The Asia Ecumenical Course: What an experience!

Poulima Salima, a young Samoan man from the Mt Albert Methodist Parish in Auckland attended the Asia Ecumenical Course in April. This included participation in the Christian Conference of Asia General Assembly. He has come back enthused about ecumenism. Some extracts from his presentation to the Mt Albert congregation follow.

The overall theme for the ecumenical course and assembly was Called to prophesy, reconcile and heal. A powerful and purposeful theme that resonated in the hearts of all participants during the course and assembly.

The theme resonated through the music, lyrics, art, performing arts; through testimonies, sharing of faith and reflections, and faith-powered prayers. The theme was very appropriate, reflecting the complex and conflicting Asian realities such as: institutionalised corruption, bad governance, human trafficking, human rights violations, and religious extremism.

All participants including the course leaders were very energetic, courageous and fun to be with! I was amazed with the creativity, passion and enthusiasm, the unity and family spirit within group. It was strong, encouraging and infectious. We had fun learning, speaking and singing in various languages. It was an uplifting experience!

The richness and diverse cultures represented, the uniqueness of languages, and seeing the hearts of all participants worshipping God their way - was an experience to remember. I remember our group preparing for the opening worship for conference. We had to come up with our own cultural dance. The music set-piece was short and catchy so we had to translate it into our own language. The choreography and dance gestures represented the identity of each culture. The power and spirit of the lyrics sung in their respective languages was soul-stirring and edifying. It was a performance to see! We had all the Asian instruments and percussion you could possibly think of to accompany the action songs. Participants were encouraged to wear their cultural costumes, outfits that represented their country and culture.

Some of the church leaders commented that it was the best opening worship service since they had been coming to CCA general assemblies. This was encouraging because all of the ecumenical course participants worked very hard. We wanted to deliver well, and it was important that we did because this was our message to the church leaders: that the up-and-coming ecumenical leaders were just as passionate about the ecumenical movement as they were.

In the evenings before worship at the conference I was inspired by the testimonies from pastors and church ministers who shared their faith, hardship and the darkest moments of their lives, of being beaten and tortured because of their faith in Christ and mission. Hearing them testify about God’s goodness and faithfulness during times of suffering and hardship was inspiring for all participants to carry their cross as well!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Asian Ecumenical Course and the Christian Conference of Asia General Assembly. It was definitely the highlight of my life and the beginning of my ecumenical journey. My prayer for the Methodist Church of Aotearoa-New Zealand is continued unity, celebrating and sharing our diversity, with the purpose of advancing God’s kingdom.

The Methodist Church’s delegates to the CCA General Assembly were Manukau Synod Super-intendent, Prince Devanandan and Te Taha Maori Tumuaki, Diana Tana. Prince was elected to serve on the CCA General Committee which is the oversight body between CCA assembly meetings. Diana has been appointed Moderator of the Ecumenical Formation, Gender Justice, & Youth Formation Programme Committee. Prince and Diana are producing a joint written report that is still in process. There will be more news about the CCA Assembly in the June issue of Touchstone the Methodist Church newspaper.

[Source: http://www.methodist.org.nz/mission_and_ecumenical/newsletters_2010]

The Organisational Structure, Committees and Office Bearers of the CCA (Updated since the 13th General Assembly 2010)

The Organisational Structure,
Committees and Office Bearers of the CCA

• Member Churches and Councils
• General Assembly
• General Committee
• Executive Committee

• Officers
• Program Area Committees
• General Secretary
• Executive Staff
• Consultants

Member Churches and Councils

For a full list of member churches and councils see Member Churches and Councils.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme body of CCA. It meets every five years to celebrate the unity of the church in Asia in worship, study and action, and to review and set directions for the work of CCA. The last General Assembly was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand in April 2005. See General Assembly.

Officers

Presidium

Fr. Rex REYES, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Dr. K.B. Rokaya, National Council of Churches of Nepal
Ms. Van Arun Rasmey, Kampuchea Christian Council
Ms. Retno Ngapon, Pasundan Christian Church, Indonesia

Honorary Treasurer

Mr. Augustine KARMAKAR, Church of Bangladesh

General Secretary

Dr. Prawate KHID-ARN, Church of Christ in Thailand (until November 2010)
Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat LEBANG, Toraja Church, Indonesia (from November 2010)

General Committee

The General Committee has the powers of the General Assembly between meetings of the Assembly. The current membership is:

The Officers (see above)
Rev. Prince Devananda, Methodist Church of Aotaeroa New Zealand
Ms. Svenja von Dietze, The Anglican Church of Australia
Mr. Joyanta ADHIKARY, Bangladesh National Council of Churches
Rev. Lhatru, National Council of Churches in Bhutan
Mr. Phally Som, Kampuchea Christian Council
Rev. PO Kam Cheong, Hong Kong Christian Council
Bishop Philip Phembuar Marandih, The Church of North India
Rev. Gomar Guktom, Communion of Churches in Indonesia
Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, Armenian Orthodox Church of Iran
Rev. Hiroko Ueda, United Church of Christ in Japan
Rev. KWON Oh Sung, National Council of Churches in Korea
Mr. Kingphet Thammavong, Lao Evangelical Church
Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri, Council of Churches of Malaysia
Rev. Saw Shwe Lin, Myanmar Council of Churches
Ms. Tara Bhushal, National Council of Churches of Nepal
Bishop Samuel Azariah, Church of Pakistan
Ms. Johanna May Cantor de la CRUZ, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Ms. Devashire de SILVA, National Christian Council of Sri Lanka
Ms. Natalie (Ming-Chu) LIN, Presbyterian Church of Taiwan
Dr. Penpilai Rithakatanont, Church of Christ in Thailand
Mr. Admin Pinto, Igreja Protestante Iha Timor Lorosae
Rev. Dr. Pradit TAKERANGRANGSARIT, Church of Christ in Thailand

Executive Committee

Fr. Rex REYES, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Dr. K.B. Rokaya, National Council of Churches of Nepal
Ms. Van Arun Rasmey, Kampuchea Christian Council
Ms. Retno Ngapon, Pasundan Christian Church, Indonesia
Mr. Augustine KARMAKAR, Church of Bangladesh
Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat LEBANG, Toraja Church, Indonesia
Rev. Dr. Hermen SHASTRI, Council of Churches of Malaysia
Rev. PO Kam Cheong, Hong Kong Christian Council
Ms. Natalie (Ming-Chu) LIN, Presbyterian Church of Taiwan
Rt. Rev. Dr. Philip P. MARANDIH, The Church of North India
Ms. Svenja von DIETZE, The Anglican Church of Australia

Program Area Committees

Program Area Committees are responsible to develop and implement programs in accordance with the mandate of the General Assembly.

Faith, Mission and Unity

Rev. Mangisi Simonrangkir, Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia GKPI (Moderator)
Rev. Tobias BRANDNER, Hong Kong Christian Council
Rev. Subodh Mondal, Methodist church in India
Rev. LEE Se Young, Korea
Rev. Jason Selvaraj, Anglican Church of Malaysia
Rev. Dr. San Myat Shwe, Myanmar
Rev. Pamela TANGKERSLEY, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
Rev. Saman PERERA, National Christian Council of Sri Lanka
Rev. Dr. CHU Shu Ping, Taiwan
Ms. Prescila, National Council of Churches in Bhutan
Ms. Kitani Kanan, United Church of Christ in Japan
Ms. Nary Sous, Kampuchea Christian Council
Ms. Anashe Begjannian, Iran

Justice, International Affairs, Development and Service

Ms. Vijula Arulananthan, Sri Lanka (Moderator)
Rev. Timur Citra Sari, Indonesia Christian Church GKI
Rev. HO Baekki, Japan
Rev. BAE Tae-Jin, Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea
Rev. Saykham Singtthiphon, Lao Evangelical Church
Rev. Augustino de Vasconcelos, Igreja Protestante Iha Timor Lorosae
Ms. Tess KEAM, Uniting Church in Australia
Mr. Rakesh, National Council of Churches in Bhutan
Dr. James Tejos Das, Bangladesh
Mr. Saw George Shey, Myanmar Council of Churches
Dr. Rommel LINATOC, Philippines
Mr. Taweechai Termkunanon, Church of Christ in Thailand
Ms. Shunila Ruth, National Council of Churches in Pakistan

