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Regional Conference on Contemporary Christian Leadership
Last Updated (Wednesday, 21 September 2016 14:32)
“Ecumenical Leadership in the Present Day Milieu”
19 – 21 November 2016
Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village, Shatin, Hong Kong
(Day of arrival 18th November and Departure 22nd November)
During the time of inception the YMCA members used to spend time in bible reflections, searching for answers in the scriptures, for the challenges they were facing in their days. This search still continues today. The members of the YMCAs still are in the quest of finding biblical responses to the challenges they are facing in their own context.
YMCA as a Christian organization, the members as disciples of Jesus Christ are committed to his life and teachings emanating from the Holy Scriptures. Throughout the history of the YMCA, Christian teachings and values had always been reflected in YMCA’s course of action to bring about social change in the communities.
We are undergoing a phase of the world history which is being tormented by immense sufferings of the people in many parts of the world. The rise of religious fundamentalism is a burning issue of the present day. This phenomenon is being felt more and more in the recent times. Peace has become a distant realization than in any time in the past. The current mission statement of the YMCA, the Challenge 21, calls for the world YMCA family to seek to be mediators and reconcilers in situations of conflict, and work for building peace with justice among peoples and nations. As members of the YMCAs, there is a clarion call for us to respond with a sense of urgency by being Agents of Peace, working towards building a community committed to peace, harmony and sustainability.
Such a situation also calls for a leadership in the YMCA which not only contributes to maximizing YMCA’s impacts in social transformation, but also ensures peace and sustainability in our communities and beyond. The Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) acknowledges the necessity to be involved in forming such a leadership that has been derived from our Holy Scriptures. The quest still continues in the search of the leadership which is required in the present day milieu to serve the world towards peace and harmony. Our search still does and will continue for answers in the Bible on how we can face the challenges of the current socio-political issues we are confronting.
In carrying out our responsibilities as disciples of Jesus Christ and to provide the proper leadership in the community, there is an ardent necessity for us to be well acquainted and equipped with Christian Leadership. The need of exploring contemporary Christian Leadership was deeply felt during the APAY Leaders Quadrennial Roundtable held in December 2015 at Chiang Mai, Thailand. The APAY as a part of the priorities of the present quadrennial, now plans to organize a regional conference on ‘Contemporary Christian Leadership’ which has been scheduled on 19 - 21 November 2016 at YMCA Youth Village, Wu Kai Sha, Ma On Shan, New Territories, Hong Kong. The theme of the conference is : “Ecumenical Leadership in the Present Day Milieu”.
Resource persons invited in the pursuit of learning Christian Leadership for social transformation, shall be sharing their thoughts and insights during the conference. At the conference we shall be focusing on Jesus’ way of leadership for peace building through social transformation in today’s context. To be focused also is the core components of ecumenical leadership for building a culture of peace as well as how gender perspectives can enrich the leadership we are seeking in this context.
The APAY does hereby invite the YMCA movements of our region to send delegates to the conference who have experiences in the work of leadership development or theological reflections on contemporary Christian Leadership. Participants are expected to take part in deliberations and share their insights on theological interpretations and developing the components for such a leadership during the conference.
Objectives of the Conference :
i) To re-visit the calling of Jesus Christ, in terms of being his disciple in realizing His ministry in the contemporary world.
ii) To search for the meaning of Christian leadership and learn how to put it into practice in our daily life.
iii) To review the mission of the YMCA, in terms of facing the present day challenges of the world, especially to bring peace, harmony and sustainability among the nations.
iv) To understand deeply the biblical interpretation of Christian Leadership from gender perspective.
The Registration Fee for participation at the conference is US$200 per person including Green Fee of US$15. This covers food and lodging from breakfast of 19 November till Dinner of 21 November. The venue of the conference is at, Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village, 2, On Chun Street, Ma On Shan, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong and Registration Deadline is on 10 October 2016.
This is a self-financed program. Hence no subsidies shall be available for the participants. Participants or their YMCAs need to bear the Registration Fee as well as their cost of air travel to Hong Kong.
Participants are expected to arrive by the evening of 18 November and depart after lunch of 21 November 2016.
