An unusual gathering of four former General-Secretaries

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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04 July 2012
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

An unusual gathering of four former General-Secretaries,  two  former CCA ‘shakers,’ and the former Executive Director of The Association For Theological Education in South East Asia - ATESEA] took place over lunch in Seoul, South Korea, on July 4, 2012.  

Ahn Jae Woong kindly hosted the lunch and arranged for old friends to recall fond memories.  

U Khaw Than [2nd General Secretary of The East Asia Council of Churches before the change of name to The Christian Conference of Asia], former CCA General-Secretaries  Park Sung Jung, Ahn Jae Woong, and Prawate Khid-Arn and former CCA 'shakers,' Oh Jae Shik and Kang Moon Kyoung, together with Yeow Choo Lak [former Executive Director of ATESEA]   enjoyed updates of friends and colleagues and also recalled highlights of doing theology in Asia. Inter alia, the reminiscing touched on the expulsion of CCA from Singapore.  

Park Sung Jung recalled the expulsion of CCA from Singapore, 'a time when no one visited me. Church friends shunned me. The embassy didn't respond to my call for help. My CCA colleagues and I couldn't buy tickets to fly out of Singapore since the Singapore government had frozen our funds. Our CCA travel agency didn't want to sell us tickets on credit. Then, out of the blue, Yeow Choo Lak visited me. During that difficult time, he was the only one who visited me when nobody else did. He asked how he could be of help. I told him I needed tickets for my colleagues and me to fly out of Singapore. Choo Lak then asked ATESEA's travel agent to buy us our air tickets. That’s how my CCA colleagues and I managed to fly out of Singapore. He was the only Christian in Singapore then.'