONG KONG  Chief of an Asian ecumenical organisation has stressed the need for revitalising Asian spirituality at a time when traditional cultures are on the verge of extinction due to western influences.

Presenting a report at the roundtable meeting held here of representatives of
partner agencies and ecumenical leaders, Dr Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary
of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) said that a spirituality which promotes a culture of peace and rejects violence need to be built into the lives of Asians to enhance human dignity.

Violence and destruction originate from human minds and how to change it to
preserve peace and justice is a key question in our time, he told the 32 participants who attended the 8 to 9 November meeting organised by the CCA.

According to Ahn Jae Woong, The mindset of people is formed by the way they show love and compassion towards their neighbour and to the wider community.

Roundtable meetings are organised to share the programs and concerns of the CCA to the partner agencies. It is also an occasion for agencies to make their long term commitment and support to the CCA and its various programs and activities.

Member of the CCA Presidium Bishop Dr Joseph Mar Ireneus welcomed gathering.

Speaking on Asian churches, Ahn Jae Woong noted that they are divided as
liberals, conservatives, ecumenicals, evangelicals, people orineted and congregational oriented.

Many churches have lost their missionary vocation and have become corrupt, he noted and added that they focus their energy, time and resources on buildings and infrastructures, and indulge in the number game by increasing the membership.

They eventually are more concerned about managing, or rather mismanaging
their infrastructure and assets. 

He felt it was time to discuss and to act to recover the lost mission of Asian churches situated in secular settings.

He urged the Asian churches to become instruments for building peace and
justice in societies and to reach out in creating networks with people of other faiths and no faith and civil society groups to build communities based on justice and peace.

Making a presentation on Current trends in geo-politics in Asia Dr Ninan Koshy told the meeting that religion has become an important factor in geo-politics and international politics.

With religion returning to centre stage in civil and political life in the post-Cold War period, there is an unprecedented increase in the incidence of religious discrimination, intolerance and violence. 

He called on the ecumenical movement to understand the reality of a new world order and the reality of an "empire. "

How does the ecumenical movement deal with an empire was a question he posed during his presentation.

He felt that it was important to have an ecumenical response on the war on terror waged by the USA and its allies.

Dr Prawate Khid-arn, associate general secretary for finance presented a report on the CCA fianance and budget proposals.

The two-day meeting began with morning worships led by CCA staff
Dr Hope Antone and Dr Lee Hong Jung. The different sessions of the two-day meeting were moderated by Mr Israel Paulraj, Ms Hannelore Moll and Mr Ad Mook.

The partner agencies were represented at the meeting by Mr Charlie Ocampo (Christian World Service, Australia) Ms Andrea Mann (Anglican Church of Canada), Mr David M Weaver (Church World Service, USA), Mr Kjell Helge Godtfredsen (Norwegian Church Aid), Mr Ad Mook (The Protestant Church in the Netherlands), Rev Johan Hasselgren (Church of Sweden), Ms Chris Eliot Hall (Methodist Church, UK), Ms Hannelore Mall (Bread for the World, Germany), Mr. Heiner Knauss (EED Germany) Mr Olaf Rehren (EMW Germany), Ms Rachel Parry, (USPG, London), Ms Marcia L Florkey (GBGM of the United Methodist in the USA), Mr Andrew Clayton (Christian Aid, UK), Mr Leo Bashyam (Christian Aid, UK), and Rev Insik Kim. (Presbyterian Church USA).


A section of the participants at the meeting held at the
Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre in Hong Kong


Participants of the roundtable meeting


Bishop Joseph Mar Irenaeus addressing the ecumenical partners
and CCA staff


A section of the participants


From right: Andrea Mann (Anglican Church of Canada),
Marcia L Florkey (GBGM of the United Methodist Church, USA),
Cora Tabing-Reyes (CCA staff) and Chris Elliot Hall (Asia-Pacific
Secretary of the Methodist Church, UK)


From left: John Hasselgren (Church of Sweden), Heiner Knauss (EED)
and Olaf Rehren (EMW)


Ninan Koshy making a presentation at the meeting