Former CCA Executive Secretary Rev. Kenichi Otsu passes away

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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23 June 2017

Rev.-Kenichi-Otsu

Rev. Kenichi Otsu, former Executive Secretary for Development and Service of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) passed away in the afternoon on Thursday, 22 June 2017 at the Red Cross Hospital in Otawara, Tochigi prefecture, Japan. He was 73 years old.

An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ), Rev. Otsu was widely recognised as a committed Asian ecumenical leader. Loved and respected by many in the ecumenical circles in Asia, he passionately served the ecumenical movement in various capacities. He was the CCA Executive Secretary for Development and Service for eight years. Subsequently, he served the National Christian Council in Japan (NCCJ) as the General Secretary.

Rev. Otsu was a member of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (CCIA / WCC) from 1999 to 2006.

While expressing heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Rev. Kenichi Otsu, on behalf of the CCA and the Asian ecumenical family at large, the General Secretary of the CCA Dr. Mathews George Chunakara said, “the churches and the ecumenical movement in Asia are indebted to Rev. Kenichi Otsu for his contributions to enabling and sensitising the Asian churches on a people-centered development agenda.”

“Kenichi Otsu relentlessly worked for introducing development education training among Asian churches in the 1980s and early 1990s, in order to equip church members to understand that development does not merely mean economic development, but also human, cultural, political, and social development, and through them, the restoration of human dignity and a just and sustainable society,” said the CCA General Secretary.

Recollecting his close association and friendship with his former colleague, Otsu at the CCA during the early 1990s, Dr. Mathews George Chunakara added, “Kenichi was a genuine human being and was always keen to extend support to his younger colleagues. He was passionate about challenging the Asian churches to be aware of Asian realities, and to get involved in a true development process with a people-centered approach.”

Rev. Kenichi Otsu was closely associated with the Japanese peace movement, especially the interfaith advocacy against the proposed changes in Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. He had been serving the Asian Rural Institute in Japan as the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

He is survived by his wife Keiko Otsu, and a daughter.