The Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Delivers a Lecture at the Orthodox Club - Amman:

“Ecumenism is intertwined with the broader issues that Christianity faces in the world, which are the topic of dialogue, controversy, and even conflict and disagreement”

Within the framework of his tour in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to inaugurate a new office for the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and with the blessing and presence of His Excellency Archbishop Christoforos Atallah, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Jordan, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs visited the Orthodox Club in Amman, on Monday 3 June 2024, where he delivered a lecture entitled “MECC in Its Fiftieth Year, Its reality, Future Vision, and the Challenges of the Next Phase.”

Dr. Abs was accompanied by the Director of the MECC new office in Jordan Father Ignatius Khalifeh, and the MECC Financial Director Mrs. Laudy Al Khoury. The lecture was also attended by the Heads of Churches in Jordan or their delegates, members of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Father Rifaat Bader, the Head of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media and Publisher of Abouna Website, and Dr. Aude Kawas, as well as a large audience of intellectuals and Orthodox elites in Jordan.

On the Occasion of the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide

And as part of the Activities of the Fiftieth Year of Its Founding

MECC Organizes a Conference About the Armenian Genocide

 “Keeping Memory Alive”, Delivered by the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs

On the Occasion of the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, as part of the activities of the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and with the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, MECC held a conference entitled “Keeping Memory Alive”, about the Armenian Genocide, presented by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs. It took place on Monday 22 April 2024, at the Theatre of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon.

Attendees in this conference which you can watch by clicking here, were His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, represented by Father Sarkis Abrahamian, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, represented by His Eminence Monsignor Antonio Wakim, representatives from various Church families, their Eminences Bishops, Pastors and Priests, Nuns from the Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui, Seminary students, the President of the Syriac League in Lebanon Mr. Habib Afram, legal and social figures, guests, media, and the MECC family. The event, was presented by the journalist Lea Adel Maamary.

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” was ended in Lebanon in an Ecumenical Prayer Service held on Sunday 28 January 2024, hosted by the All Saints Evangelical Episcopal Anglican Church, in Beirut. It was part of the celebrations which were organized in Lebanon by the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations at the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, in partnership with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). Hence, the video includes a highlight about this Prayer, as well as some interviews.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Fiftieth Year of the MECC Founding

On LBCI TV Channel

The media coverage for the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024” continues, as the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Member of the Ecumenical Choir in this musical event Mrs. Sonia Samarani, were the guests of the journalist Maya Abou Al Hosn, in an episode within the “Morning Talk” program broadcasted on LBCI TV Channel, on Sunday 14 January 2024.

On Charity Radio TV

The Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Lebanese Monk, Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, was the guest of the journalist Zouhour Abou Mansour, in an episode within “Hawana Hawak” program, which was broadcasted on Charity Radio TV, on Friday 12 January 2024.

During the episode, which you can watch it in the video, Father Dr. Antoine highlighted the Ecumenical musical event “Beirut 2024”, that will be held on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches. Noting that this event will take place on Saturday 20 January 2024, at the Forum de Beirut. As well as, Al Ahmar talked about the launching of the event’s idea, its goals, and the most important segments which will be included in its program, that will be presented by an Ecumenical choir.

A Poem Shared in Honor of the Voiceless people of Gaza During the Churches for Middle East Peace Christmas Ceasefire Service

GAZA

Kathryn Habib

Does anyone hear me?

Does anyone hear me

as I lie here

buried

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Communication and Public Relations Department, 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.

As for the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled this week “Violence against children and crime against childhood are scourges that are out of control”, and it is for the occasion of the International Week of Science and Peace determined by the United Nations to be celebrated yearly between 9 and 15 November. In his word, Dr. Abs said that building trust between science and people is necessary, but countries, universities, research centers and laboratories must prove to us that people can trust what is being produced behind closed doors.

In Gaza and the Repercussions of the Bombing that Occurred on the Church of Saint Porphyrios

With the deterioration of situations in Gaza, especially following the bombing of the Baptist Hospital and one of the buildings belonging to the Church of Saint Porphyrios, next to the church, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs was a guest on one of the news bulletins on “Al Jazeera” international English TV Channel, on Friday 20 October 2023.

Following the painful events taking place in Gaza, especially following the bombing of Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital and one of the buildings affiliated with the Church of Saint Porphyrios, and located next to the church, the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) called to a Prayer for Gaza, on Friday 20 October 2023.

Participants from the MECC headquarters in Beirut, the MECC General Secretariat’s team alongside the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs. As well as, colleagues working in the MECC Offices in the countries of the region also joined the Prayer online with also participants from different Ecclesial Families.

What Is the “Recycler Donation” Initiative of the Youth Pastoral Office in the Maronite Patriarchate, Bkerke?

Amidst the increasing environmental risks that humans are facing today, many youth groups are seeking to implement various initiatives in order to preserve the environment and care for creation. This is what included the Eco-exhibition that was organized on Wednesday 4 October 2023, at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik – Lebanon. The exhibition was part of the activities of “Ecumenical Perspectives on Climate Change” Symposium held by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in cooperation with the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME).

The “Recycler Donation” initiative, which is concerned with recycling, and affiliated with the Youth Pastoral Office in the Maronite Patriarchate, Bkerke - Lebanon, is one of these youth environmental initiatives, as it launched the “Waste Boat” project. What are the goals of this boat? And how can it contribute to reducing environmental pollution? Maria Abdel Masih, an activist in “Recycler Donation,” sheds light on this initiative.

Strengthening Hope Despite all Challenges

Amidst the difficult living crises that cast a shadow over Lebanon, many families struggle to make ends meet and secure a source of income that enables them to face the daily challenges which are surrounding them. In light of this bitter reality, children are negatively and greatly affected by the socioeconomic pressures that their parents have to pass through. Sometimes, children are unconsciously abandoned and develop poor coping strategies to deal with this reality.

In this context, the Department of Diakonia and Social Service Department at the Middle East Council of Churches, Lebanon’s Office, in cooperation with the international humanitarian organization Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), organized, during July, new psychosocial support sessions with the aim of helping children overcome the difficulties that they may face in their daily lives.

Report: July 2023

Introduction

The Middle East has been showing signs of economic improvement despite the economic slowdown everywhere else in the world. This has enticed regional and international players to delve deeper into the ME, using diplomatic, military, and economic means. Unfortunately, this has prompted tensions to rise across the region as world powers compete over who gets what. As such, the following question comes to mind: Will the ME be more divided as a result of the ambitions of global powers?

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, MECC presents in cooperation with the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Institute of Coptic Studies, a video in which Dr. Isaac Ibrahim Ajban, Dean of the Institute of Coptic Studies sheds light on the Holy Family's flight into the land of Egypt, stressing that it is a biblical fact, a historical fact, and an archaeological fact. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled “Hate Speech and Social Development”, in which he talked about the forms and spread of hate speech in our Levantine and Middle Eastern societies, in relation to the work of operating humanitarian agencies through programs and projects that they implement in various countries of the region.