Sam Kobia visits CCA Centre

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.

07 July 2004
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity


Sam Kobia with Ahn Jae Woong at the CCA Centre

Highlights priority areas for WCC in coming years

Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC)
has said that overcoming violence will be an important area of work for the organisation in the coming years.

The Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), proclaimed at the WCC assembly in Harare in 1998 and officially inaugurated in 2001, will be one of the highest priorities for the WCC, he told a meeting at the Christian Conference of Asia Centre on 7 July.

Dr Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary of the CCA presided over the meeting.

Sam Kobia told the meeting that the next WCC general assembly in February 2006 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, would reflect more on this and provide advice and wisdom on the issue.

Violence is very much part of the humanity. There is a feeling that violence is almost inevitable. There is sanctioned violence. As Christian church we have even accepted just wars. There is so much violence that is acceptable. Should this be the case for all times and in the future? he asked.

There is so much violence at the micro level like in families, communities and cities, and at national and international level. It is a complex issue, he said, and asked the question, Where do we come in as a church? 

We are dealing with an issue that is likely to influence the lives and relationships of nations and people. he told the staff of the CCA, Documentation for Action Groups in Asia and Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism.

He said that the DOV focus on Asia in 2005 will give the WCC an opportunity to work closely with the CCA, and hoped that the WCC could learn more from the region about building peace and reconciliation, and peaceful and harmonious living between different faiths.

He mentioned inter-religious dialogue and cooperation with people of other faiths as another priority area for the WCC. He said that since September 11, 2001 the whole question of religion and violence has taken on a new dimension.

He felt that it is now important for dialogue and cooperation to go beyond the academic level, to the level where people live.

He announced that the WCC is planning to hold a major international conference on inter-religious dialogue in June 2005.

Ecumenical formation was another area, which will receive a lot of attention of the WCC in the years to come, according to the general secretary.

He said that the first and second generation of ecumenical leadership received ecumenical formation through well-structured bodies like the WSCF, SCM, YMCA and YWCA. Today that is not happening,  he noted. Ecumenical organisations are going through difficult times. He acknowledged that the lack of leadership formation for young people is not just happening in the WCC alone, but also in many ecumenical partner organisations in the world.

The general secretary highlighted issue of Climate Change as another area
of focus of the WCC.

He noted that the magnitude of the problem is not taken seriously by many countries including the USA, a country, which pollutes the environment more than any other country in the world.

Advocacy and campaign for more countries to ratify the Kyoto protocol, will be major concern of the WCC, he pointed out.

He concluded his talk by pointing out that spirituality is the basis of the work of the WCC and this is what made it different from many other secular non-governmental organisations in the world.

Earlier, Kobia noted that there has always been a special relationship between the WCC and regional ecumenical organisations.

He said that the WCC always had good and strong relationship with the CCA. 

Sam Kobia planted a tree on the campus of the CCA Centre after the meeting.

He also had lunch with the ecumenical colleagues and friends before leaving.

One of his last engagements in Hong Kong was a meeting with Mr Tung Chee-hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Government of Special Administrative Region.

The meeting lasted for about 30 minutes. Dr Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary of the CCA, Rev Eric So, general secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council and Dr Mathews George Chunakara, Asia secretary of the WCC were present on the occasion.


WCC general secretary speaking on WCC priorities


Kobia addressing the staff


Kobia planting a tree on the CCA campus


Kobia at the CCA canteen


Kobia with Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. Ahn Jae Woong and
Mathews George Chunakara are also seen.