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Twenty-five young Christians from across Asia attended the institute, held from 22 July to 17 August under the theme "Creation Care and Eco-Justice: Our Faith and ‘With-ness.’ ”
A student-organized closing worship highlighted present Asian realities through contextual Asian liturgical traditions, followed by the valedictory ceremony at the the CCA headquarters on the Payap University campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In his address,CCA general secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara congratulated the young ecumenists and commended their enthusiasm for learning from each other, as well as their commitment to taking seriously the values and ethos of ecumenism.
“As ecumenically trained young Christians, you are now tasked with transmitting what you have learnt here into your local contexts, and this is crucial for sustaining the Asian ecumenical movement, especially when the ecumenical movement faces challenges in many Asian countries,” he said.
The faculty included internationally acclaimed ecumenical leaders, theologians, biblical scholars, social scientists, ecumenists, peace activists, development practitioners, and environmental activists.
For Rev. Dr Benjamin Simon, director of the WCC Commission on Ecumenical Education and Formation and dean of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, “a four-week study program deepened the very good relationship between WCC and CCA but even more it showed the participants coming from all over Asia and Australia that the body of Christ is one,” he said.
“Even if we have different spiritualities, and are influenced by diverse theologies, students through their encounters and interactions realised how rich these encounters are and how fruitful and life-transforming these diversities of the ecumenical movement can be,” added Simon.
As part of the outdoor learning exposures, participants visited different religious centres and interacted with inter-religious leaders.
Participants also engaged in group discussions and workshops, and delivered individual presentations on various topics.
Xayyong Volaphong, a participant from Lao People’s Democratic Republic, commented, “I got the opportunity to live with friends from different Asian countries and we learnt about many things including ecumenism, eco-justice, creation care, artificial Intelligence and spirituality, and good governance in the church.”
“Over the past four weeks, I have learnt so much about ecumenism and the various issues and concerns in Asia. The sessions were eyeopening, and the experiences here have deepened my compassion and responsibility towards God’s creation,” remarked Eunique da Graça de Vasconselos, a young church worker from Timor-Leste.
