Asian Church and Ecumenical Leaders’ Conference set to begin in Jakarta, Indonesia

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.

28 April 2023

 

Jakarta, Indonesia: Over one hundred Asian church and ecumenical leaders representing the Christian Conference of Asia’s (CCA) member churches and national ecumenical councils will assemble in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta from 1–5 May 2023 to attend the Asian Church and Ecumenical Leaders’ Conference (ACELC).

CCA’s member church, the Protestant Church in the Western Part of Indonesia (GPIB), will be the main host of the ACELC, in coordination with the Indonesian national ecumenical council, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI). The ACELC is set to begin with a grand opening worship led by the GBIP.

The CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara said, “The ACELC, a high-level summit of church and ecumenical leaders in Asia, will bring together heads of churches—primates, moderators, general secretaries—and general secretaries of national councils of churches belong to CCA member constituencies to discuss the changing ecclesial and ecumenical landscapes as well as Asian churches’ common witness and ecumenical accompaniment in Asia.”

“The ACELC will be a prelude to the forthcoming 15th General Assembly of CCA, and will also serve as an opportunity to deliberate upon some of the most pressing concerns pertinent to the witness and mission of churches from Asian ecumenical perspectives,” added CCA General Secretary. 

The overall thematic focus of the ACELC, ‘Changing Ecclesial and Ecumenical Landscape in Asia: Our Common Witness and Accompaniment’, is divided into two parts. The first part, to be held on 1 and 2 May, will focus on good governance, integrity leadership, mutual accountability, and consensus decision-making.  

The second part of the ACELC, to be held from 3 to 5 May 2023, will be organised in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC) with a focus on ‘Ecumenical Diakonia: Call to Transformation’. The second part will focus exclusively on strengthening ecumenical diakonia and ecumenical accompaniment through sessions such as effective models of partnership in witness and diaconal mission, enhancing capacities in Asia for diakonia, and prophetic diakonia of Asian churches through equipping for participation in the struggle for peace with justice.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara pointed out that “there are strong potentials among the Asian churches to further develop and enhance the effectiveness of Asian ecumenical diakonia, given that this has not yet been fully recognised”. 

The CCA General Secretary further added, “The ACELC will be an opportunity for Asian church and ecumenical leaders to reflect upon and offer ideas on how Asian churches could consider the most effective manner of pooling resources within Asia and work towards our common ecumenical accompaniment in diakonia for the wider community.”

As the ACELC is being held as a prelude to the CCA General Assembly, which will be held from 27 September to 4 October 2023 in Kottayam, India, special sessions will also be held on the CCA General Assembly as a pivotal event in the Asian ecumenical journey.