Ecumenical Peace Network for Northeast Asia

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:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
Second Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
26 August 2004
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

Northeast Asian churches urged to initiate Ecumenical Peace Network

SEOUL, Korea  CCA General Secretary Dr Ahn Jae Woong has urged the churches in Northeast Asia to initiate an Ecumenical Peace Network (EPN) to streamline and strengthen the already existing peace building efforts by them.

Addressing a meeting here of the WCC member churches and national councils in Northeast Asia, Ahn Jae Woong said that the EPN should be set up out of hope and with a forward-looking vision so that it could provide ecumenical space for building peace in the Northeast Asia. 

Ahn expressed the view that the nations of Northeast Asia are getting ready to stand up and be noticed.

Nations with fiercely nationalistic histories are getting tired of being directed, or worse yet, dictated by the United States. 

They are becoming part of the new power blocs to balance the US global domination, he said.

Quoting from WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobias book, The Courage to Hope, that When people act out of hope, they become forward-looking; they are liberated from captivity to the past and fear of a tomorrow that is no better than yesterday, he said that promoting Korean unification and related issues in the region could be an important agenda for the EPN.

The EPN, according to him, could handle the following:

Information sharing or e-networking
Exchange of personnel and experts
Resource sharing, peace education and peace building programs
Occasional meeting/workshops
Advocacy work and lobbying
Joint action and solidarity networking
Strengthening ecumenical fellowship for peace building

Ahn told the 20-21 August church representatives meeting, organised prior to the WCC executive committee meeting, that initiating the EPN is part of helping lessen one anothers burden which is an important ecumenical virtue and priority. 

Burdens of people in the WCC member countries are increasing, Ahn, a member of the Presbyterian Church in Korea, noted.

Help carry one anothers burdens is a high moral of the ecumenical movement, he said and added that it is something to do with the sharing and solidarity in our ecumenical movement in our time.