Theological Exchange Must be Rooted in Life, Action and Spiritual Experience, says eminent Asian Theologian

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).

First Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
Second Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
21 April 2016

 Dr.Peter Cho Phan addressing the audience at CATS VIII[/caption] “Theological exchange is not simply a matter of talk, or coming together to talk about something, but it must be rooted in life, action and spiritual experience; without these three, it is empty", said Dr. Peter C. Phan.  Addressing the eighth Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS) on its third day, on the theme, ‘Towards a New Ecumenical Paradigm of Doing Theology in Dialogue with Other Faiths’, Dr. Phan, an eminent ethnic Vietnamese theologian and professor at Georgetown University in the United States of America, emphasized the need for dialogue with other faiths in the Asian continent that is marked by vast cultural and geographical diversity.  Phan asserted that Christianity cannot claim that it is 'the only religion' when Catholics, Protestants and Pentecostals squabble over which one is superior to the other.  “The focus of religious dialogue should be not  'for them' but 'with them'”, said Phan emphasising the necessity of 'share and learn' from dialogue.  "There is nothing called a national Christianity in several countries in the world. For example, most Christians in Japan are non-Japanese with Filipinos, Brazilians and other nationalities comprising the majority," he pointed out.    Suggesting that "the next CATS should focus on migrant theology," Phan pointed out that "Outside migration, there is no Christianity; it was the migrant traders who took chaplains with them for evangelisation in many places."  In a panel discussion on the theme, “Earth is the Lord’s and struggle for Land and survival”, Rev. Dr. Jozef M N Hehanussa from Indonesia stated that "the government in Indonesia is allowing only Muslim migrants to settle down in the  Christian majority province of West Papua. As a result of this, the ethnic Papuans are being discriminated on the basis of their religious faith and are driven out from their ancestral land.”   Speaking on the struggle for survival of marginalised indigenous tribal people in India, Ashi Sara Oommen narrated the plight of various communities in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha states in India. She urged that "our theology has to be a critical reflection of the engagement in the people's struggle for justice and peace”.  "Theology invites us to continue our search to make faith contextual and relevant," added Ashi Sara, a feminist activist-theologian from the south Indian state, Kerala.   Anto Akkara, a journalist who had been following the anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal jungles of Odisha state since 2008 and its aftermath, noted that "the incredible witness of Kandhamal Christians call for scrutinising the correlation between faith and theology."  "There should not be any disconnect or contradiction between theology and the message from the sterling witnesses of persecuted Christians," pointed out Akkara, who had documented Kandhamal tribal Christians’ incredible witness.    CATS-VIII, organised by the Christian Conference of Asia is being held in Kochi, India, and is attended by more than 100 participants.