Ecumenical Formation, Gender Justice and Youth Empowerment

Rev. Diana TANA, Methodist Church of Aotaeroa New Zealand (Moderator)
Rev. Dr. J Fortis JYRWA, Presbyterian Church of India
Mr. Angus BROWNLIE, The Anglican Church of Australia
Ms. CHUAH Ee Chia, Council of Churches of Malaysia
Mr. Asher Qadir Bakhsh, Church of Pakistan
Mr. Warit Anuchiracheewa, Church of Christ in Thailand
Ms. Araz Khodabakhshian, Armenian Orthodox Church of Iran
Mr. Rajesh Rai, National Council of Churches of Nepal
Mr. Ronald CARIAIG, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Ms. Elora Antonia, Bangladesh
Ms. TONG Wing Sze, Hong Kong Christian Council
Ms. Clare YEH Jia Yann, National Council of Churches of Taiwan
Ms. Elen ira Maia, Igreja Protestante Iha Timor Lorosae

Executive Staff

General Secretary

Dr. Prawate KHID-ARN, Church of Christ in Thailand (until November 2010)
Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat LEBANG, Toraja church, Indonesia (from November 2010)

Associate General Secretary (Finance)

Dr. Rienzie PERERA, Anglican Church, Sri Lanka

Joint Executive Secretaries for
Justice, International Affairs, Development and Service

Mr. Charlie O'CAMPO, Uniting Church in Australia
Rev. Freddy de ALWIS, Baptist Church, Sri Lanka

Joint Executive Secretaries for
Faith, Mission and Unity

Dr. Hope ANTONE, United Church of Christ in the Philippines
Rev. PARK Sung Kook, Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea

Joint Executive Secretary for
Ecumenical Formation, Gender Justice and Youth Empowerment

Ms. Moumita BISWAS, Church of North India

Consultants

Communication

Liza B. LAMIS, Baptist Convention, Philippines

Ecumenical Formation, Gender Justice and Youth Empowerment

Mr. Adam ROW, Methodist Church, Malaysia

HIV/AIDS Concerns

Dr. Erlinda SENTURIAS, United Church of Christ in the Philippines

Project Coordinator for Mekong Ecumenical Partnership Programme

Ms Janejinda PAWADEE, Church of Christ in Thailand

The Malaysia Insider: Local church leaders dubious even as PM reaches out

Local church leaders dubious even as PM reaches out

Najib (left) was preaching to the choir, said a local church leader. — Picture by Choo Choy May

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told regional Christian church leaders gathered here today that there was a place in Malaysia for all cultures and religions, but his message appears to have been met with some scepticism.

Church leaders came away from the closed-door lunch address unconvinced, citing recent examples of intolerance such as the controversy over the use of the word “Allah,” the firebombing of churches and the strident rhetoric of newspapers like Utusan Malaysia.

Najib’s message of unity among people of diverse ideologies and cultures was applauded by the Asian church leaders, but their local counterparts felt the words still rang hollow, and expressed doubts that Malaysia was moving from mere tolerance to acceptance and mutual respect as espoused by the prime minister.

Najib had flown from Japan early this morning to fete some 100 church leaders from around the region at the Grand Seasons Hotel here, which, coincidentally, also houses the offices of vocal Malay rights group, Perkasa.

A leading local Christian figure told The Malaysian Insider that Najib was preaching to the choir.

“Utusan Malaysia should be here,” the church leader said on condition of anonymity, referring to the Malay-language national newspaper.

The Umno-owned daily has been at the forefront of criticism against a recent Cabinet-endorsed committee to promote harmony and understanding among religions in Malaysia.

Another local church representative noted that the PM’s speech steered clear of mentioning religion, and focused instead on the social and economic elements to promote unity and mutual understanding among communities from diverse backgrounds.

“He said: ‘There’s a place under the Malaysian sun for everybody’,” the church leader said, citing the PM, but he appeared sceptical of Najib’s sincerity in his own message.

“He may say this here but he likely says something else in front of a different audience,” he pointed out.

“He’s got to add substance to his stand,” he added, noting that as a Malaysian delegate, he was hoping to hear “something more tangible” from the PM.

But the president of the Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) Reverend Thomas Philips told The Malaysian Insider that the general assembly was not a suitable platform for the prime minister to speak on national issues, noting the local Christian community had other avenues to engage Najib.

A churchman who asked not to be named said that Najib kept his speech general and repeated his 1 Malaysia concept for the benefit of the regional audience, stretching from Iran to Australia, who had flown in to town for the week-long 13th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) which ended yesterday.

Among delegates at the assembly were the newly-elected general secretary of the CCA, Reverend Dr Henriette T. Hutabarat Lebang, who is also the director of the Institut Telogi Gereja Toraja in Indonesia; Anglican Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft; and the Vatican’s diplomatic representative to Southeast Asia, Salvatore Pennacchio.

Former general secretary of the CCA, Dr Prawate Khid-Arn, told The Malaysian Insider Najib’s speech was “very encouraging, particularly for other Asian countries”, which, being similarly multicultural, face a struggle to unite the different communities.

“I see Malaysia as more advanced than Thailand in people’s unity,” Khird-Arn said, comparing the situation in his home country to here.

He explained that while religion on its own was not a problem for Thailand, unity was a huge challenge, and pointed to the current riots in its capital, Bangkok.

The Thai church leader said he had been concerned about the religious situation in Malaysia earlier this year, when he heard of the attacks on houses of worship following a controversial High Court ruling over the use of the word “Allah” by a Catholic newspaper.

“But I see Malaysia’s religious situation improving over the last few months,” he said, and expressed confidence that Malaysia’s multi-religious, multi-ethnic community would be able to overcome the divide peacefully.

UCANEWS: CCA calls for peace in conflict zones

CCA calls for peace in conflict zones

Published Date: April 23, 2010

Logo of the Christian Conference of Asia's 13th General Assembly

KUALA LUMPUR (UCAN) — The 13th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) ended here with a call to “build communities of peace in Asia, irrespective of class, color or creed.”

In a statement, some 300 participants of the April 15-22 assembly also urged the main protagonists in the Korean War, which began 60 years ago, to scrap the armistice that ended the conflict and to replace it with an official peace treaty.

Some 2.5 million Koreans lost their lives in the war, the statement noted.

It added that a lack of peace has meant that North Korea suffers famine and acute poverty through ongoing sanctions. It called on the United Sates and other countries to lift sanctions imposed on North Korea, which are obstructing the free flow of aid and economic development.

The ecumenical body also called on churches and national church councils to provide humanitarian aid to those suffering in North Korea.

The CCA also expressed concern over tensions between India and Pakistan, where people are not able to live in “peace, hope and fullness due to the ongoing threat of an outbreak of hostilities.”

The general assembly comprises representatives of the CCA’s more than 100 member churches in Asia and Oceania, and 20 national councils. The Armenian Orthodox Church of Iran and the National Council of Churches in Bhutan were among four new members of the assembly.

The CCA’s supreme decision making body gathers every five years.

Meanwhile, at a lunch on April 21, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told the Asian Christians that his government was committed to pluralism and social justice in the Muslim-majority country.

Local media reported that Asian Church leaders applauded Najib’s message, but their Malaysian counterparts were skeptical. They cited recent examples of intolerance such as opposition to the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims, and the firebombing of churches.

AS09518/1598 April 23, 2010 29 EM-lines (306 words)

New leadership for 2010 to 2015

The Rev. Rex RB Reyes, Jr is an Anglican priest and currently the General Secretary of NCC Philippines, the first indigenous person to hold that position. He was formerly the Program Secretary for Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations of NCC Philippines and also taught Ecumenics at St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary.

 

 

 

The Rev. Ms Retno Ngapon is 28 years old and a pastor of the Pasundan Christian Church in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is currently the Moderator of the Jakarta district of GKP (Gereja Kristen Pasundan) consisting of 12 local congregations.

 

 

 

 

Mr Augustine Karmakar holds a masters degree in accounting from the University of Dhaka and is a partner in a chartered accountants firm. He is also currently the honorary general secretary of the Church of Bangladesh and a member of the NCCB Executive Committee. He has been honorary treasurer of NCCB and of the national council of the YMCA.
He is keen to develop the accounting and financial management system of CCA and find creative means to raise funds in addition to promoting CCA Sunday and focusing on members’ contributions.

 

Formerly the Vice Chair of the Kampuchea Christian Council (KCC) and Chair of its Women’s Committee, Ms Van Arun Rasmey is currently its acting General Secretary.

