Dialogue and Social Cohesion at MECC

Toward a New Application of Ecumenism

Professor Michel Abs

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

Since its founding, dialogue and social cohesion have shaped the identity, culture, and strategy of the Middle East Council of Churches and have determined the course of its work.

Dialogue is the very reason the MECC exists. By virtue of being an environment for dialogue and joint action among churches, it provides the framework that brings them closer together on multiple levels. In this way, it has played a role in enabling sound relationships among them, helping them accept one another despite differences in theology, liturgy, and national cultures.

Driven by concern for civil peace and social cohesion, based on an approach that welcomes and respects diversity, which is the foundation upon which ecumenism was built, the MECC becomes a setting for rapprochement among the different communities that make up our societies, and a space of reconciliation and closeness among the people of this region.

The dynamism of MECC’s work embraces all segments of society in our region. It is a principal partner in dialogue with them and among them, especially because it is transparent and sincere: it does not say one thing while concealing another, and it matches words with action. This stems from a social “doctrine” grounded in behavioral values by which it has worked, and which Christ Himself preached.

We can also affirm that MECC does not practice rapprochement and dialogue only at an elite level. Rather, it has succeeded in embodying this culture of dialogue at the grassroot level, among ordinary people, through its relief and development work without the slightest discrimination, starting from the suffering of the affected groups in our societies.

In light of these realities, it is not surprising that MECC was a key partner in founding the Islamic Christian National Dialogue Committee in Lebanon, or that it has been among the initiators of activities aimed at strengthening social cohesion through interaction and dialogue.

At the present stage, our work in dialogue and reconciliation falls under the following headings within a dedicated unit currently being established, concerned with dialogue and social cohesion, and with strengthening human dignity, the value system, and social capital:

1.     Shared religious spaces in the Middle East
This program began with the designation of the Feast of the Annunciation in Lebanon as a national holiday, through the initiative of the Islamic Christian National Dialogue Committee. Religions converge in viewing the Annunciation to Mary as a shared belief. Accordingly, we launched this program through a broad-based symposium on the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation last year.
Within this program, we will also address other dimensions involving religious spaces that have become national spheres, and there are many of them in the region. The program also includes religious practices and traditions that have become shared among people, practiced spontaneously and without any prior assumptions.

2.     Combating demonization and hate speech
In the Middle East, voices are rising that point to communities demonizing one another due to political and social turmoil and the economic decline the region is experiencing.
On this basis, we launched a program we called “Combating Demonization and Hate Speech,” to prevent this culture from spreading among our peoples in the Middle East, since demonization and hate speech will ultimately affect everyone, leading to endless internal unrest. In this project, we seek to partner with any governmental authorities willing to engage in this work.

3.     Society is knowledge
We aim to educate and raise public awareness of fundamental concepts through an informational media program, through which we expose and critique destructive and dangerous ideas that, if they take root in people’s minds, will lead to social fragmentation. In parallel, we promote concepts that foster awareness of the need for fraternity among people, mutual respect, acceptance of diversity and respect for it, a longing for social unity, and all concepts that lead to social solidarity.

4.     Pioneers of human fraternity
The region’s history is rich with examples of fraternity among people and of communities protecting one another in times of hardship. The biographies of pioneers in this field are many, and they must be highlighted so they can serve as models to follow and so they may show the nation that what unites its social components is greater than what divides them.
We will hold seminars on events and figures exemplifying human fraternity. First on the list is Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashemi, Sharif of Mecca, in his message to Arab armies stationed in northern Syria to protect Armenian and Syriac refugees who survived the massacres at the beginning of the twentieth century. We have prepared a conference project on this inspiring and noble figure, and it is currently being developed.

5.     Launching a coordination network for dialogue institutions
Calls are growing for establishing a coordinating body for institutions engaged in dialogue—whose number has recently increased significantly in the Middle East through initiatives led by enlightened individuals who recognized the importance of strengthening society through dialogue. We have made some contacts aimed at creating coordinating frameworks for dialogue institutions in order to raise their capacity at the grassroots level, since the aim is to spread a culture of dialogue among people, not confine it to elite circles. This work is still in its early stages, but the responses from those concerned are promising.

It is worth noting that all these programs are designed to be regional as much as possible, but their implementation remains dependent on the financial resources allocated to them. In the absence of sufficient funding, we rely on media, despite our conviction of the importance of holding international conferences and seminars and conducting field studies.

This is the dialogue landscape within the Middle East Council of Churches, where we consider dialogue an end in itself, even if it was originally regarded as a means.

The concept of ecumenism within MECC has undergone a spontaneous, on-the-ground expansion: after it had been limited to Christians of different denominations, it has come to include all who dwell in the Oikoumene, those for whom the Lord became incarnate, for their salvation and that they might have a better life.