In order to present the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department (TED) programs, Father Gaby Hachem, the department's director, and Sister Emilie Tannous, the program coordinator and director of the Ecumenical Program “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling”, have visited Syria from 21 to 23 November 2019. They met many bishops and church officials appointed to work in the dioceses of Damascus, Houran and As Suwayda.

An initial workshop organized by the UNHCR in Jordan

In preparation for the Global Refugee Forum, the UNHCR, in collaboration with its regional office in Amman, has organized a workshop entitled “The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Addressing Displacement in MENA” on 14 November in Jordan.

Once again, terrorism strikes, targeting innocent people, taking pure lives and injuring unarmed citizens in Qamishli. Once again, the Church pays a high price, as Hovsep Ibrahim Bedoyan, the Pastor of the Armenian Catholic community in the city, and his father, were killed while on their way from Al-Hasakeh to Deir el-Zor to inspect the restoration of the Armenian Catholic Church in the city.

Danmission’s Secretary General Kristian Petersen visited Dr. Souraya Bechealany, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches at the Council's headquarters in Beirut. Petersen was accompanied by Line Ramsdal who is the Regional Manager for the Middle East.

The Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East held its second regular meeting on the 18th and 19th of October 2019, hosted by the Great Coptic Catholic Patriarchal Seminary in Maadi, Cairo.

Within the framework of its WASH program, MECC rehabilitated 24 shops in Aleppo and Dara’a governorates,

MECC Policies and Communication Advisor Ziad El Sayegh interviewed in the Catholic Bishop's conference of England & Wales about the situation of the Christians in the Middle East.

The General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches issued the following statement:
In the meantime when Lebanon is inflamed by the pain and the sorrow of his people, we pray for the Lebanese human dignity and the stability of its society. We also pray that God will inspire the leaders, and the people to serve the common good.

The Middle East Council of Churches, represented by Ms. Karineh Sahakian, participated in the 39th Annual Meeting of the International Committee for the Fellowship of the Least Coin – ICFLC at the Center for the Evangelical Presbyterian Women Center in Abokopi -Accra, Ghana from 12th to 18th of October, 2019.

The training targeted 46 women; 21 women in Altal learned the basics of crocheting and making hand-crocheted accessories, while 25 women in Izra’a city learned the basics of crocheting and making handbags and baskets in different colors and sizes.

MECC launched a waste management campaign in Dara’a Al Balad and Ma’araba cities in Dara’a Governorate within it Cash for Work Program.

A call for peace in the scarred East region

The Middle East Council of Churches followed with deep sorrow and pain the martyrdom and wounding of hundreds of Iraqis last week, and is currently following with greater pain the Turkish attacks on northeastern Syria, which would potentially have serious repercussions on its territorial integrity, and thus exacerbate the humanitarian situation of refugees and displaced persons.

A delegation from the United States Presbyterian Evangelical Church- PCUSA, national leadership, visited the headquarters of the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut and met with a number of directors of departments and programs in the Council.

Christians of the Middle East are not minorities and don’t need protections

The MECC, represented by its Secretary General Dr. Souraya Bechealany, participated in the Warsaw Dialogue for Democracy which was held in Bologna on October 3, 2019, under the motto 'Freedom of Religion or Belief as a Pillar of Democracy”.

40 women from Aleppo and Dara’a governorates participated in a “Health Awareness Raising and Psychological Support” Training that was organized by MECC aiming at raising health awareness to as many persons as possible.

Report reveals the Extent of the Disaster

On the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (29th of September)

As a result of armed struggles and conflict, the beginning of the 21st century was branded as an era of forced migration. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes and belongings, in an attempt to escape the violence and merely rekindle hope for a brighter future. This led to unforeseen socioeconomic ramifications and pressures on host communities; a point which in no ways whatsoever should be blamed on those forced to displace.

The MECC Diakonia Department concluded workshops on social cohesion for 30 Lebanese and Syrian students, at a ceremony held in the MECC Center in Tripoli on Tuesday, September 17, 2019.

The MECC, represented by Secretary General Associate Michael Spiro, participated in the 33rd international meeting entitled "Peace with No Borders", convening in Madrid- Spain, from September 15 to 17, 2019.

The MECC team organized two summer schools for 400 primary school students affected by the Syrian crisis in Daraa al-Balad and Khirbet Ghazaleh of Daraa governorate.

“This is not an ordinary conference. One hundred years have elapsed since the Paris Peace Conference (1919), and yet we are in the midst of international crises that are not unlikely to lead to war-style conflicts. It is useful to recall the facts and decisions of the Paris Peace Conference (1919), which did not last more than twenty years before the outbreak of the Second World War (1939)”