Passing Away of Rev. Professor Prakai Nontawasee

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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10 July 2013
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

Tribute to Rev. Professor Prakai Nontawasee

The Christian Conference of Asia regrets to report the news of the passing away of Rev. Professor Prakai Nontawasee, who served CCA as one of the Presidents from 1990-1995, and as General Committee member from 1985-1990. With her passing away, we have lost an eminent Asian woman Theologian, an ecumenical leader, an advocate for the safety of children, a committed academician and an expert on the subject of the early days of Christianity in Thailand. In a condolence letter addressed to her family members, and the Church of Christ in Thailand, CCA General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang wrote:

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We received with great sadness, the news of the passing away of our beloved sister, Rev. Prof. Prakai Nontawasee on July 4, 2013. She is very close to the heart of many ecumenical friends in Asia and around the world. At this moment, on behalf of the Christian Conference of Asia, I would like to convey our deep sorrow to all her family members, relatives, friends, and the Church of Christ in Thailand.

We are grateful to God for the life and rich talents that Rev. Prakai Notawasee was gifted with. We remember with gratitude her leadership and contribution to the Christian Conference of Asia. She brought with her the rich experience she had in the leadership of the Church of Christ in Thailand and in the academic life of the Payap University to the Asia ecumenical movement, when she was elected as a member of the CCA General Committee representing Thailand from 1985-1990. Further, she served as one of the CCA Presidents from 1990 to 1995.

Acharn Prakai, as she has been respectfully addressed by many, has demonstrated a strong Christian commitment for unity of the church as the body of Christ that serves the world with the Gospel values of peace with justice for all. She represented CCA in the early stages of the international campaign to ‘End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT)’, was a member of the first Executive Committee and later became the Chairperson of ECPAT. In the “ECPAT Story” (1996), Rev. Ron O Grady, former Associate General Secretary of CCA, who was a prime initiator of the campaign for ECPAT, said “Acharn Prakai brought her own distinctive dignity and grace to the office and was respected Chairperson of ECPAT... .”

Acharn Prakai also contributed significantly to the global ecumenical movement. As a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), she passionately spoke on the issues of HIV & AIDS concerns. She was actively involved in the CCA Program on Migrant Workers, Refugees and Internally Displaced People and also a member of the WCC HIV & AIDS Committee and Reference Group of the WCC Refugees and Migration Service, particularly in preparing a resource book for the churches, entitled: “A Moment to Choose: Risking to be with Uprooted People.” (1996)

I was privileged to be able to visit her with Rev. Dr. Chuleepan Srisoontorn at her home in Chiang Mai some months ago. At that time she was still alert and remembered many of her friends and moments of serving together in the ecumenical ministries. She told us that her strength comes from the Word of God that accompanied her each day. In the recent few months when her body was getting weaker, I was able to visit her with Ms. Janejinda Pawadee at McCormick Hospital. Her body was weak, but her smile continued to be the source of inspiration for many of us who have been touched by her life and her passion in promoting life for all. Though she is not with us anymore, but “by means of her faith, Acharn Prakai still speaks, even though she is dead.” (cf. Hebrew 11:4)

On behalf of the CCA member churches and councils, let me convey our heartfelt condolences at the loss of not only a great ecumenical leader, but also a leading woman theologian from Asia. We hold the family of Acharn Prakai and the Church of Christ in Thailand in our prayers, especially in this time of bereavement.

Sincerely yours,

Henriette Hutabarat Lebang

General Secretary