 

 

 

 

Dr Kali Bahudar Rokaya is General Secretary of NCCP Nepal, lay pastor of Sagarmatha Church, Vice-President of the Interreligious Council of Nepal, National Coordinator of Nepal Intellectuals’ Forum, and Member of the National Human Rights Commission.
He is part of the Concern Movement for human rights and is founding member of the University of Christian Students Fellowship. He is married to Draupadi Rokaya and has two sons.

No easy answer: reconciliation requires justice

The need to keep justice included in efforts for reconciliation has been raised in Bible Studies, lectures and forums during the Assembly.

In the Bible study on Monday, April 19, Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, said there was a dangerous trend in some quarters to de-link justice from the discourse on reconciliation and healing.

In the new globalised world it was claimed not all issues were justice related, but Metropolitan Coorilos said economic globalisation had made global problems worse. It had broken down some walls, but still others remained and new walls were being erected; new barriers of exclusion, exploitation and domination.

The “no entry” signs in the global south could be seen in such things as special economic zones and intellectual property rights.
Metropolitan Coorilos was preaching on Paul’s first epistle to the Ephesians, which he said was distinctive because of its perspective on the gentiles, the loathed, the underdogs: in Christ the gentiles had a new identity; discrimination had been overcome.

But Paul’s act of breaking the partition in the temple by bringing in a gentile eventually led to Paul’s torture, imprisonment and death.
Metropolitan Coorilos said, “All this suggests that the risk of reconciliation is indeed a costly one.” He said, “I have always held that ecumenism — one form of a reconciled community —in its perfect form is encountered in a house where someone has died.”
That was unlike a house where a wedding takes place and people must be invited, he said. In a house where someone has died people gather naturally, irrespective of their class, caste, race, gender or religion.

They all gather in solidarity and to share the pain and loss of the family. Sadly, for this vision of ecumenism and reconciliation to be actualised, someone needs to die.

It was death on a Cross that brought Christians together, he said. It had dismantled all walls of hostility and discrimination.
Metropolitan Coorilos said, “In the midst of old and new forms of division that perpetuate enmity, discrimination, domination and exploitation, we are called to prophesy, to reconcile and to heal.”
Reconciliation in the modern globalised context was more than mere conciliation. It was more than reconciling with the status quo; it was not about reconciling with the normative and dominant in an unjust society.

Reconciliation was a Trinitarian state of being; a perfect relationship between God, humanity and nature. “It is about restoring and reinstating just values and relationships. It is about reclaiming justice, peace and integrity of creation.

Discussions in the forum on a culture of violence and impunity touched on how attempts at reconciliation without justice resulted in impunity and the perpetuation of violent cultures.

For instance, Timorese who fought with the Indonesians and
No easy answer: reconciliation requires justice committed offences in the struggle for independence had been freed. That might have appeased Indonesia, but it did not build reconciliation among the Timorese. Justice was not seen to happen.

The healing of memories forum said healing involved forgiveness, acceptance, repentance, and a safe space to share of pain and suffering. There were two aspects of memories, it said: collective and individual memories of healing.

It said there was no healing without forgiveness from the oppressed and repentance for oppressor. “Healing is restoration of justice. It is a process of liberation and transformation between the oppressed and oppressors.”

In her D. T. Niles Lecture “Reconciliation and Healing in the Midst of Conflict and Brokenness”, Dr Ruth Manorama focused on the experiences of her struggles for the rights of India’s Dalits. She said true reconciliation meant recognising the root cause of a problem and having the courage to say things that the state would not entertain.

Reconciliation, she said, entailed justice and even reparation. She was critical of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which she said led to no action.

She spoke of the influence the early ecumenical movement had on her as an Indian, Dalit, Christian; how it provided a forum for other movements to network; and how it gave her courage and confidence.

Dr Manorama compared empires of state with the empires of the church and said Asian churches should not settle into the stereotypical styles of the empire.

She said state militarisation was occurring throughout Asia while poverty persisted in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. In Asia, she said, pain was immense. And pain destroyed life. But she still had not seen Christ’s promise of abundant life.

The church still had not denounced the caste system, she said. Christian missionaries criticised idol worship but not the caste system. If theology spoke of washing away all sins, how could Christians still talk about untouchables or polluted people, she asked.
The church must stand up and talk, she said, and casteism needed to be addressed at the Asian level. “Reconciliation and healing can happen in Asia when you get involved.”

Dr Manorama said building movements was a witness to Christ and that the church needed to recognise that God used other people.
She said, “The best of the missionary enterprise is solidarity with the poor … The church must recognise those at the forefront of the struggle and give up its status of empire.”

“Bishops, pastors, leaders,” she said, “you must be with the people. But you are sitting and building and protecting the empires.”
Dr Manorama said the healing process was very risky work and that reconciliation needed a bold and courageous stand by believers.

Stephen Webb

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 20

New leaders to chart ecumenism’s future in Asia

The Christian Conference of Asia has elected new officers, who are expected to help chart the future of ecumenism and help strengthen the prophetic voice of Christianity in a culturally diverse continent, which, they say, needs “reconciliation and healing” more than ever.

Elected on 19 April during the CCA’s 13th General Assembly were four members of the Presidium. They were Ms Van Arun Rasmey, Kampuchea Christian Council general secretary; Rev Rex RB Reyes, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines; Rev Ms Retno Ngapon (Youth), Indonesia; and Dr K.B. Rokaya, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Nepal.

Members of the presidium have vowed to help make CCA a strong voice in Asia. “We have to exert more effort in playing our prophetic role in engaging with governments, civil society and other sectors,” said Dr Rokaya.

“We have to raise our voices against authoritarian and repressive regimes, religious extremism, human trafficking, militarism, human rights violations, institutionalised corruption and bad governance, even as we seek to help address modern epidemics such as HIV and AIDS,” he added.

Rev. Reyes also stressed on possibly “restructuring CCA to make it relevant and responsive” to current challenges and issues.
For his part, newly elected treasurer Augustine Karmakar promised to develop and improve CCA’s financial management system and raise funds “the best ways possible.”

Karmakar, the general secretary of the Church of Bangladesh, also said he would help promote self-reliance by encouraging more membership contributions. “We must also encourage richer Asian churches to give more,” he said.

Also elected were members of the General Committee and the three programme area committees – Ecumenical Formation, Gender Justice and Youth Empowerment (EGY); Faith, Mission and Unity (FMU); and the Justice, International Affairs, Development and Service (JID).
Members of the General Committee, however, will be announced only today after questions were raised about lack of balance in representation for the youth, laymen and laywomen.

It all adds up

 

 

We have a lot of ministries to do. How much do we contribute to the work? Delegates from Korea.

 

 

 

 

 

With few comments and little debate the Assembly has received and recommended for implementation the reports of the Pre-Assembly forums and program reviews, giving the new General Committee the task of dealing with additional demands with decreasing funds.
Among recommendations of commitment, advocacy and encouragement in the Women’s Forum report were tasks for the General Committee to help CCA develop and implement a sexual harassment policy and a gender policy, conduct a gender audit, planning and budgeting.

Taking on recommendations from the Youth Forum, the General Committee has to find a way to re-establish a joint executive secretary for Youth. It also needs to find resources for CCA, NCC and member churches’ youth programs and facilitate a bi-annual meeting of youth secretaries.

But a priority, according to the call accepted from the Forum on PLWHIV+, is the resourcing of churches for competent HIV and AIDS ministry.

Meanwhile, following the resolve of the People’s Forum, CCA needs to develop ecumenical and pastoral visits, incorporating fact-finding, study and solidarity missions and provide support to constituent members to protect victims of human rights violations.

The reports from program reviews also have implications for CCA’s budget.

The review of the General Secretariat was concerned that the program area committees were not meeting frequently enough.
It also said a Youth secretary was a priority and that HIV and AIDS should be in a separate program area with more staffing.

Stephen Webb

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 18

Movements and institution must prophesy together

 

We have decided what to love: justice. The Women’s Forum participants present their message to the Assembly.

 

 

 

 

The need to improve the relationship between church as institution and the church as movement has been raised during several Assembly lectures, Bible studies, forums and program reviews.

Dr D. Preman Niles, in the first D. T. Niles Memorial Lecture, said, “In the conflicts that flare up between church as institution and church as movement, the ecumenical movement has either taken one side against the other or attempted to go it alone without the support of the churches.

