CCA extends greetings to NCC India at its 29th Quadrennial Assembly

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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28 April 2023
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Ms Nirmala Gurung, CCA Executive Committee member from Nepal, reads the written message from the CCA General Secretary at a plenary session of the NCCI Assembly

 

Hyderabad, India: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) General Secretary has extended greetings and wishes to the delegates of the 29th Quadrennial General Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI).

The General Assembly of NCCI was held from 21–24 April 2023 at the Henry Martyn Institute in Hyderabad, India and focused on the theme, ‘The Hour has Come: Let Us Get Going’. On behalf of the CCA General Secretary, Nirmala Gurung, a member of the Executive Committee of CCA from Nepal, attended the Assembly and conveyed a message of greetings.

A written message from the CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara was read out by Ms Gurung at a plenary session of the NCCI Assembly. The message appreciated the NCCI as “one of the first visible expressions of conciliar ecumenism in the world…having a legacy of more than a century of faithful ecumenical journey” and its key role in the formation of the CCA’s forerunner, the East Asia Christian Conference (EACC).

“The NCCI and CCA have been faithful co-pilgrims in the ecumenical movement, having journeyed together and pursued the common goal of mission in unity and witness, and building peace with justice. On the occasion of the 29th Quadrennial General Assembly of the NCCI, the member constituencies of CCA across Asia express our desire and hope for continued accompaniment and solidarity,” continued the message.

The NCCI, one of the world’s oldest national ecumenical councils, was founded in 1914 and was in turn a founding member of the CCA. The NCCI represents more than 15 million Christians in India through its 30 member churches. The CCA has 12 member churches in India, which are also members of the NCCI.

The CCA will hold its 15th General Assembly in Kottayam, India, from 27 September to 4 October 2023 on the theme, ‘God, Renew Us in Your Spirit and Restore the Creation’, with the support and partnership of the NCCI and five of the CCA’s member churches based in the state of Kerala.

The full text of CCA General Secretary’s Message of Greetings to the Quadrennial General Assembly of NCCI can be found here: