Asia Sunday is celebrated annually on the closest Sunday to 20th May, it commemorates the founding of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). This year the theme is Hope for Redemption of Groaning Creation Amidst Bondage to Decay.

As Asia is currently confronting an intense convergence of social, economic, political, environmental, and spiritual crises that profoundly shape the lives of its people, the theme of this year’s Asia Sunday is both relevant and contextual.

Ongoing conflicts and violence, political and economic instability, rising unemployment, unchecked militarisation, environmental degradation, cultural fragmentation, inadequate healthcare systems, and the far-reaching impacts of rapid technological advancement continue to shape the region’s realities. In this context, the theme of this year’s Asia Sunday, focusing on “the groaning of creation” based on the biblical metaphor in Romans 8:22, illustrates the agonising condition and suffering of decay and bondage, but this suffering is purposeful like the pain of childbirth, ultimately leading to new life.

Amidst the accelerating crisis of environmental degradation and climate change, which poses a grave threat not only to human life but to the whole of creation, Dr Chunakara further stated, “The hope of redemption encourages believers to reflect on and understand the current state of degeneration in different areas, including environmental decay and personal suffering. Such conditions need not be considered as final or hopeless, but rather as a transitional phase towards an absolute, divine renewal and revitalisation of the entire cosmos. It is viewed as the culmination of God's redemptive plan. The theme of this year’s Asia Sunday focuses on some of these pressing realities and challenges.