“Neither option is desirable if the ecumenical movement in Asia is to grasp and sustain the challenge of prophetic ministry and costly discipleship as a call to the churches.”

The Rev. Dr Hyunju Bae, in her Bible study on “The Prophetic Challenge to the Church in Asia”, said the call for the church to respond to the prophetic calling derived from its discernment of the times and from its firsthand experience of all the layers of accumulated problems in Asia.

However, the church often became the target of criticism, as it made mistakes by uncritically reinscribing injustice and discrimination within itself.

She said, “The eyes of the local churches are sometimes not clear enough to discern the prophetic commitment both inside and outside them, and sometimes they even condemn it.”

Dr Bae said, “It is sometimes the case that prophetic Christian individuals do not receive the spiritual and moral support from the church, rather finding themselves misunderstood and even mistreated. No wonder that many of them fall into disappointment and disillusionment about the church!”

The true miracle that the Holy Spirit performed, she said, was found in the building of the first faith community that lived up to the alternative prophetic vision which covered economic and politico-cultural dimensions of the communal life.

“‘The leader’ of the earliest churches was the one who was in charge of what we call now ‘advocacy’, giving the voice to the voiceless, making them visible, and taking side with them. To realise that prophetic advocacy was part of

The report from the People’s Forum, held in Kuala Lumpur April 12-13, accused the ecumenical movement of becoming empire-building and ecclesial-techno-bureaucratic.

“Instead,” it said, “the ecumenical movement must amplify the voice of the voiceless and accompany them in their struggle.”

It said, “The abandoning of Urban Rural Mission has resulted in the grassroots being alienated from the ecumenical movement.”
Absence of the poor in the ecumenical movement questioned its very nature, purpose, meaning and existence and it needed to redefine itself, the forum said.

CCA had lost its engagement with basic communities and people’s movements and should reclaim its involvement with transformational grassroots organising.

Dr Niles said the church needed to embrace an understanding of its position as scattered communities, to understand its place among the nations and view itself as the people of God in the midst of all God’s peoples. He said the church should have a positive appreciation of plurality as within God’s plan for creation and its place and mission within it.

Then it would understand the call to prophetic ministry as an imitation of the example of Jesus, who confronted the empires of the world with the Empire of God, which had the expendables, the least, as its centre of concern.

He said, “We have to abandon the debilitating confrontations between church as institution and church as movement. On the one hand, church as institution is primarily a community of worship that besides other things is able to spiritually support and sustain the church as movement. “On the other, the church as movement is called to manifest the prophetic ministry of the church with all the marks of discipleship.”

Stephen Webb

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 18

CCA’s hands full in next 5 years

A barrage of issues and concerns in the world’s most populous continent awaits the Christian Conference of Asia.
Confronting the CCA are the growing militarism in Kashmir and the Korean peninsula, continuing nuclear armaments buildup, forced migration, displacements, human rights violations, sexual abuse of women, rising numbers of persons living with HIV and AIDS, climate change, and a litany of other issues and concerns reported by various participants, who participated in four pre-assemblies.

On the tension in Kashmir, participants of the 12-13 April People’s Forum on 17 April urged the CCA to “strengthen the peace initiatives of the National Councils of Churches in Indian and Pakistan” so
they would cooperate with each other in addressing the concerns of troubled people in the Kashmir Valley.

The CCA must also ensure that the conflict and tension in Kashmir and in the Korean Peninsula be taken up as “significant agenda items” during the 2013 World Council of Churches Assembly in Pusan, South Korea, the Forum added.

The Forum likewise resolved that the CCA encourages member churches and organizations to support the Korean Ecumenical Forum and other similar initiatives that promote trust and understanding between North and South Korea.

Supporting constituent members in peace-building through negotiations and other processes is another arena, which the CCA, according to the Forum, must explore.

The Forum also suggested the CCA supports its constituent members
to protect victims of human rights violations, the displaced, refugees, other sanctuary-seekers, and migrant workers.

The CCA must “reclaim its involvement in transformational grassroots
organizing with basic sectors” and promote “a critical discussion on
the dominant development paradigm and the co-option of churches
and chart directions for a new approach,” said the Forum.

Participants from the pre-assembly forums of the youth, women and
people living with HIV and AIDS have also forwarded proposals, which
the CCA must implement or address in the next five years.

The youth challenged the CCA and National Church Councils to
provide programs through which young people could channel their
energies.

They particularly sought for ecumenical formations, leadership
trainings, internships and programs like the School of Ecumenical
Leadership Formation.

The youth also reiterated calls for the CCA and National Church
Councils to become Asia’s prophetic voice in denouncing human
rights violations.

Education for all, peace-building, reconciliation, inter-religious and
interfaith dialogues, HIV and AIDS, single motherhood, abortion,
substance abuse, environment, climate change, destructive
government development programs among others are very much at
the heart of the youth’s concerns.

Among other recommendations, the youth urged the CCA to strengthen its relationships and networking with various ecumenical and interfaith youth organizations such as the World Student Christian Federation-Asia Pacific, Ecumenical Asia Students and Youth Network and the Asian Methodist Youth Network.

For people living with HIV and AIDS, participants of the pre-assembly on this modern scourge called upon the CCA General Assembly to “priotise the resourcing of Churches for competent HIV and AIDS ministry.”

For their part, participants of the women’s pre-assembly urged the CCA General Assembly to “reclaim its history of theological engagement by imagining new contextual theologies that address the issues of militarism, violence, hierarchy and ecological and economic justice.”

The women also recommended that the CCA commit to, and encourage member churches to, help eliminate all forms of violence against women and children.

Among other recommendations, the women urged the CCA to “affirm the special and unique place held by indigenous peoples and Dalits in Asia, Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand.”

CCA indeed needs more and many hands, as well as material resources for the ministry ahead.

Maurice Malanes

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 18

Young prophets, healers and reconcilers

Twenty-two young ecumenical leaders responded to the call to be prophets, reconcilers and healers of our time through the Asian Ecumenical Course (AEC) 2010. The AEC participants who come from Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Aotearoa New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia will also be observers and animators of the Bible Studies and worship for the 2010 CCA assembly.

A two-week intensive course, the AEC is one of the highlights, if not a turning point in every participant’s faith journey. We shared life stories, social realities where each one grew up, and the big role the church plays in our formation. The Church, we learned, has an important role to play in our societies in ensuring peaceful co-existence and equity of resources. The unity of the Church is a powerful witness of the message of love.

We are challenged to be active participants in the ecumenical movement as it is an evangelical imperative to bring people to Christ. We are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for unity and to focus on the Church’s efforts on things that unite. People of other faiths are not objects of conversion but people whose religious beliefs must be respected. At AEC we are taught to uphold the Asia-ness of our Christian practice in the use of our own songs and instruments in worship, and in contextualizing the Bible in Asian realities. We celebrate our gift of diversity and affirm our Asian spirituality.

As prophets, reconcilers and healers we dare speak against repression of the people in Asia. We dare speak against disunity that crippled the Church to action, losing its powerful witness. We dare speak against globalization that promotes consumerism, dehumanizes Asian communities and destroys our environment. We dare speak love to communities of other faiths and blessings to the delegates and participants of CCA’s 13th General Assembly. Finally, we dare speak peace based on justice to abound in Asia as was never known before.

CCA’s Dr Hope S. Antone and Rev Dr. Joseph Kumar, dean of the AEC 2010 are our nurturing hands at the AEC. We sincerely thank them.

Friends, we are here to help make our assembly experience more enriching and more stirring for all of us.

Ariel Siagan, with the AEC participants

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 17

Good stewardship: more than figures

When CCA Treasurer Thomas Yee-po Soo delivered the Financial Report to the General Assembly on April 16, he twice mentioned stewardship.

In the executive summary of the report of the CCA Review, delivered in the following session, the word appeared once.
The topic of responsible financial management was mentioned often, however, in questions from the floor.

Bishop Soo sought questions and constructive comments after his report “to improve the financial status and management of the CCA”.
He hoped that member churches and councils would take more responsibility for the growth and the stability of the CCA. “What I am presenting is not merely figures but behind these figures are the commitment and the stewardship of member churches, councils and ecumenical partners for God’s mission.”

Support from member churches and from ecumenical partners was decreasing. But partners from beyond the region, who provide 80 per cent of CCA’s budget, wanted to know when the Asian churches would take responsibility for the Asian ecumenical movement.
Bishop Soo said, “I believe the time has come for us to demonstrate that we are no longer babes in Christ but mature Christians who can take responsibility for our own actions.”

