CCA’s message on World Mental Health Day—2020 calls for Asian churches to address mental health issues and be a caring community

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
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

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    CHIANG MAI: On World Mental Health Day, which this year falls on 10 October 2020, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) calls for Asian churches to show their commitment as a caring community by being ‘first responders’ to address mental health issues in their own contexts, and become instruments through whom God can declare: “I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.” (Jeremiah 31:13) 

    In a special message issued by the CCA General Secretary, Dr Mathews George Chunakara urged Asian churches to give ample attention to the mental wellbeing of all as part of their spiritual accompaniment with them.

    The CCA General Secretary said that the World Mental Health Day–2020 was being observed at a time when great mental distress has been reported throughout the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Providing examples of the actions churches can take to expand their mental health ministry, Dr Chunakara stated, “Churches can assist by maintaining resources for support and ways to cope with the illness, talking about mental illness from the pulpit so that it is no longer considered a taboo, and generating regular awareness about mental health and mental illness.”

    The full text of the CCA’s Statement on World Mental Health Day–2020 can be found below: