Intensive preparations in progress for CCA’s Asia Mission Conference and Diamond Jubilee celebrations

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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12 August 2017

60yrs-logo

Intensive preparations for the Asia Mission Conference (AMC) 2017 and CCA’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations are being carried out through the coordination of the Christian Conference of Asia’s (CCA) organising team at the headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand and in Myanmar by the local host committee.

Thematic Focus
Focusing on the theme, ‘Journeying Together: Prophetic Witness to the Truth and Light, in Asia’, the AMC will be held from 12 to 16 October 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar with the participation of 400 representatives of churches and organisations from Asia and other parts of the world.

The AMC will have different sessions as part of each day’s programmes, including a total of five thematic presentations on the main theme and four sub-themes, three panel presentations on six areas of concern for future missional involvement in Asia, and a hearing (listening) session dealing with interfaith perspectives on the main theme.

The four sub-themes will be dealt on Prophetic Accompaniment (Ref. Isaiah 62: 1-12, Matthew 25: 35-40, Micah 6: 8); Affirming the Servanthood (Ref. Matthew 20: 28, Luke 22: 27); Participating in the Reign of God (Ref. Romans 12: 2, Ephesians 2: 22, Hebrews 13: 5, Luke 17: 1-21, 2 Timothy 2: 22), and Embodying the Spirituality of the Cross (Ref. Matthew 16: 24, Luke 6: 35).

Group discussions ensuring wider participation by delegates in all categories will be another important segment of the daily programme. The group discussions will focus on salient features of the thematic addresses and plenary panel presentations on emerging Asian issues in the context of broader mission perspectives, including concerns such as, climate justice, the refugee crisis, human trafficking, the struggle of the marginalised communities, gender discrimination and violence, economic injustices, religious intolerance, and other socio-political issues.

Bible Studies
Eight Bible Studies have been prepared by selected theologians and missiologists from Asia and the materials will be made available soon for study and reflection by participants, as well as with the local churches. The Bible Studies are based on the following areas: A way to be a powerful witness of Christ (John 8:12-20); Passing the torch to others: Prophetic Witness to the Truth and Light, in Asia (John 8:12-20); Enlightening Darkness: Prophetic Witnessing to the Light (John 8:12-20); Jesus Christ – Way to Home; Way of Truth and the Way to be Walked With (John 14:1-14); Jesus Christ and the Internally Displaced (John 14:1-14); Truth, Peace and Mission (John 18:28-38 & 20:21-22); To Whom Do You Bend Your Knee in times of Darkness?; Rediscovering God’s Faithfulness for Prophetic Witness in Asia (John 18:28-38 & 20:21-22), and Hindrances To Finding The Truth (John 18:28-38 & 20:21-22).

Bible Studies in the AMC 2017 will take place every day during morning sessions in 20 groups under the leadership of specially identified facilitators.

Worship Life
A group of specialised Asian liturgists and musicians have been working on special liturgies for morning and evening worships during the AMC. Pre-AMC workshops have been organised to draw experiences from various Asian church traditions to develop contextual liturgical resources, and a theme song has also been composed.

Mission Statement
The AMC 2017 will adopt a mission statement towards the end of the conference. A second draft of the mission statement has been circulated to CCA’s member churches and councils and among theologians and registered participants for their comments and feedback before a final draft is presented at the AMC.

Through the coordination of the main hosts in Myanmar, the Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) and the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC), various sub-committees have started work to ensure seamless logistical support for the AMC.

Diamond Jubilee of the CCA
The Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the CCA will be held towards the end of the AMC, on Sunday, 15 October 2017. Various programmes on that day will witness the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the CCA. The participants of the AMC will worship in the morning with local communities in different congregations in Yangon. A Thanksgiving Service and a Public Meeting will be held in the afternoon with the participation of thousands of people from local congregations, CCA member churches and national and regional councils, representatives of global ecumenical organisations, and prominent national and global leaders. A short video documentary depicting the historic journey of the CCA will be screened during the event. Varieties of cultural presentations also will be part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

At least 400 representatives of churches, ecumenical councils, ecumenical partners, missionaries, missiologists, theologians, and theological students are expected to attend the AMC, including a full day’s celebration to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the CCA on Sunday, 15 October 2017 with the local churches and congregations in Myanmar.

To register for the Asia Mission Conference 2017, please click here.