In the presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian
A delegation from Churches for Middle East Peace Visits the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut
With the Blessing and in the presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, a delegation from the international association “Churches for Middle East Peace”, which is concerned with peace issues and includes members from various Churches, visited the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in Beirut, on Wednesday 17 January 2024. The delegation was received by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, along with a team from MECC and the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), as well as guests from various fields.
Attendees were Mrs. Mae Elize Cannon, Reverend Dr. Martin Accad, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS), Reverend Linda Maktabi, Principal of Benevolent Lebanese Evangelical School for Special Education and Development, Dr. Alia Abboud, Chief Development officer at the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD), Mrs. Nadia Khoury, Director of Program Development at “Tahaddi” Association.
From the MECC and ATIME team, attendees were Father Nicolas Boutros, MECC Associate Secretary General, Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, MECC Associate Secretary General, Lawyer Mr. Ibrahim Traboulsi, Member of the MECC Executive Committee, Ms. Nina Hallak, Director of the Lebanon’ Office at the MECC Diakonia and Social Service Department, Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, MECC Eco-Justice Advisor, and Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, ATIME’s Executive Secretary.
During the meeting, discussion revolved around the latest developments in the events taking place in the Middle East, including wars and conflicts, as well as the difficult circumstances the region is passing through on various humanitarian, economic, health and political levels... Attendees also highlighted the suffering of the people of the region as a result of the worsening living conditions, as well as their urgent needs.
In addition, the attendees exchanged ways of cooperation and coordination together to contribute to spreading peace and the values of brotherhood, dialogue and love, and also to support the neediest and most affected groups.
