Faith and Order commission plenary

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.

29 July 2004
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity


Dr Ahn Jae Woong addressing the Faith and
Order plenary commission in Kuala Lumpur
(Photo: WCC/Manuel Lopez)


CCA general secretary calls for people centred ecumenism

KUALA LUMPUR -- An Asian ecumenical leader has called for seeking the true meaning of ecumenism in the context of non-Christian and non-ecumenical realities in the world.

Speaking on the first day of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order plenary commission here, Dr Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) said that the ecumenical movement should capture frontier spirit in exploring Gods plans in the whole of Gods creation. 

He was of the view that moving away from the people or peoples movement was one of the weaknesses of the ecumenical movement. 

Ahn Jae Woong suggested working towards an Asian peoples Pax Asiana as a way to revitalise the people centred ecumenism.

He told the plenary on 28 July that building a Peoples Pax Asiana, by gathering Asian peoples wisdom, traditions, customs and experience, is an ecumenical task in Asia, which has a rich tradition of respect for life and for communitarian and egalitarian life. 

The general secretary recommended the Buddhist way of the Sangh as an option for building peoples Pax Asiana.

He described the Sangha as a spiritual community where all members shared their understanding of life and stability of community, shared their sorrows and joys and all were connected with each other.

Peoples struggle against racism, classism, sexism, militarism and all kinds of discrimination and domination should be the constant ecumenical task of all peace loving people for building peace in the world, the CCA general secretary told the 28 July  6 August plenary.

He urged the participants to work together with people of other faiths and no faiths and civil society groups to achieve peace with justice.

He termed peace not only as the absence of war or conflicts, but also shalom, righteousness or wholeness and liberation or salvation. 

The awareness of violence, non-violence and the struggle of justpeace are the ultimate biblical teachings for generation after generation without resolving the tension, hatred and hostilities in human hearts and minds, any attempt for peace making efforts will be futile, he noted.

Ahn wanted the participants to go through Metanoia, for becoming new beings and children of God so as to become peacemakers in this world.

Peace making is Gods ordained ecumenical task, Ahn told the commissions first meeting in the 21st century.

Earlier, welcoming more than 150 participants from different parts of the world, the ecumenical leader said that poverty, diversity, religiosity, and lack of dignity and security were some of the characteristics of the region.

He also mentioned degradation of environment as a serious threat for the people.

The ecumenical leader expressed the view that religious teachings and Christian life are important for achieving peoples aspiration in Asia.

He called on the Faith and Order Commission to offer new theological framework for fullness of life for building communities of peace for all.

Referring to Asian churches, Ahn Jae Woong said that even though many of them have cooperated with the colonial powers and authoritarian governments in the past,
there are also churches in different countries that have deeply associated with independent and democratic movements.

He also mentioned about Asian theologians articulating their contextual theologies like Minjung theology in Korea, Homeland theology in Taiwan, Peoples theology in the Philippines, Water Buffalo theology in Thailand, Dalit theology in India, and Buraku liberation theology in Japan.

He cited the examples of the Church of South India, the church of North India, the Church of Christ in Thailand, the United Church of Christ in Japan, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines who have demonstrated church unity in the region.

The Asian leader also mentioned the examples of the China Christian Council, which is post-denominational and the Uniting Church in Australia, which is inclusive and open as far as receiving new members are concerned.

Asian churches as a whole may be able to contribute to the rest of the world the experiences of the churches of the united, uniting and post-denominational within the framework of the Faith and Order Commission, he added.

Rev Dr Samuel Kobia , general secretary of the WCC and Rev Dr David K Yemba, moderator of the Faith and Order Commission, also addressed the plenary.

The WCCs commission on Faith and Order is considered to be the most representative theological forum in the world.

Among the several objectives of the commission is the promotion of the visible unity of the Christian church.