WCC and CCA to observe World Food Day prayer service on 16 October 2020

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.

14 October 2020

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) will co-host an online prayer service on World Food Day, 16 October 2020, together with the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The prayer service, facilitated by the representatives of WCC and CCA from the Asia and Pacific regions, will take place on 16 October 2020, Friday, at 11 AM Bangkok time, with corresponding local time zone of each country across Asia and the Pacific regions.

In line with the theme of World Food Day 2020, ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together’, the CCA together with the WCC will offer prayers and uphold the need to tide over the grave situation of food insecurity.

The virtual service will include welcome addresses from the WCC General Secretary, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, and Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of the CCA.

During the prayer service, reflections will be offered by Sofía Monsalve Suárez, Secretary-General of FIAN International, a global body that addresses the root causes of hunger and malnutrition through research, advocacy, and campaigning.

World Food Day is observed across the world to reflect upon the gravity of the impending food crisis that many developing countries experience now and are predicted to undergo in the near future.

The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that by December 2020, about 265 million people will face extreme food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and at worst, over 30 countries will be staring at famine.

Hunger continues to be a painful fact of life for a quarter of the world’s population. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global food supply chains and now requires urgent attention of all stakeholders to engage in adaptation strategies to combat the crisis.

The united prayer service provides the opportunity for the churches to enable people to reflect on the moral and ethical imperatives for humanity to respond in this ongoing challenge of hunger and disease—promoting transformation and sustained action at the community level, and affecting policy change for the better.

To participate in the 40-minute online service on World Food Day, 16 October 2020 (Friday) at 11 AM Bangkok time, please register using this link: https://forms.gle/wbphhNixtUTFn5or7

 Online prayer service at local time-zones across Asia:

  • 7:30 AM – Iran
  • 9 AM – Pakistan, Afghanistan
  • 9:30 AM – India, Bhutan
  • 9:45 AM – Nepal
  • 10:00 AM – Bangladesh
  • 10:30 AM – Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives
  • 11 AM – Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, parts of Indonesia, East Timor
  • 12 noon – China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia
  • 1 PM – South Korea, Japan, and Mongolia
  • 3 PM – Australia
  • 5 PM – New Zealand

The CCA organised a webinar on “Will COVID-19 Worsen Food Insecurity in Asia?” on 28 May 2020.

For the full report of CCA webinar on food insecurity, please click here.

For video highlights of CCA webinar on food insecurity, please click here.

Read the WCC News Release on World Food Day, please click here.