The Middle East Council of Churches is a regional ecumenical organization, which brings together churches in the East for a common Christian witness in a region where Christ was born, lived, died and resurrected.
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
In this Easter we lift our Hope through the Resurrection of Jesus. May we join Together in an Ecumenical Modesty to preach The transforming Love of Christ to the world
A Conference Organized by the Department of History in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the Lebanese University and the Lebanese Historical Society
The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Attends One of Its Sessions
The Department of History in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the Lebanese University (Second Branch) and the Lebanese Historical Society held the annual conference under the title “Famine in Lebanon During World War I (1914 - 1918): A Study of Origins and Primary Sources”. It took place on Thursday 16 and Wednesday 17 April 2024, in Dr. Youssef Farhat Hall - Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences - The Lebanese University – Al Fanar.
Attendees were Deans and Professors from the Lebanese University and other Universities, writers and intellectuals, Religious, political and social figures, and guests. As well as, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs attended one of its sessions.
During the debate, Dr. Abs presented an intervention in which he praised the conference and the importance of its topic, and informed the attendees and participants that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) classifies the famine in Lebanon under the category of wars of genocide and ethnic cleansing. He also informed them that MECC is organizing a series of seminars on massacres and genocidal wars in the region, including the events that befell the Armenians, Syriacs, Kurds, Alawites, and Yazidis. Hence, Dr. Abs invited the Department of History at the Lebanese University and the Lebanese Historical Society to cooperate in this field.
Dr. Michel E. Abs
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
Next week, we in the Levant will commemorate two painful occasions, though they differ in historical context and magnitude.
The first occasion, which falls on the 22nd of April, marks the day of the abduction of the Archbishops of Aleppo, Archbishop Boulos Yazigi and Archbishop Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim. They were captured in the Mansoura area, west of Aleppo, while returning from the Turkish border. Nothing has been known about them since that day, and they have been missing for eleven years.
The second occasion, which falls on the 24th of April, is the beginning of the massacres against the Armenian people. These took place in the northeast of Antioch, Cilicia, as well as in the rest of Anatolia, where the Armenian presence in those regions was almost completely eliminated. These massacres occurred eleven decades ago.
In both cases, the saying circulating in the literature of political and social sciences applies: “Killing a man in a forest is an unforgivable crime, but killing a peaceful people is a matter of consideration?”
“Wars, Abduction, Absence, and Ways to Reduce Harm”
Thursday 25 April 2024 - 7 pm Beirut time
On the commemoration of the day of the kidnapping of the two Archbishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Boulos Yaziji and Metropolitan Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim, and on the commemoration of the "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented", which the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) had launched and designated on 22 April of each year, MECC invites you to participate in its monthly webinar, entitled “Wars, Abduction, Absence, and Ways to Reduce Harm”, on Thursday 25 April 2024 – 7 pm Beirut Time.
You can participate in the webinar via the following Zoom link https://www.tinyurl.com/2wbyvvyr, and live on the MECC Facebook Page.
Within the framework of strengthening the Ecumenical relations between the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and its partners, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs held an online meeting with the ACT Alliance Regional Representative – MENA, Mrs. Rachel Luce, on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.
During the meeting, Dr. Abs and Mrs. Luce discussed ways to enhance cooperation between both parties, in addition to the future of joint projects in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and Egypt, as well as the programs planned to be implemented in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine.
Dr. Abs and Mrs. Luce also talked about various other topics, especially the establishment of the ACT Alliance Forum in Jordan. Hence Mrs. Luce invited Dr. Abbas to attend the ACT Middle East meeting that will be held soon in Amman.
Our role in this time of conflicts and wars must be taken very seriously as to how we can become instruments of goodwill and peace
Within the activities of the Fiftieth Year of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Founding, the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay, visited Lebanon during last March, in solidarity with the Lebanese and Eastern people amidst the difficult security, social, economic and health conditions that the region is witnessing, as well as in order to Pray with the Church Families and listen to their challenges and aspirations.
As part of this visit, the team of the MECC Communication and Public Relations Department made an exclusive interview with Reverend Dr. Pillay. The interview focused on several issues related to the path of Christian unity, the challenges of Ecumenical work, and consolidating the Christian presence in the region, in addition to various Theological and Ecumenical topics.
In view of the emerging conditions, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) announces the postponement of the workshop that its Diakonia and Social Service Department, was going to implement in cooperation with the TearFund organization, on Churches in Disasters, during this month in Lebanon, to a date to be determined later.
Noting that the workshop aims to empower participants and develop their capabilities in order to support them in responding in times of crises. The workshop also aims at providing the participants with skills that will enable them in turn to train members of their congregations, so they can all help the Church heal the wounds of the most affected people in times of disasters, on various humanitarian, social, health and psychological levels.
Under the Auspices of the University’s President Professor Father Salim Daccache
With the aim of helping students to learn about the labor market, the Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut organized a job fair, in which the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) participated, on Thursday 18 April 2024, at the Campus of the University’s Faculty of Humanities - Museum, Beirut.
The job fair provided a space for students to learn about the various types of institutions and organizations, as well as their work and tasks, where they were able to search for job opportunities that may suit their specializations and professional future.
During the job fair, the MECC Senior Human Resources Officer Roula Saliba, and the MECC Media and Communication Officer Elia Nasrallah, presented to the students an overview of the Middle East Council of Churches’ work and the programs it implements at the various Ecumenical, Theological, and humanitarian levels, in addition to the activities it is doing on the occasion of the Fiftieth Year of its Founding.
As well as, Professor Father Salim Daccache, President of the Saint Joseph University (USJ), visited the Middle East Council of Churches’ stand at the job fair and was briefed on its updates, praising the tasks it is accomplishing.