Asian Lay Leaders Forum (ALL Forum) 2025

As part of the forum, participants spend three days with local people

17 August 2025

In the morning, eight of us drive to an indigenous village about 64 km outside of Yogyakarta. The last few kilometres are quite a bumpy ride. There are 40 adults and 53 children living here.

We are greeted by two village elders and several men. Many women also come to greet us and shake our hands, but there are only men in the meeting room. The two elders explain the village community in Indonesian; an Indonesian translates into English. Afterwards, there is a communal lunch, which has been cooked by the women. The women do not take part in the communal meal, but they enter the common room afterwards and also take part in the conversation.

There are no tables or chairs. Everything takes place on the floor. Cooking is also done on the floor, over an open fire. We get to pound rice. There is a longer break after the meal. We talk to the women and children.

The children are curious and sociable. Before long, two girls around twelve years old begin to dance, with music playing from a smartphone while the other children chuckle and laugh.

Towards evening there is another round of discussion, followed by a short liturgy and then dinner. After dinner, there is a general round of introductions in which the women also take part.

After the introductions, we head out onto the covered terrace, where a relaxed conversation quickly develops. Someone suggests that the guests should sing. The participants from Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia can really sing. In the case of a few songs that are obviously well-known, everyone sings along. The mood is exuberant. You don’t need language to communicate!

The people here believe in a creator God who created the world and its people. They practice monogamy and divorce is possible. Many of them work on a farm outside the village. They also depend on goats and chickens to help meet their needs.

We spend the night in the village in a separate room that a family has obviously temporarily vacated for us. The sanitary facilities are very basic, and we sleep on mattresses on the floor.

18 August 2025

When I wake up in the morning, the children and the woman of the house are walking through our bedroom as if we aren’t even there. After breakfast, they move at a leisurely pace – why rush? Suddenly, an army officer appears with an escort. He wants to see our passports. We are confused at first, then gradually amused. The army officer seems to have plenty of time. He accepts a cup of tea and has a long chat with one of the elders while smoking. Finally, we also sit down with them and listen to various stories from the officer about the small border traffic between Malaysia and Indonesia on Kalimantan (formerly Borneo), where he was stationed for several years.

Afterwards, the village elder apologises to us repeatedly, saying this has never happened before. He probably assumes that we might have been confused or even intimidated by the unannounced visit. But the answer to our question about the reason for the visit is somewhat vague. Ultimately, it seems that the army is quite interested in who comes to the indigenous village and what ideas they bring with them.

We play the card game Uno or volleyball with the children. In the kitchen, we are allowed to help prepare a typical local grain-based dish.

There are brief rain showers, as it is the rainy season.

I have a long chat with Doo, a participant who comes from Laos and was a Buddhist monk for eight years. He tells me about the ascetic lifestyle of Buddhist monks (waking at 5 a.m. in summer and 2 a.m. in winter). During their training, the monks have to memorize a great deal and even walk 1,000 km barefoot at one point. The day is very structured, similar to in a Cistercian monastery.

In the afternoon people drink tea, smoke and talk. Many of the men smoke, but none of the women do. I don’t see a television screen or antenna in the village, but there is electricity. Running water is only available from a tap in the toilet, which also serves as the bathroom. Water comes from plastic bottles or is collected from the rain; otherwise, no plastic packaging is visible.

All the food is freshly prepared from rice and what is grown in the village. Bananas and peanuts are always included, and sometimes chicken. I haven’t seen a refrigerator

My questions about village organisation, property ownership and children’s school attendance are only partially answered, which may be because I ask my question to an Indonesian participant, who translates it and then translates the answer back for me. In any case, there is private property: the houses belong to individual families, but the families have to contribute to communal tasks.

At mealtimes, the separation is not as strict as it was the previous day. Women and children are present at lunch. During dinner, the women initially stay outside but then come in and mingle with us.

After dinner, our hosts sing religious songs from their songbook (stapled together from photocopies). An Indonesian explains the meaning of the songs to us. A song is usually sung by a lead singer, sometimes alternating with the entire congregation. There are also songs interspersed with short spoken verses. Words of thanks are then exchanged. Our hosts apologise for the modest conditions here, for the embarrassing visit by the military, and thank us for coming. We also express our thanks at length. The exchanges of thanks, answers, and questions take about an hour, but the mood in the room remains relaxed.

19 August 2025

Life in the village moves at a leisurely pace. The women are in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Two or three people could manage it on their own, but efficiency is not a priority here. What else should the other women do during this time? This also has to do with communication. The kitchen is a communal kitchen where food is cooked for the entire village. However, not everyone always eats together. The families usually take the food into their own homes. Our visit is clearly an exception, as many men, women and children eat together with us.

The men sit on the terrace, drinking tea and smoking; some chat, while others remain silent. The Indonesian participants speak with them from time to time.

Then comes the farewell. Our hosts are in tears. Women and men hug us and give us food to last at least two days. Photos are taken in different group combinations. Then it rains again. We get into the car and leave.

 16 August to 26 August 2025, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

I took part in this forum, held every August for young people aged 20 to 30 from Southeast Asia, as a representative of We are Church. The roughly 50 participants (apart from myself and the other speakers) were from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia. Among speakers there were one from Bangladesh and another from India.

The participants were predominantly Catholics, but there were also four Muslims and two Buddhists, who not only attended the thematic sessions, but also actively engaged in all the church services and devotionals. In Southeast Asia – a region where many religions have coexisted for centuries – interfaith dialogue often occurs in an informal way. This goes hand in hand with the fact that personal expressions of Catholic devotion are more visible and pronounced than what is typically seen in Germany.

