Ecumenical Conference calls for an Interfaith commitment

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.

12 December 2005
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity
Message to the Faith Communities

We, 200 participants from 29 countries and different religious faiths, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, who have met at Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong, from 9-10 December 2005 to protest the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and to work towards a vision on "Globalizing Economic Justice and Social Sustainability", address the following message to the faith communities of the world:

We are meeting in Asia, the birth place of some of the world's great religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all originated here. Despite the differences, faith communities hold fundamental values in common based on our belief in the Divine: the pursuit of truth and love, the assertion of equality of all human beings, respect for life and integ7ity of creation, the quest for peace and harmony, protecting the dignity of others, upholding justice and righteousness and compassion for those who suffer, who are poor and marginalized. Members of all faiths are involved in building sustainable communities with the participation of all. To us, as people of faith, it is imperative that these values be reflected in the economic and political order of our societies.

Today these values are under assault by transnational corporations and governments in their comprehensive pursuit of profits and economic growth. Economic globalization promoted by the WTO destroys the economic basis of communities in many parts of the world and causes irreversible damage to the natural resources of our world. The liberalization of financial markets allows for the uncontrolled flow of capital in search of the greatest gain. Investment is taking place where labour is cheap, labour rights are suppressed and where laws on industrial health and safety are lacking or not being implemented. Privatization results often in a drastic worsening of employment conditions and deprives the poor of essential services such as water, health and education. Deregulation of the economy destroys local manufacturing industries, creates unemployment and drives farmers and indigenous people from their land. Economic globalization is anti-life, anti-people, anti-integrity of creation, anti-justice and anti-peace. Faith communities must say an unequivocal "No" to neo-liberalism and the WTO. It is sin to accept the proposition that there is no to the present process of globalization, in the form of market fundamentalism. The logic of globalization leads to imperialist wars, conquest and plunder.
Motivated and sustained by faith we are committed to collaborate with people from different backgrounds to redress and transform the situation we face. Together, we must seek alternatives and work with social movements of resistance and transformation. Our aim is to establish a new social order based on ethics of the common good and ethics of care.

We call on our faith communities to:

  • critically look at our complicity, and challenge our membership to dismantle the destructive structures within own institutions and to act as agents of transformation in a globalizing context.
  • move towards sustainable systems that celebrate life, hope and liberation, connect with the healing power of land and foster positive consumer-producer relationships that go beyond the exchange of goods, and include the exchange of stories and wisdom.
  • engage in educational processes and aid in the creation of popular materials that are appropriate to the local population and mindful of language and culture, in order to expose how our governments are exploiting people and natural resources in the guise of free trade and increased market opportunity. Through education and action we must hold our governments accountable.
  • work together with civil society and people's movements and take proactive roles in strengthening community-based organizations
  • create communities safeguarding rights of women, youth and children, and marginalized groups.
  • recognize the importance of the role of youth in carrying the vision of faith communities
  • uphold education as a right not a privilege and to orient it towards the needs and aspirations of communities rather than the market economy
  • use our resources for peoples' livelihood and promote sustainable agriculture/alternative livelihood options and peoples' economy
  • organize and participate in an interfaith round table conference during the World Social Forum, Nairobi 2007
  • lobby our governments to get out of the WTO
  • support and create a human and earth centered economy for life and peace