CCA’s new initiative of the Asian Ecumenical Institute begins

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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31 October 2016

prParticipants of the AEI 2016 at the CCA headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI), a new initiative of the CCA for ecumenical formation and leadership development, has begun.

The month-long intensive course being held at Chiang Mai’s Payap University Campus is attended by 17 participants from various Asian countries. While being provided opportunities to live together in an inter-cultural and inter-denominational setting and gain in-depth insights on ecumenism through a variety of learning methodologies, the training is aimed at equipping each participant to identify ways of developing ecumenical responses contextually.

The AEI, starting this year as an annual event, is being held from 24 October–23 November 2016.

The theme for AEI 2016 is ‘Shaping a New Paradigm for Wider Ecumenism in Asia’, with a specific focus on training a new generation of young ecumenists and prospective church and ecumenical leaders in Asia.

Conducted by a variety of experts and resource persons, the participants are currently engaging in a range of activities, including presentations, panels, and thematic discussions; as well as grass roots exposure visits, self-guided study and preparation of research papers.

Rev. Jung Eun Moon, Program Coordinator of the CCA said that “the course outline and contents of the AEI 2016 training have been designed to help participants envision wider ecumenism with new theological insights, which will empower them to understand the scope of ecumenism from a strong faith perspective, as well as equip them to cross denominational, cultural, social, economic and political boundaries”.

“The young participants of the AEI come from various ecclesial traditions in Asia. They are demonstrating a keen interest to learn ecumenism and the AEI training will help them to shape their vision,” added Prof. Dr. Chuleepran Srisontorn, who coordinates the academic activities of the AEI.

The participants of AEI 2016 are from Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka.