Roman Catholic nun’s exemplary life models "mission as affirming the servanthood"

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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13 October 2017

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Sr Sudha Varghese spoke on servanthood and doing selfless service for the poor during her speech at the AMC 2017 in Yangon.

Sr Sudha Varghese, a Roman Catholic nun and social activist who has been working for over two decades among the most downtrodden and oppressed Musahar community (rat eaters) in Bihar state of India shared her struggles as she was leading a life in servanthood.

Speaking on "Journeying Together: Mission as affirming the Servanthood" on the second day of the  Asia Mission Conference, Sr Sudha, a 2006 recipient of India's fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri, narrated stories on how she stands and serves the poor and vulnerable as a selfless Christian.

For Sister Sudha, the foremost concern in her 32 years of service and work among the downtrodden in underdeveloped areas of the Bihar state has not been to preach Christianity among the Musahar people – a community of rat-eaters with no access to land or basic government welfare measures - but to make them fully human beings first by giving them the right to dignity, food, clothes, education, housing and so on.

Sr. Sudha says, she believes that preaching the word of God can come after they leave a situation where they are forced to live in an animal-like existence, but help them to live with human dignity.

As the head of Nari Gunjan, (Women’s Voice) a non governmental organisation that works towards uplifting women and educating girls of the Musahar community, Sr Sudha says she has lived many lives and died many deaths on account of death threats from the dominant upper castes  who have been oppressing the vulnerable Musahars. Her life in deep faith in Christ has helped her not to show fear amidst adversities and threat to her life.

Sr Sudha had her calling to serve the poor at the young age of 16, and she has lived among the community in a mud-house, fighting their battles and uplifting and empowering them. Her testimony that "my life has been made meaningful," was received with applause by more than 600 particiapnts who listened to her thematic address at the morning session.

She  repeatedly vouched her testimony as she remembered the goodness, generosity and loyalty she has received in return from the recepients  of her true Christian life and witness.