An Ecumenical Prayer Service at the Church of Christ - Jebel Ali, Beside the COP28 Activities in Dubai
The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: The environmental burden has become immense!
The Church of Christ must intervene to curb the deterioration, deter the saboteurs from continuing in their wrongdoing, preserve and protect what remains of creation for us
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At the invitation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and besides the convening of the COP28 activities, Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, held by the United Nations in Dubai, an Ecumenical Prayer Service related to the “Season of Creation” was held on Saturday 2 December 2023, in the Anglican Church of Christ, in Jebel Ali - Dubai. The Service emphasizes the importance of uniting together in Prayer and work to preserve the creation and our common home.
The Prayer which you can watch it in the video, was presided over by His Eminence Bishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, the Primate of the Episcopal Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and MECC Executive Committee Member. Participants were the WCC Secretary General Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Michel Abs, and the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar who led the Prayer. As well as, participants were a group of Heads of Churches and clergy from various Church Families, in addition to many Church organizations.
The Ecumenical Prayer Service included many meditations, readings, and hymns, during which His Eminence Bishop Hosam Naoum blessed the water and sprinkled the worshipers, who prayed with a humble heart to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speech of the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Prof. Dr. Michel Abs, under the title “Christian Praxis in Creation Care”
Then, the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Michel Abs delivered a speech entitled “Christian Praxis for Creation Care”, which you can watch it in the video. In his speech, he condemned the depth of the infiltration of pollution and the destruction it causes to creation in our modern society, and raised the alarm, saying that “The environmental burden has become immense!” Dr. Abs mentioned that “when we look at what is required from us to protect the Creator’s gift, we feel the challenge and the greatness of the mission towards the One who has entrusted us with it, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!”
He added, “What the Creator has placed in our charge is not land, rock, water, or air, which we commodify and pollute according to our interests, neglect, and whims, but rather elements of life. It is a symbol of the Creator’s love for us and His desire for us to live within it and by it, not to destroy it, leaving for future generations a waste dump to the size of the Earth.”
He continued, “The environmental situation in the world today calls for intervention that goes beyond science. It calls for divine intervention that awakens those steeped in environmental apathy. It reminds the creature as well of the importance of creation, and asks it what it has done… Here, the Church of Christ must intervene to curb the deterioration, deter the saboteurs from continuing in their wrongdoing, preserve and protect what remains of creation for us, and treat what can be treated.
The church’s capabilities and areas of intervention are many and varied, and, above all, it is armed with the values of the Incarnate Lord, his teachings and his behavior, based on love, love of others and love of creation.”
In this context, Dr. Abs emphasized the importance of the Church’s role towards the environmental issue and preserving creation and said, “What is required is to create a culture of protecting creation that becomes rooted in people's soul to the point that their thinking and reactions become directed towards protecting creation. The approach is based on awareness and advocacy, with the church being the role model.”
In his speech, Dr. Abs highlighted the environmental and theological awareness that MECC makes especially the Symposium on Climate Justice organized by the MECC Eco Justice Unit in partnership with the MECC affiliated Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), last October. At the end of his speech, Dr. Abs stressed the recommendations of this symposium, such as cooperation and coordination together on the environmental issue, changing our lifestyles, - Helping churches and working with them to go green, and other purposeful environmental recommendations...
Within this environmental context, it is worth noting that the COP28 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change is being held by the United Nations between 30 November 2023 and 12 December 2023. Its activities include presidential and official meetings, in addition to various environmental lectures and seminars from around the world.
