Church groups speak up on politics

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.

26 September 2009
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

Church groups speak up on politics

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — When the provocative cow's head protest took place last month, the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) was among the first to issue a statement of condemnation.

When opposition aide Teoh Beng Hock died during a graft investigation in July, the CCM's youth section came out with a strongly-worded statement.

And when Perak descended into political chaos after the Barisan Nasional toppled the Pakatan Rakyat government in February, council members joined the chorus calling for fresh state elections.

These are not “Christian” issues, but the CCM — an organisation of the mainstream Protestant churches — considers them as issues of social responsibility.

It is not the only church body that has become socially conscious and vocal. The Catholic church has long been active in such issues.

“I think it augurs well for moral responsibility. This is a responsibility of our faith,” said Reverend Hermen Shastri, secretary-general of the CCM.

Christians make up about 9 per cent to 10 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people.

Their active political voice adds a new dimension to a political landscape which already has many players. Political parties are the most active, but civil liberties groups and bloggers have emerged as another force.

However, until recently, non-Muslim religious groups have rarely been active in political activism other than a few Catholic churches.

“This will definitely have an impact on politics. We may describe the activism as activities by churches, but churches are made up of members, and voters,” said political analyst Khoo Kay Peng.

The church's political voice emerged just before the general election last year.

Shastri said it started with seminars for parishioners to discuss issues such as religious freedom.

“We felt then that Christians must be more aware, and must hold elected representatives accountable,” he said.

This culminated with an open letter by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) ahead of the election, asking them to vote for candidates whose policies “reflect God's standard and Christian values”.

The CFM is the umbrella body of the Catholic church, the CCM and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, which groups the evangelical churches.

Churches also invited election candidates to address their members.

Reverend Sivin Kit, of the Bangsar Lutheran church, believes that the activism arose because the political atmosphere in the last few years had created unease.

He said it was triggered by the refusal of the civil courts to hear cases where the rights of non-Muslims were affected by Islamic law. This includes cases of deceased Muslim converts whose families were caught in a tussle with the Islamic authorities over funeral rights.

The civil courts, instead, sent these cases to the Syariah courts.

“That was the start,” said Sivin.

The government's initial response was unfavourable. Last year, the Home Ministry sent a warning to the Catholic church after its newsletter, the Herald, carried articles on current affairs and politics.

However, representatives from the government have since then participated in dialogues organised by the CCM. Shastri said representatives from the MCA had taken part. So have officials from the Election Commission, which also held voter registration in the churches.

The CCM Youth recently held a dialogue with Umno Youth. — Straits Times

(Source: http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/38625-church-groups-speak-up-on-politics)