He said he would ask the churches and councils in Asia to consider seriously making donations regularly to CCA. “However,” he said, “we also have to ask ourselves, as CCA members, how can we serve the churches and councils better.”

He said the Asian churches seemed to have the resources to give to the CCA when the need arose; they were willing to give to the CCA programs, but were they willing to give money to maintain the structure?

Non-cash contributions were a different way Asian churches took responsibility for the ecumenical movement. Nevertheless, Bishop Soo said to maintain an organised and centralised structure like the CCA it needed to receive cash contributions from member churches and councils on an annual and regular basis.

Relationship with churches and councils and the sustainability of programs were also key reference points in the report of the CCA Review.

Recommending a review of CCA’s entire governance structure, it said churches and councils wanted to see changes in the structures so they would be effective, accountable and responsible to the members, transparent, confidential where necessary, fully participatory, professional, and above personal and political interests.
Among weaknesses listed, it said in order to mobilise sharing of resources among CCA member churches, CCA needed to increase information sharing, capture the needs of Asian churches, plan regular church visits, introduce and encourage Asian churches to host CCA programs, and facilitate the leadership development of member churches.

For their part, CCA member churches also needed to take their membership seriously, integrate their financial contribution to CCA in their annual budget, facilitate information sharing to cultivate ecumenical understanding and support, and develop strategic leadership.

The mention of good stewardship in the report from the Review was that CCA had never been accused of any major financial misappropriation of funds.

There was mention, however, of the value of time and money spent on large committees with little strategic outcome, poor management practices and outdated office procedures, and no value added from CCA programs.

Bishop Soo included in his report part of a letter from Heiner Knauss of ecumenical partner EED. It said, “Churches in Germany and their agencies will not feel responsible any longer to maintain a regional council if churches in the region would not show commitment themselves. And commitment is much more than funding.”

Mr Knauss said the CCA delegation going to Europe needed to convince church leaders there theologically of the role CCA could play in a situation where ecumenical leadership was highly demanded.

“The task before you during this trip is to explain the indispensable necessity of the existence of an ecumenical body like CCA … The answer must be sought in participating as churches in Asia’s discourse on inter-religious relations, on poverty, violence, human rights violations, justice (including gender justice) peace and integrity of creation.”

One comment about the review document was that, while it said CCA had no mission statement, the Assembly seemed happy not to have one.

As CCA proceeds to develop strategic directions, financial sustainability and good stewardship practices, the new General Committee and General Secretary have, as the General Secretary-elect Henriette T. Hutabarat Lebang said concluding the review presentation, a lot of work to do.

Stephen Webb

~ Berita Terkini CCA Assembly 2010 April 17

Worship with meaning and creativity in an Asian Way

 

Dr Rommel Linatoc from the Philippines is actively involved in the liturgical renewal work of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and is currently the program secretary of the Unit on Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations of NCC Philippines. He holds a doctor of philosophy in theater and media for development, and had been an artistic director of various people’s theater groups in
the Philippines. His other passions include ecological justice and peace and human rights advocacy. Rommel facilitated the creative ministry topic of the 2010 Asia Ecumenical Course. CCA appreciates
and enormously thank Rommel for helping make the Assembly worship experience meaningful and truly creative in the Asian way.

“Mutual fertilisation”

Dr. U Kyaw Than was associate general secretary (later general
secretary) of the East Asia Christian Conference (now the CCA) at
a time when there was no Internet and mobile phones.

But he and the late D.T. Niles, the first general secretary were
so efficient and effective in their work of promoting and nurturing
ecumenism in the region that they made an impact both at the
regional and grassroots level. What could have been their secret?

“Part of the secret was that we were in our own country so were
part of our own context,” Dr. Than said in an interview.
At that time Niles, who was the general secretary, was based in Sri
Lanka, and Dr. Than, in Myanmar. “Our country was our own base
so we were in touch with the grassroots,” Dr. Than said. “Since
we were in our own communities, we were able to implement our
programs even with shoestring budgets.”

Under the setup then, Dr. Than said the EACC leadership and the
grassroots “mutually fertilised” each other. “We were acting on real issues from the grassroots and not on imagined problems,” he said. “The issues of the grassroots thus defined our programs, instead of us defining them.”

Maurice Malanes

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 April 19

Moderator seeks consensus

 

Lu Yueh Wen from Taiwan has been the youth member of CCA’s
Presidium for the past five years. She doesn’t want to be known
as the “youth president”; rather, she sees herself as president on
behalf of those who are under 30.

Ms Lu said the past five years had been a very rich journey
together with friends. “It is amazing to see and witness how
churches respond to events and suffering in their own countries
and in others,” she said. “It shows a spirit of solidarity.”

The five years of being president have sometimes been painful for
her. She has had to negotiate the obligations and responsibilities
of being an officer of CCA with her job as a product manager for
a company in Taiwan.

Her role in the Assembly’s hot seat has not always been easy.
Moderating plenaries could make her nervous at times, she said,
but it was interesting to see people’s responses to questions and
discussions.

Even being a good English speaker, she still needed help sometimes understanding what people were talking about. But being in such a position was how young people learned, she said.

Ms Lu said would really like to see CCA adopt the consensus model of decision making because it created a friendlier opportunity for newcomers to express their opinions. She was nurtured in the consensus model by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and sometimes found moderating in CCA’s parliamentary style confronting.

Ms Lu had dedicated one of the most valuable periods of her life to the church and hoped and appealed to church leaders to understand that, as a young woman, she didn’t want to carry so many “categories”. She said, “It is not fair for a young person and a woman. I know there are category requirements to meet but, if
we are serious about gender and age justice, this is not the way to reconcile them.”

Ms Lu regards being a member of the Presidium a privilege because not many young people received that amount of trust from their church. She is very grateful to the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan for trusting and supporting her.

Stephen Webb

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 April 19

Malaysian official hails CCA’s mission

A Malaysian top official has lauded the Christian Conference of Asia’s prophesying, reconciliation and healing mission.

“I am confident that your deliberations will further enhance your faith and fraternity and that you will make even greater contributions
to harmony, peace and prosperity in our respective countries and in Asia as a whole,” said Malaysian Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon. Sen. Koon was the guest of honour during a welcome dinner for the CCA 13 General Assembly delegates last Saturday.

He also expressed the government’s “heartfelt appreciation to the Christian Churches and community in Malaysia for having contributed tremendously in nation-building, especially in education and spiritual development.” He cited himself and the prime minister, who were first educated in Christian schools.

Maurice Malanes

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 April 19

Confronting violence, impunity in Asia

State-sponsored systematic violence and the inability or refusal of governments to bring to justice perpetrators are rising facts of life in various parts of Asia, which, ecumenical leaders say, the Christian
Conference of Asia and its member churches must confront head on.
Members of the Assembly forum on violence and impunity on Sunday cited the cases of East Timor, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Nepal and other Asian countries.

In East Timor, where almost 200,000 people were killed during the armed conflict from 1975-1999, the official Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been harping on reconciliation “but there has
been no prosecution,” said a Timor Leste delegate.

He added that a militia commander, who was reported to have been involved in a massacre during the armed conflict, was released shortly after he was arrested last year because of pressures from the Indonesian government.

Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines shared how his country, through its counterinsurgency
and anti-terrorism policies, has justified extra-judicial killings and illegal arrests of activists and church workers advocating for human rights and justice.

He lamented that no perpetrator has been prosecuted or punished.
Nepal has the same situation. “Impunity is the biggest problem in Nepal and this is due to the criminalisation of politics and corruption in the courts and the police,” said Dr. Kali Bahadur Rokaya, secretary
general of the National Council of Churches there. He was referring
to “political parties full of criminals or protecting criminals” or criminals elected into office.

The forum members have yet to reflect on how the CCA and the churches could possibly respond to this rising institutionalised violence and impunity for lack of time yesterday. But in an interview, Rev. Guerrero said other churches could learn lessons from his church. He cited the “creativity and capacity” of the UCCP in
mobilising international support when he was arrested and detained
without charges in 2007.

“Through their creativity, my church (UCCP), the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines and human rights groups were creative
enough in bringing my case to international arenas like the UN Human
Rights Commission and the US Senate,” he said.

The international church community also immediately responded to
Guerrero’s case mainly because “my church and the churches overseas have reached an equal level of partnership in mission or in journeying together rather than one based simply on donor-beneficiary relationship,” he added.

