Justice, Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula

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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05 July 2014
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

WCC International Conference on

JUSTICE, PEACE AND RECONCILIATION ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA

Ecumenical Institute, Bossey
17-19 June 2014
An international conference on Justice, Peace and Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula was organized by the World Council of Churches from 16-19 June 2014 at Bossey Ecumenical Center near Geneva, Switzerland. It was attended by 54 representatives of 34 churches and related organizations from 15 countries. This included representatives of churches and ecumenical organizations from South Korea and representatives of churches in North Korea by the Korean Christian Federation (KCF). The General Secretary of CCA, Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang represented CCA in this meeting.

It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with the leadership of the churches from North and South Korea especially to hear their stories and concerns in the prayerful spirit of ecumenical fellowship and to discuss further the action needed to be taken as follow up of the 2013 WCC Busan Assembly Statement on Justice, Peace and Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. The participants were inspired by the worship and theological reflections as well as the discussions during the conference.

We were moved by the testimony of Ms. Gil Won-Ok, one of the very few surviving victims of the Japanese military sexual slavery during World War II. She strongly underlined that there should not be war anymore, so that her bad experiences will not happen again! The conference emphasized the importance of affirming the role of women as active participants in peace making in the Korean peninsula and in the region.

We were especially moved by the remark of Rev Kang Myong Cho, the Chairman of the Korean Christian Federation, who referred to this gathering as a manifestation of the strong desire of the churches from various places to actively contribute to the cause of peace and reunification in the Korean peninsula. Rev Dr. Kim Young Ju, General Secretary of NCC Korea reminded the participants that this meeting was held in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Tozanso consultation, an ecumenical endeavor to address the issues of peace and reunification in the Korean peninsula.

The communique of the conference highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for the younger generation to be involved in this endeavor.

Ecumenical Prayer for a Peaceful Reunification of Korean Peninsula

For some years, the churches in South and North Korea jointly compose a prayer for reunification of the divided countries and people in the Korean peninsula. At the closing of this conference, Rev. Kang Myong Chol, Chairperson of KCF and Rev Kim Young Ju, General Secretary of NCC Korea signed the joint prayer for 2014 and requested the churches around the world to join the churches in Korean peninsula at the special moment of prayer which is annually observed on the Sunday closest to August 15. This year it falls on August 10, 2014.

We request all CCA member churches and councils to translate this prayer titled, "Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula" in local languages and circulate it widely to local congregations so that we can all join this global prayer movement as an expression of our solidarity with the churches in Korea.

Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang

Please click on the following link for the prayer: http://intersmartsolutions.com/dev/cca-old/home/2014/07/joint-prayer-for-justice-peace-and-reunification-on-the-korean-peninsula/