Easter Message

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 April 2012
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity
 Dear Ecumenical Friends,
It is with great joy that the community of faith around the world, which centers its life in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shouts loudly: “Alleluia, Christ is risen!” Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a mystery of faith that is beyond human grasp and understanding. The power of life overcomes the power of death! How can it be true, considering our daily realities which have traumatized many people? Nevertheless, we receive this message as our confession of faith, which gives us hope for life even as we walk in the valleys of many signs of death surrounding us.
Last week, people of Thailand were struck and terrorized by the bomb explosions in the southern part of the country. Apparently, communal tensions and conflicts are continuously spreading in different parts of Asia. People in many parts of Asia and the world are constantly in fear of the threats of natural disasters such as floods, typhoons, tsunami, drought, uncertainty of seasons due to the climate change. Poverty is still rampant despite the noticeable economic growth in some parts of the Asian society. At the same time there are increasing worries related to the issue of nuclear power which potentially disturbs and destroys the peace and security in the region.
These realities and many other forms of the power of death often terrify us, just as the women in the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning, whose minds were still troubled by the power of death that had taken away Jesus, their loved one, were at the same time facing the reality of an empty tomb. They were told: “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not there. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:6-7) They were reminded of the power of the promise of God which should become their source of hope in the midst of confusion, and become the driving force to continue their ministry in the world where Jesus was.
Last week we observed a sign of hope through the process of by-election that had taken place in Myanmar. For the first time, after many years of experiencing the repression of their rights, the people were able to participate in a by-election process which was considered free and fair. We need to uphold the churches and people of Myanmar in this democratization process, especially as the large stone that had hindered them from enjoying the fullness of life, has begun to be removed.
In the same week, we also observed another sign of hope in the meeting of the leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which called attention to at least three important matters that may have a significant impact on the dignity of life in the region: 
(1) lifting the sanctions imposed on Myanmar in order to support the democratic and economic development of the country; (2) the importance of developing a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, and invite China to participate in the process, and (3) persuade North Korea to resume talks under the ASEAN Regional Forum on keeping the Korean peninsula nuclear-free. We need to continuously pray for the commitment of the leaders of ASEAN countries and for the leaders of all Asian countries, such that the wisdom of God may guide them, and that justice and peace may prevail, particularly in the life of the people in Asia.
We are the people of Easter; we the churches in Asia are people with hope in God. In the midst of the groaning of the whole creation in labor, we hold on to God’s promise that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage of decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”(Rome 8:18-21)
Let us, therefore, live in hope and struggle in hope, “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  (I Cor. 15:58)
Wishing you all a Happy Easter,
May we be resurrected in His transforming Grace! 
Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang
General Secretary