Ecumenical Formation Seminar for Theological Educators in Refugee Camps

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).

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18 November 2015

Measot-collage-redoneEcumenical Formation Seminar for Theological Educators in Refugee Camps
Maesot, Thailand
4-6 November 2015

A three day Seminar on Ecumenical Formation in Theological Education was organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) at the Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College (KKBBSC) in Mae La refugee camp, on the Myanmar- Thailand border, from 4-6 November 2015. About 100 teachers of seven Bible Schools of Karen Baptist Churches dispersed in eight refugee camps alongside the Thai-Myanmar border attended the seminar.

The seminar for theological educators of Bible Schools in refugee camps was part of CCA’s new initiative of ecumenical formation at the grass-roots and ecumenical leadership development from the bottom to top in Asia.

The seminar helped theological educators of the refugee camps based Bible Schools who do not have access normally to ecumenical theological education training.

Mae La refugee camp, 60 kilometres north of Mae Sot on the border between Myanmar and Thailand is the largest in a chain of seven refugee camps inhabited mainly by Karen refugees fleeing the Myanmar Military Government. The border camps host about 500,000 refugees who had to flee Myanmar during the past three decades.

Within the refugee camps the Baptist church remains the largest Christian group by far and each of the seven camps has at least one Baptist Bible School. Although, the highest course offered in each refugee Camp Bible School is a Bachelor of Theology degree, there are very less opportunities for the teachers of the Bible schools to teach ecumenism or orient themselves in the field of ecumenical theology.

The Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College (KKBBSC) started in 1983 with four teachers and six students, today accommodates 450 students.

Rev. Dr. Pradit Takerngrangsarit, Rev. Grace Moon, Dr. Panger, and Rev. Grant were the resource persons of various seminar sessions.