Maurice Malanes

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 April 19

Conflicts and Culture of Impunity in Asia

CONFLICTS AND CULTURE OF IMPUNITY IN ASIA

(Presented by Carmencita P. Karagdag, Coordinator Peace for Life, at the CCA pre-assembly People’s Forum, Kuala Lumpur, April 12-13, 20010)

Wars and conflicts have always plagued humankind since time immemorial, causing untold misery and despair. But in this time of militarized globalization and US exceptionalism, wars of plunder and occupation under the guise of war on terror—specially in oil and resource-rich regions of the world—have become the order of the day. This notwithstanding the so-called politics of hope inspired by US President Barack Obama, now the US leader invested with the task of securing the world, that is, of saving, the global Empire.

But wars are not only among nations and states. Internecine wars—be they racial or ethnic, sectarian, communal and civil conflicts—have in fact proliferated specially in Asia, a region of vast racial and cultural diversity and home to the world’s most ancient religions predating Christianity. Moreover, of special interest to us, people of faith. is the rise of religious fundamentalism (whether Islamic, Hindu or Christian) and the all-too glaring fact that religion has been used and misused to legitimize the immoral project of empire as well as to justify jihad and terrorism on the part of those who are aggrieved..

Some of these internal conflicts may not get the same media currency as the outright wars of invasion and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet while often hidden and less visible, these wars are said to have cost more lives than the two world wars put together; the number of displaced people resulting from these internal conflicts is believed to far outpace that of traditional wars.

Allow me to make a quick scan of the Asian political landscape and highlight some countries where conflicts have become endemic, resulting in widespread human rights atrocities and a prevailing culture of impunity.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka, where an NCC Sri Lanka staff Shanta Fernando continues to languish in jail, has been one dramatic case of massive humanitarian catastrophe since the collapse of the Permanent Ceasefire Agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), giving free rein to the government’s total war against the LTTE which ended in May last year with the defeat of the insurgents and the capture of their strongholds.The government’s apparent success in decimating the insurgency has been attributed to its all-out military offensive, that is now being hailed as model. Already there are reports that Sri Lankan military advisers have been briefing the Philippine counterinsurgency operatives.

During the final months of the 28-year old conflict, which already cost 80,000 lives, the government confined nearly 300,000 people displaced by the conflict in what are euphemistically called "welfare camps" in the north. This apart from the mayhem and human rights atrocities inflicted on entire communities.

Today, nearly a year after the so-called victory of government forces, some 100,000 Tamils are still kept in camps where they are routinely denied basic rights and freedom of movement. Worse the authorities have forcibly separated more than 11,000 individuals with suspected ties to the LTTE and detained in "rehabilitation centers." Also, more than 550 children were among those transferred to these centers. The lack of information about the fate and whereabouts of some of the detainees raises concerns about the possibility that some may not only have been tortured, but also forcibly disappeared. Enforced disappearances have been a longstanding problem in Sri Lanka, and thousands of people remain unaccounted for.

Much of the blame for the collapse of the peace process that led to last year’s bloodbath centered on what is perceived as the negative role played by the international community. In 2006 the European Union added the LTTE to its list of terrorist organizations, destroying the parity of status believed to be necessary for the continuation of the peace process. Indeed as the findings of the Permanent People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka held in Dublin early this year pointed out, the so-called “global war on terror” has produced a new security paradigm that has led to the justification of human rights violations against those members of the population labeled “terrorists”.

INDIA

In India communal violence has escalated specially after September 11, fanned by a rightwing Hindutva ideology in which cultural nationalism, casteism, communalism, and religious fundamentalism find convergence and feed on one another. The result is even greater persecution, including outright massacres, if not genocide, of religious minorities like Muslims in Guijarat and Christians in Orissa, not to the mention the abominable treatment of the long-discriminated Dalits and oppressed adhivasis.

Also the escalation of conflicts between government forces and Maoist insurgents, labeled as terrorists and considered the principal threat to internal security by the government, has resulted in massive human rights atrocities specially victimizing tribals, many of whom have been forced to retreat deep into the jungles which are hideouts of the insurgents. Even government authorities have thus expressed fears that police atrocities in the tribal areas of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are pushing the tribals into the arms of the insurgents.

Not surprisingly tribal areas have rich mineral deposits coveted by profit-hungry Indian and multinational mining companies and other landgrabbers, with Orissa alone having 70% of all of India's bauxite reserves, 90% of India's chrome ore and nickel and 24% of its coal.

Displaced from their land and discriminated against, tribal people are the most marginalized section of Indian society. They are thus now struggling to defend or reclaim their land, their only remaining resource. The government’s response is one of massive military offensive to eliminate the Maoists in largely tribal areas, involving the recent deployment of nearly 100,000 troops. To strengthen the military’s hand, draconian anti-terrorist legislations like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act have been reintroduced and harsh provisions from previous counterterrorism laws that had either been allowed to lapse or been repealed have been resurrected. Also cause for concern is the proliferation of so-called peace committees organized by landgrabbers to counter legitimate tribal organizations and local vigilante groups funded by mining interests and armed by the state.

NEPAL

Another South Asian country that is threatened with renewed violence is Nepal, where following a popular revolt that ended the repressive Hindu monarchy, a comprehensive peace agreement to end the 10-year armed conflict is now fast unraveling. In May last year the Maoists, who were then the largest bloc in the coalition government, withdrew from the government and went into opposition. They also boycotted the Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a new constitution by May this year and formed after a 2008 election when members voted overwhelmingly to abolish the monarchy and restructure the country into autonomous states.

Several contentious issues have frustrated efforts to hammer out a new constitution. At the center of the controversy is the question of the integration and rehabilitation of nearly 20,000 Maoist combatants verified by the United Nations Mission in Nepal, who have been held in cantonment sites around the country for nearly three years. The Maoists are demanding the integration of their combatants into the security forces, a demand opposed by the mainstream parties who insist that the combatants be integrated into the society.

Other issues over which the different political forces are at loggerheads includes the question of federalism, the proposed referendum to address Nepal’s status as Hindu state which was abolished in 2008 when Nepal became a republic. More than 80% of the Nepalese are Hindus.

Moreover there has been lack of political will and consensus to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes and human rights violations during the armed conflict, as set out in the 2006 peace agreement.

What is clear is that Nepal is now suffering from grave political instability and a fragile government, hobbling efforts to make progress on crucial issues of economic development, including the dismantling of the feudal economy. Moreover tensions are rising regarding the lack of progress in framing a new constitution which, if not decisively resolved this year, may well plunge the country into another civil war worse than the previous one.

.

BURMA

One of the countries in Asia particularly notorious for blatant political repression and culture of impunity is Burma, where a military junta that restricts the basic rights and freedoms of all Burmese remains entrenched. The ruling State Peace and Development Council systematically denies citizens the basic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. To date more than 2,100 political prisoners continue to languish in jail. Moreover, the military continues to perpetrate human-rights atrocities against civilians in ethnic conflict areas, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and sexual violence.

Elections are supposed to be held this year for the first time in 20 years. However concern has been raised that the recently released Burmese election law may undermine the participation of opposition parties. This and the continuing house arrest since 2003 of opposition leader and human-rights icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, gives credence to the widely-held view that the military will not allow genuine political participation in the electoral process and is simply using the elections to legitimize its continuing hold on power. An ostensibly civilian parliament will be but mere front for continued military control. In fact under the new constitution, a quarter of the parliament’s seats are reserved for the military. Moreover, continuing uncertainties and a high degree of secrecy surrounding the election process, including the actual election dates, have raised tensions in the country. Already the opposition National League for Democracy, which won the previous elections but prevented by the military to assume power, have announced a boycott of the polls.

.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan, an Islamic state, has been the site of some of the worst sectarian violence perpetrated by religious extremists with apparent connivance of the military. Suicide bombings, armed attacks, and killings have targeted civilians, minority religious groups, and the political elite.

Though it has a parliamentary system and democratically elected government now in place after eight years of disastrous military rule, the military has continued to assert its power and perpetrate human rights abuses with impunity, thus effectively subverting the political and judicial systems in the country. .

