Ecumenical Enablers Training for Women in Lao People’s Democratic Republic

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).

First Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
Second Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
28 January 2016

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Women leaders in the Bible; 'Miriam', 'Deborah' from the Old Testament, 'Mary and Martha' from the New Testament demonstrated distinct leadership qualities and their commitments for God’s mission should be a model for Christian women in any society, said Pastor Kummol of the Church of Christ in Thailand to a group of women at the ecumenical enablers’ training for women in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) organized an ecumenical enablers’ training for women leaders of the Lao Evangelical Church (LEC). The training focused on the theme “Women in the Household of God” held from 20th to 22nd January 2016 in Vientiane, Laos. About 47 women – pastors, church workers and lay leaders from different parts of Laos attended the training

Pastor Kummol added that, “These women were prophets, advisors, warriors and early church leaders and they demonstrated God given leadership skills in those times. God has given the same leadership skills to the women of today and they must use their talents in the household of God.

Rev. Dr. Khamphone Kounthapanaya, President of LEC, Pastor Kummol from Church of Christ in Thailand, and Ms. Sunila Ammar of CCA also provided leadership for the training.

Leadership of LEC and women’s committee expressed their deep gratitude for Christian Conference of Asia in facilitating the training first time for women in Laos. The participants opined that, “It is the first ever ecumenical training for women in Laos and the training was unique. It was mainly focusing on women’s concerns, especially re-reading the Bible with women’s perspective."

The Ecumenical Enablers Training of CCA aims at ecumenical formation at the grassroots levels and to provide non-formal theological orientation to church members in different countries, especially in contexts where the ecumenical movement is rather weak. These churches and councils lack ecumenical leadership and ecumenical theological education as many of the church leaders are providing pastoral cares and assistance without formal theological education or self-trained non-formally as they do not have access to the theological education.