For further information or for any queries please contact Duncan Chowdhury, Executive Secretary for Programs, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
With best wishes,
Nam Boo Won
General Secretary
Program Schedule
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Friday
18 November |
Saturday
19 November |
Sunday
20 November |
Monday
21 November |
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0730
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Arrival
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B R E A K F A S T
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0845
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D E V O T I O N
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0930
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Session 1
Opening Ceremony & Introduction |
Session 5
Paper Presentation: Dr. Bart Shaha “To serve but not to be served: ‘Christian discipleship’ in today’s context". |
Session 9
Preparation of Statement |
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1045
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B R E A K
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1100
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Session 2
Keynote Address: Dr. David Suh “Ecumenical leadership for social transformation in today’s context” |
Session 6
Group Work Plenary |
Session 10
Closing Session |
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1230
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L U N C H
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1400
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Session 3
Group Work |
Session 7
Paper Presentation : Prof. Angela Wong "Gender Perspectives enriching Christian leadership” Paper Presentation : Mr. Max Ediger “The core components of ecumenical leadership for building a culture of peace” |
Departure
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1600
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B R E A K
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1630
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Session 4
Plenary |
Session 8
Group Work & Plenary |
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1800
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1830
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Dinner
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Welcome
Dinner |
Dinner
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The 2016 Mini-School of Peace
Last Updated (Thursday, 08 September 2016 17:20)
Pray and Act for the Peace of Humanity
From August 8 to 22, a group of 11 Asian youths met in the Metta Karuna Center in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for a two-week Mini-School of Peace. The participants were selected by ICF’s two project holders, CCA and APAY, with the aim of promoting more cooperation between local YMCAs and churches and the ICF national forums. The participants came from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. Eight of the participants represented the YMCAs of these countries. They were Phongnarin Suwanma and Thon Layraman from Thailand, Bappu Mree from Bangladesh, Khon Mai from Myanmar, Alva da Silva from Timor-Leste, Hong Nay Ang from Cambodia, Puansari Meilina Siregar from Indonesia and Eleazar Blando from the Philippines.
Resourcing for this Mini-SOP was provided by Hem Sopharak, Bruce Van Voorhis and
Max Ediger. Along with participatory sessions on identity; faith, religion and spirituality;
dialogue and engagement; conflict, violence and war; and involving Socratic circles, the group also visited the nearby War Museum and attended the Phare Circus.
Joining the opening ceremony, Nam Boo Won, APAY General Secretary, shared words of encouragement with the participants. Duncan Chowdhury, Executive Secretary of APAY, attended the closing ceremony. All participants have now been introduced to the ICF national forums in their respective countries, and they will now be involved with their YMCAs in working with the ICF national forums in peace-building activities in their local context.
One of the YMCA participants, Puansari Meilina Siregar, a youth representing Jakarta YMCA, has shared with us her experience, which we append below.
Pray for the peace of humanity, pray for the peace of humanity
Pray for the peace of humanity, humanity shall live in peace
This song was often sung by the 11 participants representing the YMCA and CCA who came from seven countries of the Asia-Pacific region at the Mini-School of Peace, or Mini-SOP, from August 8 to 22, 2016. The song has become the essence of the 2016 Mini-SOP, which aimed to promote justice and peace for all humankind.
34th Advanced Studies Programme
Last Updated (Monday, 18 July 2016 16:06)
34th Advanced Studies Programme
8 November – 3 December 2016
(Day of arrival 7 Nov and Day of Departure 4 December 2016)
Asia & Pacific University YMCA Regional Conference
Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 08:00)
APAY NGS' Conference, Yangon, Myanmar
Last Updated (Friday, 06 May 2016 18:12)
National General Secretaries’ Conference 2016
“Sharing a Common Vision, Building Sustainable Communities”
12-16 July 2016, Yangon, Myanmar.
(Arrival on 12 July and Departure on 16 July)
Introduction
The process of developing the Quadrennial Program Plan (QPP) of APAY had been initiated at the APAY Leaders Quadrennial Roundtable held in Chiangmai, Thailand, last December. We are thankful that our NGSs who had actively participated at the LQR and provided us with their invaluable inputs to develop the Quadrennial Program Plan of APAY. We are pleased to inform that the Quadrennial Program Plan had been finalized and adopted at the Executive Committee Meeting of APAY held in March 2016.
Now in the initial stage of implementing the QPP, it has been felt that the National General Secretaries of Asia-Pacific should meet once again in order to get themselves acquainted with the final APAY Quadrennial Program Plan, orient themselves with the new program areas of APAY, discuss and explore how to co-work with APAY in implementing the QPP, as well as how these program areas could be effectively integrated and intersected in their national/local programs.
The theme of the conference has been chosen as “Sharing a Common Vision, Building Sustainable Communities”. The APAY strives to unite the movements of YMCAs in the Asia-Pacific, working towards materializing a common vision for building sustainable communities where just-peace prevails based on the teachings of Christ. A community where people do not live under the threat of violence, poverty, environmental devastation, natural and man-made disasters, pandemics and with respect for all irrespective of caste, creed, religion, gender and ethnicity.
This conference would also be a place for sharing issues and challenges which the national movements are facing and look for avenues to overcome those. Considering these matters, APAY have decided to hold the National General Secretaries’ Conference during 12-16 July 2016 (inclusive of days of arrival and departure) at Yangon, Myanmar, with the following objectives:
- To discuss and familiarize with the Quadrennial Program Plan of APAY.
- To understand the local and national issues that the national movements are facing and explore possible solutions.
- To familiarize with the APAY Youth Empowerment Programs and explore active participation in the youth empowerment programs.
- To learn about the Social and Solidarity Economy and its implications in creating job opportunities for the youths in the YMCAs.
- To learn about governance issues in the YMCAs and how to uplift the standard of governance in the YMCAs
Read more...
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