International church body asks gov't to take swift action

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.

15 January 2010
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

MalaysiaKini: Jan 15, 10 8:06am

The World Council of Churches has called on the Malaysian government to take immediate action to end attacks on churches sparked by a row on the use of the word 'Allah'.The WCC said in a letter to Malaysian churches: "we hope that immediate measures will be taken to resolve the problem and that all perpetrators of these acts of violence will be brought to justice."

Eleven churches have been been fire-bombed or vandalised in the past week, after the High Court decided on Dec 31 to lift a government ban on non-Muslims using 'Allah' as a translation for 'God' in the Bahasa Malaysia section of a Catholic publication.

Pointing out that Christians living in neighbouring Indonesia - the world's biggest Muslim-majority country - has been using the word 'Allah' for centuries, the WCC said it was "very disturbing to hear about this new controversy generated by a small sector of Muslims."

"In fact, this action will only challenge tolerance and restrict religious freedom as well as negatively affecting the 'One Malaysia' policy commitment made by the government..." said the church group.

Gov't accused of stoking Malay nationalism

The Malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks, but has been accused of stoking Malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the opposition made unprecedented gains in 2008 elections.

After the latest attacks, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday that probes were underway to bring the perpetrators to justice and that "several" suspects had been identified.

The WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches representing more then 560 million Christians in about 110 countries.