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Christian Conference of Asia
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About CCA
Program Clusters: Special Programs: Congress of Asian
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National Workshop on Ecumenism and Feminism in ThailandA national workshop on ecumenism and feminist theologizing was held in Chiang Mai on Oct. 20-22 at the McGilvary Faculty of Theology. Participants included female and male faculty from Thailand, students from Vietnam and Cambodia, women working with NGOs, seminary faculty from Myanmar. Churches represented included Church of Christ in Thailand, Baptist Church and Catholic Church. There were at least 40 regular participants (there were more coming in for some sessions only due to prior commitments). "We should have done this a long time ago," a number of the participants, including seminary faculty, said of the workshop, which was a first of its kind. I did two presentations: an introduction to ecumenism and an introduction to Asian feminist theology. Anna May Chain, principal of Myanmar Institute of Theology, facilitated workshop on reading the Bible with Women's Eyes. Mary Dun, faculty of MIT, did a presentation on Asian women's spirituality. During the evaluation at the end of the workshop, many participants tried to share what they plan to do after the workshop. Many of them said, "first the change must begin with me." Then they hope to share with their families and co-workers. One of the concerns raised and for which a follow-up workshop needs to be planned is sexuality - which must include issues of sex workers and homosexuality that are prevalent in Thailand. posted by hope on Thursday, October 27, 2005 Input on Feminist Leadership at ATESEA General AssemblyI participated in the General Assembly of the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA) on Oct. 16-20 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I gave a paper and a powerpoint presentation on one of the key themes, "Women's Role in Transformational Leadership". In my presentation I modified the topic to "Contributions of Feminist Leadership in Theological Education" - highlighting the fact that having a woman in leadership does not automatically guarantee feminist leadership for feminism is not gender-specific. Part of my challenge to the seminary heads and faculty is to integrate feminist perspective in their teaching - in terms of content, methodology, and also in the way of relating with colleagues and students. Other speakers were: Huang Po Ho on "Covenant with the Churches in Asia: Retargetting Theological Education in Responding to the Life and Death Struggles of People in Asia" which focused on the challenges to theological education amidst the changing context of Asia; Emmanuel Gerrit Singgih on Revisiting/Rethinking Critical Asian Principle"; and Wong Yew Chong on "Self-Reliance in Theological Education in Asia." The CCA-FMU, like its former desks for theological concerns,is a network partner of ATESEA. posted by hope on Thursday, October 27, 2005 Teaching and Learning to Live in OikoumeneCCA-FMU co-organized with Rev. Edwin EH Kharkongor, seminary principal, three ecumenical lectures at John Roberts Theological Seminary in Mawklot, Shillong, Meghalaya, India on 20 September 2005. More than a hundred students and some elders of the church were present at the lectures. Speaking on "Learning to Live in Oikoumene: Integrating Ecumenism in Theological Education", Hope Antone, executive secretary of CCA-FMU, shared her experiences of learning ecumenism in various ways, gave biblical bases of ecumenism and showed the needed shifts in ecumenical thinking in order to have a wider ecumenism. Anna May Chain, a Bible scholar and principal of Myanmar Institute of Theology, narrated a "Chorus of Voices: Reading the Bible from Many Perspectives." Recognizing that there are many voices right within the Bible, in interpretation, and among the readers today, she highlighted the need to hear the minority voices within, the women's voices, and voices from other cultures and religions Chuleepran Srisoontorn, faculty at McGilvary Faculty of Theology in Chiang Mai, Thailand, spoke on "Pastoral Theoogy from a Global Perspective." Using a case method approach of an HIV/AIDS patient, she highlighted issues in a growing pastoral ministry to victims of the pandemic. These lectures will soon be published in CTC Bulletin. posted by hope on Monday, October 03, 2005 Proclaiming the Gospel in a Pluralistic World"We live in a plural or diverse world. What is threatening the world is not because we have different religions, languages, cultures, etc. but because we have used our differences to lord over, eat up, or subjugate the other. It is high time we re-visit the original intention of God for creating the world." This is the gist of one ecumenical lecture, in the form of a Bible study, which I presented at the Silliman University Divinity School (SUDS) in Dumaguete City, Philippines during the 44th Annual Church Workers' Convocation on 30 August-1 September 2005. My second ecumenical lecture was "Dialogue of Life as Our Way of Proclaiming the Gospel." These two lectures were among the inputs at the convocation on the over-all theme, Proclaiming the Gospel in a Pluralistic World Towards a Dialogue of Life. An annual program of the SUDS, the convocation gathers around 400 alumni, church workers and leaders for update and sharing. The opening message was given by Joel L. Bodegon, a local lay preacher of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines who pointed out that we have not yet reached but are still aiming for a pluralist world - a way to real living together - towards ecumenism. Bishop Erme R. Camba, a former General Secretary of the UCCP and former dean of SUDS, gave the theme presentation which emphasized the full witness of proclaiming the gospel - providing healing to the sick, food to the hungry, enlightenment to those in darkness, liberty to the captive and oppressed, and love, justice and peace for all, without any discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, gender or age. posted by hope on Monday, October 03, 2005 |
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