Tainan Seminary hosts theological roundtable meeting

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.

04 February 2005
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

On January 9-12, a group of representatives of theological movements and associations of theological education in Asia met in Shoki Coe House at Tainan Theological College and Seminary TTCS)in Tainan, Taiwan, to share their assessment of Asian contextual theologies and their dreams of working together.

The words of Huang Po Ho, president of the Tainan Theological Seminary that hosted the meeting, aptly summarized the sharing of stories by movements and associations. He said, "All contextual theologies are experiencing a setback weakened in the wake of the current situation. It seems that we cannot find any role of Asian theology in the life of the church, thereby, making the church more marginalized in Asia."

The group therefore tried to envision Asian theological education that would help bring about transformation. It is one that is rooted in and responsive to Asian contexts and realities. Informed by global theological movements, it is liberating and empowering. It critically draws from our Asian resources for spirituality and wisdom. It transforms church and society, seminaries and theological education, and Christian higher education. Holistic in methodology, it is engaged in the public arena and models right relationships between local and other cultures, disciplines and faiths.

The group consisted of representatives of the following movements and associations: Program for Theologies and Cultures in Asia (Kang Namsoon and Simon Kwan); Association of Theological Education in Southeast Asia (Sientje Merentek-Abram); CCA-WCC Ecumenical Theological Education (Wati Longchar); Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians-Asia (Arche Ligo); Northeast Asia Theological Schools (Huang Po Ho); Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (Soosai Arokiasamy); Asian Women's Resource Centre for Culture and Theology (Yong Ting Jin); Congress of Asian Theologians (Kang Namsoon and Soosai Arokiasamy); Archie Lee and David Suh (Asian Christian Higher Education Institute); and Christian Conference of Asia (Hope S. Antone). CCA-FMU desk organized and facilitated this meeting.