Meanwhile rising religious extremism and militancy as well as recent efforts by military elements to destabilize the civilian regime have been fuelled by a growing anti-US sentiment which deepened markedly in 2009 due to the US aerial drone strikes on suspected militant hideouts in the tribal areas, viewed by many as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and prompting allegations that US attacks that killed hundreds of civilians violated the laws of war. The current US military strategy after Bush is to shift focus to Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan in its drive to contain Al Quaeda and the Talibans.

The military also instigated a nationalist backlash when Obama signed into law last year the Enhanced Partnershp with Pakistan Act, linking its US$7.5 billion in non-military aid over five years to conditions relating to military conduct, dismissed by the military as compromising the country’s national security. This includes a requirement for the US secretary of state to certify that the Pakistani military is combating terrorism, not engaged in nuclear proliferation, and not "materially and substantially subverting the political or judicial processes of Pakistan."

Also a matter of concern to the ecumenical movement and human rights groups is Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law which has been used to quell dissent and oppress religious minorities specially Christians.

PHILIPPINES

I will not dwell lengthily on the Philippines, another Asian country plagued by human rights atrocities, notably extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, that has victimized not only left-wing mass leaders and activists but also lawyers, doctors journalists, human-rights advocates and clergy, including a bishop. Suffice it to say that in the Philippines, the US’s first and hence highly prized colonial possession, both the communist and Muslim rebellions are being systematically subverted through a revitalized counter-insurgency campaign fashioned after the US-inspired “dirty war” in Latin America. No less than UN Rapporteur Philip Alston has asserted that extra-judicial killing is an integral component of this US-instigated counter-insurgency strategy the aim of which is to dismantle the mass base of the political left which has seen a resurgence with the onslaught of globalization and the war on terror.

Later I shall introduce my fellow churchworker from the Philippines, Rev. Berlin Guerrero, who will expand on the issue and offer a testimony of his own experience as victim of state terror.

As all these country cases illustrate, assaults on human freedom and grave threats to life have in recent years reached a new level of magnitude and barbarity. Untrammeled economic globalization, the US war on terror in the aftermath of September 11, and the immoral project of global hegemony and Empire have radically altered the Asian political landscape, resulting in more widespread impoverishment, massive displacement of entire communities and thus even more virulent strifes and blatant denial of political, economic, social and cultural rights. A lot of the insurgencies and conflicts, including terrorism as a response of the disempowered, do in fact have underlying social, political and economic causes, rooted as they are in the exclusion and marginalization of vast numbers of the Asian population.

Indeed peace advocates today face nearly insurmountable odds. For one thing, wars are profitable. Though wars result in large-scale destruction, enormous profits are made from lucrative defense contracts for reconstruction, for refurbishing the army, for further research to build sophisticated weaponry and nuclear technology.

To conclude, human rights advocacy from an ecumenical perspective cannot but cannot but go hand in hand with prophetic denunciation of globalization and empire building, accompanied by concrete work for justice, understood as distributive and transformative justice, which alone can build the regime of peace and universal rule of law that we in the ecumenical community have been called by our Christian faith to strive relentlessly for.

Women prophets, healers and reconcilers

In solidarity, women gathered to celebrate Life as they journey
together in weaving stories of healing, reconciliation and prophesying.

Seventy women and some men attended the Pre-Assembly Women’s Forum with the theme, “Celebrating Life: Women Prophets, Healers and Reconcilers” in Kuala Lumpur on April 10-13, 2010. The participants united and re-committed themselves to the
sacred task of strengthening the Asian ecumenical movement and
in pursuing gender justice. The gathering also affirmed women’s
prophetic voices and their valuable contributions to the task of peace building.

The Women’s Forum started with a meaningful inaugural worship
and keynote address delivered by Ms. Ivy Josiah from Malaysia.
Three distinguished women leaders - Dr Ana May Say Pa form
Myanmar, Rev Kyun In Kim from Korea, Ms. Gabriel Russel-
Mundine from Australia – shared their respective life journeys and
on the prophetesses of peace who gave meaning to their tasks. Small group workshops tackled different issues and stories on the theme: “Weaving Our Tapestry of Peace”.

A joint biblico-theological reflection with the Forum on PLHIV+ led by His Grace, Geevarghese Mor Coorilos of the Orthodox Church provided a well grounded theological perspective and understanding of HIV and AIDS and human sexuality. A panel presentation on being “Called to be Healers and Reconcilers” included topics on
Women’s Reproductive Health Justice, by Susan Eleanor Claro from the Philippines, Healing our Memories: Restoring the Sacredness of Broken Bodies by Shunila Ruth from Bangladesh; and Theology of Positive Masculinity, by Rev. Dr. Joseph Dayam Prabhakar from India.

An exposure to the YWCA, The House of Single Mothers and a Shelter for Abused Women was followed by a networking and strategizing session to strengthen solidarity work among women. The participants also issued a statement addressed to the CCA assembly

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 Day 2

UCANEWS: Church ministry aimed at healing, pastor says

ASIA - Church ministry aimed at healing, pastor says

Published Date: April 19, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR (UCAN) — The head of an international ecumenical organization has urged Churches to be critical but not “destroy, deteriorate or diminish the dignity of others.”

Reverend Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), told a gathering of Asian Christians here that the prophetic witness of Churches is a “ministry aimed at healing” which creates “new hearts and a new future.”

The pastor was speaking to some 300 Christians gathered for the 13th general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) April 15-22 on the theme Called to Prophesy, Reconcile and Heal.

CCA associate general secretary Reverend Rienzie Perera said the general assembly theme is a reminder and call to Churches in Asia to respond to God’s call to engage in prophetic, reconciling and healing ministries without counting the cost.”

Reverend Wati Longchar, director of the South Asia Theological Research Institute explained that “prophetic witness implies discerning the signs of our times and the willingness to be part of seeking justice.”

Reverend Tviet told the assembly that religion has the potential to give strength and courage to people to speak out for justice. He noted there are examples of how religion has inspired the fight for justice and peace. But he warned that religion can also be used terrorize innocent people and legitimize oppression.

Some of the challenges that we face today in the world “can be seen as a result of a one-sided and uncritical use of religion which has ended up being very destructive and bringing neither justice nor peace,” he noted.

The WCC general secretary urged Churches to reflect on “how the prophetic, critical ministry can be a ministry of real reconciliation and healing” to bring new visions for the future.

Reverend Perera termed prophetic witness as the courage given by God to take sides with the poor and oppressed in society.

CCA general secretary Prawate Khid-arn said on the sidelines that the CCA has “broken new ground by forging relationships and moving on a journey towards better understanding, collegiality and cooperation” with the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

Sri Lankan theologian Reverend Preman Niles, another CCA associate general secretary, said the ecumenical movement needs to be a forum “to support those engaged in the prophetic ministry of the Church.”

This is the third time the CCA general assembly has been held in Malaysia. The CCA was formally inaugurated in 1959 in Kuala Lumpur.

The CCA comprises 16 national councils and more than 100 Protestant and Orthodox Churches in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Timor Leste, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Among the many objectives of the CCA are the promotion and strengthening of unity among Asian Churches, and the development and promotion of relationships with people of other faiths in the region.

AS09472.1598 April 19, 2010 56 EM-lines (476 words)

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‘We must learn to grieve before we can heal’

In addition to bringing the alleviation of pain and suffering, Christians have to ask themselves how their Christian conviction enhances the lives of others, including other faiths.

Speaking at a media conference on April 15, the Most Rev. Roger Herft, Anglican Archbishop of Perth, Australia, said the Church was called upon to prophesy, reconcile and heal.

He said, “We must ask ourselves, ‘Where is there pain?’ and respond to it in a healing way, recognising that we need each other to be a wholesome community.”

Archbishop Herft was referring to his sermon earlier in the day during
the opening worship of the 13th Assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia, when he said the suffering of the prophet Ezekiel was linked to the vision of God. Without pain and suffering the vision was not of God.

Archbishop Herft told the press conference, “That is why the Church, called to be a reconciling community, must take the tears of the poor seriously. It has to be a reconciling force in the community.”

He said, “We need to have a righteous anger at injustice as well as hope that, among the foolishness, we can make a difference.” The Assembly’s opening worship had begun with community singing and dance.

There was a procession of symbols from each delegation’s culture and thanksgiving for CCA’s ecumenical journey.

