About AMCU IV (1)

FOURTH SEMINAR OF THE ASIAN MOVEMENT FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
(AMCU IV)
11 to 14 June 2007
Kuala Lumpur
Theme: "Our Common Witness in Contemporary Asia"

Priceless experience!

I felt utterly privileged to be part of this three-day event at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre in Kuala Lumpur and truly, it was an eye-opener for me in every aspect! Like this guy who happened to be at this event, I will be posting up several blog entries containing the background information of this movement, official statements from this event and my own observations and reflections.

BACKGROUND OF AMCU
(Editor's note: The following information is blatantly taken from Sherman's blog)

The beginning of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU) can be traced to 1993 when the two Christian bodies in Asia – the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) – decided to set up the Asian Ecumenical Committee (AEC) to carry out joint programs, foster ecumenical relations at the national and local levels, and conscientize Christians of all churches to the importance of making visible the unity in Christ that already exists. Both bodies approved the setting up of such a committee at their respective assemblies in 1995 (FABC Plenary Assembly in Manila and CCA General Assembly in Colombo). The AEC therefore became a structure for implementing proposals to share information, cooperate on social issues and provide ecumenical formation.

In 1994, AMCU was conceived by the two bodies with the goal of promoting Christian unity by bringing together leaders, theologians, and ecumenical officers of the churches to study problems connected with Christian unity and to find ways to promote unity, at local, national and continental levels among Christ’s disciples in Asia.

The first AMCU seminar was held in 1996 in Hong Kong on the theme, “Making Visible Our Unity in Christ.” This was aimed at studying the theology of ecumenism, sharing vision of Christian unity, and building on what unites while overcoming what divides – all from their respective perspectives. That consultation led to a common search for practical ways to work for Christian unity in Asia and to planning a wide range of programs aimed at fostering Christian unity.

As part of their reflections on ecumenism, they have identified some obstacles to Christian unity in Asia, i.e. a long history of mutual indifference, prejudice, hostility, inadequate understanding of ecumenism, failure of the ecumenical movement to reach the grassroots, lack of structures to carry out initiatives, and unresolved doctrinal, moral and disciplinary issues.

The second AMCU seminar was held in Bali, Indonesia in 1998 with focus on “Ecumenical Teams and Ecumenical Formation.” It was aimed at preparing ecumenical teams who would give ecumenical formation course at local and national levels.

The third AMCU seminar was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2001 on the theme, “Giving Shape to a New Ecumenical Vision.” The theme echoed the desire of both bodies to enter into a process of prayer and discussion to explore the possibilities of new ecumenical structures and associations for promoting Christian unity.

The fourth AMCU seminar has just been concluded on 14 June 2007. The long gap between the third seminar and the fourth seminar is mainly due to the holding of the General and Plenary Assemblies of CCA and FABC, respectively, in 2005. Nevertheless, through these years, both CCA and FABC bodies have nurtured their relationship of cooperation by jointly holding some programs or through reciprocal invitations to their own programs.

Even as the two bodies, CCA and FABC, continue to work on their visible unity in Christ that they affirm, they have also been concerned about other Christian bodies with whom they do not have formal relations as yet. CCA and FABC have on their own made attempts to reach out to Evangelical and Pentecostal churches in Asia.

The Global Christian Forum (GCF) that was held in Hong Kong in May 2004 was one avenue in which representatives of member churches from CCA and FABC as well as Evangelical and Pentecostal churches met together. In that gathering, the three regional bodies (CCA, FABC and the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia or EFA) were given the responsibility of doing a follow-up in the region. Thus, the GCF in Asia was held in September 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand on the theme, “Affirming Our One Savior in Common Witness,” bringing together representatives from the three bodies.

One of the results of the GCF in Asia was for AMCU IV to be opened to EFA. Hence, this was an interesting development that the fourth seminar of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity had included Evangelical and Pentecostal churches under the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia.

The theme “Our Common Witness in Contemporary Asia” echoed the theme of the GCF in Asia (“Affirming Our One Savior in Common Witness”) while being conscious of our grounding in our regional context in Asia where we are called to witness to our one Saviour. Our context presents to us challenging realities in socio-economic, religious-spiritual and political-cultural dimensions. All these call for our response as Christians in Asia.

AMCU IV was well-represented. The meeting consisted of some 25 people. Representing the FABC were bishops, archbishops and Jesuit priests. Representing the CCA were their fulltime officials, an Oriental Orthodox monk and an Oriental Orthodox celibate priest, as well as academic theologians (this lucky guy managed to find his way in as well). Representing the EFA were just two of their officials, but it was a good start indeed.