CCA’s second virtual conference to highlight ‘Churches in Asia Responding to COVID-19 Crisis’

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.

03 May 2020

 

The second in a series of virtual conferences (webinars) initiated by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic will focus on ‘Churches in Asia Responding to COVID-19 Crisis’, and will be held on Thursday, 7 May 2020 from 12:00 to 14:00 (12 PM to 2 PM) Bangkok time.

Prominent Asian church and ecumenical leaders from CCA member constituencies as well as the Roman Catholic church will share Asian churches’ responses as they try to grapple with the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic in their specific local contexts.

Asian churches are actively engaged in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Expressions of solidarity have become more striking and they are evident in the sharing of resources through a variety of actions such as offering medical equipment and assistance, accommodation and shelter facilities to those affected, food provisions under lockdown, medical care, counselling and spiritual care for communities.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the CCA, will initiate and facilitate the discussions.

Archbishop Dr Willem T.P. Simarmata, the Moderator of the CCA; Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Iran; Metropolitan Dr Yakob Mar Irenaios, Chairperson of Churches’ Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), India; Fr. William (Bill) LaRousse, Deputy General Secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC); Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza, General Secretary of National Council of Churches in the Philippines; Bishop Leo Paul of the Church of Pakistan; Rev. Jacky Manuputty, General Secretary of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI); and Dr Sawako Fujiwara, a Japanese theologian from the Lutheran Theological Seminary and Rikkyo University in Tokyo will lead the webinar.

Those who are interested in participating in the webinar may register by clicking on this link – https://forms.gle/LJfd3G4qJYGytLQT8

For additional details, please go through the attached document below –
https://www.cca.org.hk/churches-in-asia-responding-to-covid-19-crisis-concept-note/

Since the webinar can accommodate only 90 participants, registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.