Momentum, the Weekly Newsletter from the Middle East Council of Churches
In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the statement issued by MECC on creation care, on behalf of the Churches of the Middle East. MECC addressed it to the officials at the Conference of the Parties on climate change COP28 held by the United Nations in Dubai. In the statement, MECC calls for accelerated and radical changes based on the following principles: Global Long-Term Commitment, Just Climate Financing, Just Management of Resources, Simpler Lifestyles, Just Transitions, Church Commitment, and Church and Government Cooperation.
As for the message of the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled this week “Christian Praxis in Creation Care”. It is the speech he delivered during the Ecumenical Prayer service that was held at the invitation of the World Council of Churches (MECC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on Saturday 2 December 2023, at the Anglican Church of Christ in the Jebel Ali region - Dubai. The Prayer took place in parallel with the activities of the COP28 Conference of the Parties.
The issue also includes details about the Ecumenical Payer Service held at the Church of Christ in Jebel Ali, as well as a news about the participation of the MECC Secretary General Prof. Dr. Michel Abs and the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar in seminars as part of the COP28 activities.
As well as, the issue presents an article in Arabic by Reverend Refaat Fikry Saaid, the MECC Associate Secretary General, entitled “The Middle East Council of Churches and the Palestinian Cause”, in which he highlighted the MECC work regarding the Palestinian cause, as well as he shed lights on the latest MECC Executive Committee meeting which was held in Beirut on 17 and 18 November 2023 and on its agenda that included the difficult circumstance that the Middle East is passing through especially the war in Palestine.
In this context, you can find a video report that presents a highlight of this meeting in addition to some interviews with the participants in the meeting, members of the MECC Executive Committee, who stressed the necessity of concerted efforts to work to bring peace to the Middle East, which suffers from the scourge of war and its devastating repercussions, emphasizing the role of the church in times of distress.
Moreover, the issue includes details about the MECC monthly webinar which was held under the title “Street Children and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 30 November 2023, with the participation of specialists, academicians, universities’ students and interested attendees in the topic at hand. Noting that this webinar comes within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively. The webinar, which included three interventions, started with a word by its moderator Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, and was followed by a speech by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs.
As part of the United Nations Campaign “UNITE to End Violence against Women”, which extends during 16 days, you can find a video which includes interventions from some beneficiaries of the services provided by the “Our Lady Dispensary” in Beirut, and affiliated with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). They all emphasized the necessity of facing the violence against women, preserving human dignity, and the importance of men’s role in protecting the family and contributing to building better societies.
Furthermore, the issue presents details and photos about the Ecumenical sports day organized by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), with the participation of students from Theological institutes in Egypt, under the title “So that they may be one,” based on the Priestly Prayer of Jesus: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17: 11). This sports day took place on Saturday 25 November 2023, and was hosted by the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi, headed by Father Bishoy Rasmi, Dean of the Seminary.
In addition, MECC releases the Arabic version of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” booklet 2024, under the title “You shall love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27), after it was translated into Arabic by the Council, as every year.
You can also find the 2022 Annual Report of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) entitled “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 14: 27), in addition to Ecumenical reports, the weekly Prayer, videos, and news of the Middle Eastern Churches. As well as a socio-economic overview of the Middle East during September 2023 and the latest updates of the Coronavirus in the region.