The forum was divided into three parts. The first three days were referred to as “Exposure/Immersion”: The participants were divided into five groups: one group lived with indigenous people in a village in the hinterland, another with a community of transwomen who also run their own school, another took part in an environmental project (converting plastic waste into fuel), another visited an ecological farm and the last engaged with an educational institution in a slum district. The second and third parts consisted of workshops and presentations, respectively.

A celebration of the Eucharist took place at the beginning of the event, on Sunday and on the last day. There was a 15-minute liturgy each morning.

I myself was assigned to the “Exposure/Immersion” part of the group which spent three days in an indigenous village about 64 km outside of Yogyakarta. The village, home to 40 adults and 53 children, practices a natural religion that believes in a creator God who created the earth and the first people. They live in very modest conditions. The village community plays an important role. Although meals are prepared for all families together, they are not always eaten together. There is electricity, but no running water. They have extensive contact with the surrounding area. Some villagers have a motorcycle, practically everyone has a smartphone (which the children also play with), and some work outside the village. I did not see a television in the village.

We received a warm and friendly welcome. We experienced three very intense days in which we discussed religion and prayed and sang together. These three days made a profound impression on me and the other seven participants in my group. The villagers felt the same way, and they didn’t want us to leave.

After returning to the conference centre, all five groups reported on their experiences from the “Exposure/Immersion”. The reports from the other groups were also very interesting. The reports clearly reflected the breadth of personal experiences the participants had, providing insight into the lives of marginalised groups and the sense of connection they developed.

The workshop phase consisted of a total of three full-day workshops on the topics of (1) Neoliberalism and its consequences for the people of Asia as well as statements by Pope Francis on a humane world and economic order, (2) Reality check of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, especially poverty reduction, justice and peace. What is the real impact of the SDGs in Asia? And (3) How are Catholics in Indonesia and in Asia, including Catholic youth, working together with other religions and civil society in Asia with the goal of creating a better world? The three workshops were conducted by a lecturer from Indonesia, a professor from South Korea and a Jesuit priest from Indonesia. They were based on Catholic Social Teaching (See, Judge, Act) and were thoughtfully designed for effective learning.

It was evident from the workshops that the 40 participants were well-educated individuals with strong religious ties and a deep commitment to both the church and civil society, and that they participated actively and with confidence. Even though none of them were native English speakers, most participants were able to follow the English-language event with ease and contribute actively and spontaneously. Those who could not speak English as well were not afraid to speak, making use of Google Translate to express themselves.

The topics of the presentations in the third part of the ALL Forum were of a political and theological nature. One focussed on the consequences of the elections in India for followers of other religions, especially Muslims and Christians. Another topic was the conflict between the Philippine government and Muslims as well as the position of the church in this regard and its role in the Philippine peace process. A more general presentation addressed interfaith dialogue and its significance in relation to anthropocentrism and the distinction between the sacred and the secular. There was a very detailed report on the 2019 Easter church bombings in Sri Lanka and the successful, years-long peace process that followed, driven by the non-violent engagement of churches students and other civil society organisations. The current development in Bangladesh, in particular the role of student protests and the position of the church, was another topic. A theologically and practically oriented lecture explored how Pope Francis’s legacy might influence the future development of Asian Catholic lay movements. As a guest speaker, I myself reported on the current status of the Synod and its continuation confirmed by Pope Leo XIV, including the tasks and challenges for bishops and Christians in their dioceses. Two female Muslim lecturers from Jakarta reported on the Muslim women’s movement and its cooperation with other religions and civil groups.

In parts 2 and 3 of the ALL Forum at the conference centre, participants from the individual countries gave one-hour country reports on current political and social developments, as well as on the state of the church, in their respective country.

In my opinion, the yearly ALL Forum is a great and unique event that brings together young people from all over Southeast Asia with different religious beliefs and enables them to engage in deep and meaningful dialogue. The numerous questions about the individual presentations and country reports showed how strong the interest was in the other countries and religions. There were also many questions about my presentation – not only in the Q&A round, but also afterwards in smaller groups. It became apparent that few people in Southeast Asia are familiar with the Synod. The participants were amazed by the state-church law situation in Germany and had many detailed questions about it. There was also great interest in the significance of the resolutions of the Synodal Path for work at parish level.

Summary of the conference

We Are Church has been sending a delegate to the Asian Youth Academy (AYA) and Asian Theology Forum (ATF) since 2013 (Didier van Houtte; Jean Pierre Schmitz; Martha Heizer and myself). It is organised by the Asian Lay Leaders (ALL) Forum which is managed by Paul Hwang. ALL invites young leaders (aged 25 – 35) from 12 – 15 different Asian countries to spend 10 days together learning about each others countries especially regarding Indigenous Peoples (IP), the environment, climate change, community building, cultures and faith development. In 2019 the meeting was in ChiangMai in Thailand, based in the CLUMP Centre in Doi Thong.

The program started with a Welcoming Ceremony lead by tribal chiefs. We were divided into 5 groups to visit and live in small remote villages of the Karen people. My group was based in Mae Aeb, a village of 150 people, 7 km off the main road along a bumpy twisting road. We tried planting rice, which was a wonderful experience to remove socks and shoes and squelch in the muddy water. We visited the weaving operations and had a long Question & Answer session with the village chief via interpreters and facilitators as the Karen people have their own language, which is very different to the Thai language; we had meals in our host families who looked after their guests first before eating themselves. We helped the village repair their access road with stone chippings, which we helped distribute to fill in holes and repair the road. Our village has now got many links with the outside world; 30 years ago they were totally agriculture based and self sufficient; today many of the young work in the city; and today the village has several pick up trucks, motor bikes, water & electricity supply, Satellite TV and mobile phone network coverage. They are mostly Catholic with a good number of Buddhists who cooperate well together.