Towards the Meeting of the Ecumenical Partners

Professor Michel Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

Next week in Rabweh, the semi-annual meeting of the Middle East Council of Churches’ (MECC) partners within the global ecumenical family will convene.

This gathering will bring together many of MECC’s international partners, churches and church-related institutions active in development, dialogue, education, environment, and other areas vital to modern human life. These institutions, arriving from across the world, are in full partnership within the global ecumenical movement, which continues to expand and now encompasses hundreds of churches and organizations, representing hundreds of millions of Christians who have chosen ecumenism as a way of faith and interaction with one another and with society.

The MECC, with its fifty years of rooted experience, holds a notable and distinctive presence in this ecumenical family, engaged in global solidarity with humanity’s struggles and burdens.

At the head of this structure is the World Council of Churches (WCC), which unites churches that embrace ecumenism as a means of bringing believers together. Since its foundation, the WCC has advanced a pilgrimage of justice and peace, its guiding strategic values. Closely linked to it is ACT Alliance, which brings together the development agencies of ecumenical churches, providing technical and financial support for humanistic projects. The link between the two is organic, both dedicated to supporting just causes worldwide.

On the regional level, each area has its own ecumenical council: Africa, Asia, the United States, Latin America, and, in the Middle East, the MECC, which unites the region’s churches in ecumenical and societal engagement.

This international ecumenical family shares principles, orientations, and methods in line with the WCC and ACT Alliance. Ecumenical culture has spread worldwide and continues to evolve, with today’s discussions even highlighting the idea of a “neo ecumenism,” a promising and growing field of thought and practice.

The MECC’s relationship with its partners is longstanding and built on mutual trust, credibility, effective performance, and transparent implementation. More importantly, it is nourished by sustained and sincere dialogue on Middle Eastern and global issues. Over time, this shared history has cultivated a common culture and solid cohesion, so much so that the MECC and its partners often function as one body, spreading shared values and responding to the material and moral needs of the present, whether by supporting projects or addressing chronic and emerging challenges.

Next week’s meeting will serve as a platform for renewed interaction and vision, with political, religious, and cultural leaders from both the Middle East and abroad. It will be an intellectual forum to discuss regional concerns, MECC’s programs, and the sustainability of its work.

Once again, the partners’ gathering will demonstrate that the vine planted by the Lord in His incarnation remains alive, stretching its branches across the world, healing wounds both physical and spiritual, and offering renewed hope to humankind.

“Lord, grant us to use well the talents You have entrusted to us!”