Archbishop Herft preached on the Assembly theme, “Called to Prophesy, Reconcile and Heal”. He said the prophet Ezekiel and the
apostle Paul in his Letters to the Corinthians reminded the Church that “to be called to prophesy and to reconcile we must know what it is to grieve. To be called to heal we must experience the onfusion that comes with seeking the causes that bring about illness,
brokenness, disease, the demonic within individuals and society.”
He said he was saddened that religious people, captive to diabolical
forces, continued in the name of God to bring division, conflict, persecution and death to many peoples in Asia and across the world.

He said, “As Christians in Asia, we who seek the call to prophesy must first ask God to gift us with tears that wash our eyes and burn our hearts to see the suffering and pain of the world in which God
has placed us.”

The call to prophesy, reconcile and heal was addressed But he said,
“The sad and sinful reality is that our history is one of competition and rivalry in which we refuse to see in each other the image of the reconciling son of God.”

He said, “We rightly critique the Colonial powers for their exploitation
of our peoples, yet continue to live by the labels placed upon us by
those who brought the Gospel into our midst. We use consumer choice and capitalist marketing and competitive mechanisms
to peddle our particular Christian brand to the world, often
engaging in propaganda that diminishes and belittles others who
claim the name of Christ.”

He posed for the Church Jean Vanier’s question: What is it
about your deepest conviction that denies the humanity and divinity
of the other? “Reconciliation is more than us living happily
together. It is the invitation we are given to be the ‘sign’ and witness of the costly unity found in the very essence of God,
the Holy and Blessed Trinity.

“It calls us to be healers, whose motivation comes from the One who was broken, wounded, forsaken and whose dying and rising offers the world the forgiveness that heals.”

Stephen Web

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 Day 2

Recipe for a vibrant Youth Pre-Assembly

1.Book hotel rooms.
2.Warn the hotel management that it would probably get loud and apologize multiple times in advance
3.Begin by adding two tablespoons from Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
4 .Drop in a handful from Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
5.Add a dash from Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, Timor-Leste,
India, Hong Kong, Laos and Pakistan for flavor.
6.Sprinkle Malaysians according to taste.
7.Chill and serve.

Around 38 youth from all over Asia gathered for the CCA Youth
Pre-Assembly which began on 11 April 2010. In the opening
service we lit candles to symbolize our unity and prayed, and
were welcomed by Dr. Prawate Khid-arrn, CCA general secretary.
We were introduced to the theme “Called to Prophesy, Reconcile and Heal” and had one session by Rev Dr Rienzie Perera, two by Rev Reuel Marigza and one by Rev Sivin Kit to explain the theme and our purpose here. Most of us heard about CCA for the very first time
and were thrilled to discover that we were part of something
bigger.

Despite being a mixture of stewards and voting delegates,
we didn’t allow our ‘titles’ to hinder us from bonding. In fact,
we don’t think anything could stop us from mingling because
we all treated one another as family and just ‘clicked’ instantly.
We had many fun activities such as folding boats and
learnt many new songs from different countries. We had icebreaking
games too.

The discussions were a ton of fun and were extremely productive
at the same time. We discussed the many problems
faced by the youth in our own respective countries and realized that it does not really matter where we were from.

We share the same type of problems and in all our countries, we, the
Christians, are the minority.  We had presentations from each
country that dealt with what we thought should be done about the
issues youth in our respective countries are facing. We came up with the same conclusion that prayer is needed and that we need to revive the lost passion in our youth and continue to spread the Word.

On the last night, everyone dressed up in their respective national costumes for the closing service. We prayed for the current issues in the world and also took a Skittle each and prayed for the first thing that came to our mind when we looked at it. We also wrote our personal messages and placed our thumbprint on a huge card.
That showed that even though we may be unique and wonderful as
individuals, we are still one in the body of Christ.

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 Day 2

On the Pre-Assembly HIV Forum: “I have lost only my immunity, not my humanity”

“I have lost only my immunity, not my humanity” -- these words from a person living with HIV+ won’t go away from the memory of His Grace Dr. Geevarghese Mor Coorilos. He shared the HIV+ person’s sense of alienation, with participants to the joint biblico-theological reflection session on Human Sexuality and AIDS, of
both the HIV Forum and Women’s Forum pre-assemblies on April 12 at the Dynasty Hotel.

It is the first time in the history of CCA assemblies that a pre-assembly forum of people living with HIV+ and Asian theological reflection process on HIV and AIDS was ever convened from April 10-13, bringing together 55 participants comprising people living with HIV+, care givers, pastors, theologians, medical professionals,
social workers, community organisers and consultants who “listened to each other’s experiences and stories and identified the need for the church to engage further in reflection and develop a theological perspective of health, healing and wholeness for the 21st century” (from Pre-Assembly HIV Forum “Message to the CCA 13th General Assembly”).

 
Esther (not her real name), is a 47 year old Malaysian Christian woman who contracted HIV+ from her husband, that eventually led to their divorce. She confided her health condition to her pastor. Two days before she was set to join a church retreat in Port Dickson, she was informed by the pastor that she could no longer
join because of her HIV+ status.

Go, 16 from Chiangmai, Thailand was the youngest participant at the HIV preassembly forum. He was born with HIV+ which was transmitted by both his parents. Through empowerment processes by the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) AIDS Ministry called CAM, Go says “he has many opportunities to take part in activities that help him understand how to live with HIV better, and how to have a
good quality of life. Through CAM, he has had special times together with his family, alongside other families who also are living with HIV. Last year, he joined in a special programme with 20 other young people to learn ways to tell their story through a photographic album of their lives by  making a scrapbook. This helped him to express himself and understand his feelings better, as well as help keep good relationship with family members.”

There were more such living stories in relation to HIV from Myanmar,
migrant workers in Hong Kong, human trafficking in Japan, Thailand
and transgender in India.

Among the most attended skills building workshops at the HIV Forum
were the workgroups on HIV-competent churches and theological
education and that on theology, human sexuality and AIDS. In the light of the 2009 Policy Statement on HIV and AIDS unanimously approved by the CCA General Committee in Bangkok, Thailand “Equipping Churches in Asia to be ‘HIV and AIDS Competent’”, the participants came to a consensus on what the Good News is for all, put forward affirmations, encouraged creating sacred places and spaces and making calls to the CCA General Assembly and Asian churches. The Pre-Assembly HIV Forum Message is to be presented on April 17 by Rev.Tara Curlewis, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia.

The HIV Forum was organized by the CCA jointly with the World
Council of Churches, the United Evangelical Mission, Lutheran World
Federation, Malaysian Care and Council of Churches of Malaysia. Six
participants of the Pre-Assembly Forum of People Living with HIV+
and the Asian Theological Reflection Process on HIV and AIDS are
present in the General Assembly as Observers. They are: Ms. Naw
She Wah (Myanmar), Dr. Manoj Kurian (WCC), Dr. Alphinus Kambodji
(Indonesia), Rev. Dr. Wati Longchar (India), Rev. Pax Tan
Chiow Lian (Malaysia), and Rev. Sanan Wutti (Thailand).

Marrio Mapanao

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 Day 1

Leaving a legacy

 

Dr. Prawate Khid-arn, the seventh General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) would like to be remembered as a leader who made visible the plight of the people in the margins.

During his watch, he provided an ecumenical space for the visible unity of member churches in Asia in working together to share the concerns of people living with HIV and AIDS, migrant workers, people who have been trafficked and abused, people suffering from environmental calamities, people in conflict situations, people unjustly detained and suffer repression and oppression, refugees who have been ignored and rejected, and people who live in poverty because of unjust structures.

According to him, CCA had its ups and downs in the course of its long ecumenical journey. He noted this even during his leadership. He started the weekly letter to member churches and councils of churches to provide updates and stimulate the involvement of the
churches in the vision of building communities of peace for all.

Dr Khid-arn sees a lot of challenges ahead such as in the area of developing a Christian theology that is prophetic and relevant for the people. Together with ecumenical leaders from Asia and church leaders in South Korea, Dr. Khid-arn visited North Korea during his
term as General Secretary.

The visit encouraged him to support the idea that isolating North Korea is not the solution. He sees the need for dialogue of people with different ideologies for the sake of uplifting human dignity. He expressed solidarity with Philippine churches struggling with extrajudicial killing and illegal detentions as in the case of the illegal arrest of Rev. Berlin Guerrero and the current detention of 43 health workers, among them Dr. Alexis Montes, a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

Dr. Khid-arn hopes that the theme of the 13th General Assembly will encourage the churches to work together towards being prophetic, reconciling and healing communities in the midst of our broken world.

~ Berita Terkini CCA 2010 Day 1