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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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Basic Ecumenical Course
22 November 2012
Participating in God’s Holistic Mission of Reconciling the Whole World
“Ecumenism is not a subject to be studied but is a matter of life” says
Rt. Rev. Dr. Zacharias Mar Theophilus, Suffragan Metropolitan of Mar Thoma
Church and former member of WCC Central Committee. Delivering the key note
address at the inauguration of the Basic Ecumenical Course in the Ecumenical
Christian Centre (ECC), Bangalore, he said that Ecumenism is the affirmation of
life and in the midst of the escalating realities of the destruction of life, like
exploitation of children and nature, churches are urgently called to promote
peace and justice for all – as reflected in the theme of the coming WCC
Assembly in Busan in 2013 “God, lead us to Peace and Justice.” In the midst of brokenness of our world today,
he emphasized a critical need for a paradigm shift from being man-centered to a life-centered
praxis.
The two-week ecumenical course jointly
organized by the CCA Program Unit on Faith Mission and Unity (FMU), National
Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Indian School of Ecumenical Theology
(ISET) of the Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC) was inaugurated on November 20,
2012. After, an eco-friendly worship service that was held in the garden of ECC,
Rev. Dr. Cherian Thomas, Director of ECC and Rev. Dr. Reji Samuel, the Dean of
ISET warmly welcomed the participants and the resource persons. Prayers and
greetings were brought by Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera, retired Bishop of the
Church of Ceylon, and Bible Study leader of the course. Rev. Dr. Henriette
Hutabarat Lebang conveyed greetings from the CCA members and appreciated NCC India
and ECC for their wonderful collaboration in organizing this program.
As part of introduction to the ecumenical movement in Asia, Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang shared the CCA life and ministry and Dr. Kambodji, CCA consultant for HIV and AIDS, presented the Challenges
of HIV/AIDS to the Ministry of Asian Churches today. In the sessions on
Ecumenical Journey of Churches in India, Dr. D. Arthur Jeyakumar, a church
historian presently teaching at the Gurukul Theological Seminary, presented a
paper on the ‘Indian contribution to the Ecumenical Movement,’ and Fr. Dr. Sebastian Payyappilly, CMI, lecturer
at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram a prestigious Catholic Institution in Bangalore presented
the Roman Catholic Church perspective. Prof. Dr. Ninan Koshy, former Director of WCC
Churches’ Commission on International Affairs presented the Ecumenical Movement
in Asia. In concluding this first phase
of the course, the participants will discuss the emerging and challenging
issues in churches’ mission today and identify the sign of hope for the
reconciling mission of the churches in Asia today.
Several lectures addressing some
of the critical issues are scheduled as part of this course, such as, ‘Understanding People of Other Faiths’
by Prof. Dr. P.S. Jacob, former Principal of Ahmednagar College; ‘Religion and
Politics’ by Dr. Ninan Koshy; ‘Displaced People’ by Prof. Dr. Rini Ralte from
United Theological College (UTC) ; ‘Ecological Problems: the Importance of
Conservation’ by Rev. Dr. Allan Palanna from UTC; ‘Subaltern Issues: On
Fragmentation of Society (Dalits/Tribals)’ by Rev. Bharath Patta, General
Secretary of India SCM; ‘Children At Risk – on Child Trafficking’ by the
Director of Don Bosco, ‘Gender Justice and Transgender Issues’ by Prof. Dr. Sr.
Puspha Joseph from Madras University, ‘Vision of Unity in Plural and Diverse
Context’ by Rev. Dr. K. C. Abraham, former Director of SATHRI the research wing
of the Senate of Serampore University.
As part of the efforts to familiarize
participants with the life of communities in India, exposure programs to
selected religious centers, worship with local congregations in Bangalore and a
visit to Mysore city, a historic and important place in Karnataka, have been
included as part of the course. The five Bible Studies during the course are
led by Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera and Prof. Dr. Evangeline Rajkumar (Rev.)
from UTC Bangalore.
By the end of the second phase ,
the participants will have an idea of the Ecumenical movement in India through
lectures on the following topics by eminent theologians and ecumenists: ‘Ecumenical Journey of NCC India – Towards a
Wider Perspective’ by Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary of NCC India; ‘Witness
of Reconciling Mission in India’ by Rev. Dr. David Selvaraj, Director of
Vishtar and Rev. Dr. Mohan Lalbeer, (Secretary of the Board of Theological
Studies of Senate of Serampore College), Rev. Lee Hee Woon, a missionary of
Presbyterian Church of Korea stationed in Bangalore, and Rev. Vincent Rajkumar,
Director of Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, CISRS. Pastors, theological educators, missionaries,
NGO activists in India are invited to attend this one day seminar that has its focus
on a new vision as theological educators and pastors in overcoming division, adopting
servant-ship as an agent of change and being channel of God’s grace. This is considered as a critical role and
responsibility of the churches today.
 posted by communications on Friday, November 23, 2012 |
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