“Living Water”

With deep hope and great joy, the Season of Creation 2026 begins on September 1, carrying the theme “Living Water” and the symbol “Immersion in Living Water,” inspired by Ezekiel 47:9 and 12. This Ecumenical environmental season brings together the Ecumenical family in the Middle East and around the world in joint Prayer and work to protect God’s creation and preserve our common home.

Noting that this Season is observed annually from September 1, the Day of Creation, through October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, Patron saint of ecology. It is a spiritual and environmental season aimed at fostering greater awareness and responsibility towards the Earth and all that it contains.

The Season of Creation invites believers to renew their relationship with the Creator and with creation through a journey of celebration, repentance, and commitment. This is done through deepening our understanding of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as via efforts to strengthen environmental values and encourage initiatives dedicated to protecting our common home, the Oikos of God.

Let us raise together our praise and glorification to the Lord, the Creator, the God of justice and peace. Let us give thanks to Him for all His gifts, blessings, and abundant graces that He has bestowed upon us!

As part of its efforts to strengthen the livestock sector and enhance livelihoods and food security in rural areas, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through its Diakonia and Social Service Department – Syria’s Office, continues to support cattle breeders.

In this context, 76 cattle breeders in Taybeh village, in rural Dara’a, were supported through the distribution of 100 fodder kits sufficient to 111 cows. Each kit consists of 900 kilograms of pelleted fodder fortified with mineral salts and 720 kilograms of hay, in addition to providing veterinary services, as well as medicines and vaccines for the livestock.

The beneficiaries also attended training sessions on proper cattle care, ways to manage common livestock diseases, and optimal nutrition practices to improve the quality and quantity of milk production.

“Living Water”

Carrying the theme “Living Water” and the symbol “Immersion in Living Water,” inspired by Ezekiel 47:9 and 12, the Ecumenical Family in the Middle East and around the world unites to celebrate the “Season of Creation” 2026. This season constitutes an Ecumenical, Christian, and environmental station to contemplate and care for our common home, the Oikos of God.

Each year, the Season’s celebrations begin on September 1, the day that many Church Families celebrate as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and others celebrate as the Feast of Creation. It ends on October 4, with the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of ecology.

In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), which is a Member of the Season of Creation Ecumenical Steering Committee, issues the guide for the “Season of Creation” 2026 in Arabic, after the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department translated into Arabic, as is customary annually.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 – 4:00 pm

The world and the Middle East are preparing to participate in the “Season of Creation,” an annual Ecumenical environmental observance during which Christians from different Church Families come together to glorify God the Creator, renew their commitment to working together to protect creation, and preserve our common home.

On this occasion, the “Season of Creation” 2026 will be launched through a global online Prayer gathering, on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 4:00 pm. You can joint it through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnho_aeql2w.

The gathering will include Prayers, reflections, and interventions from many Ecumenical Leaders from around the world. It will be held under the theme “Living Water” and the symbol “Immersion in Living Water,” inspired by Ezekiel 47:9 and 12.

It is worth noting that the “Season of Creation” is observed annually from September 1, the Day of Creation, to October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Ecology.

Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand – Lebanon

Produced By MECC

Together We Unite in Prayer and Work to Protect Our Common Home! 

Media of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

The Ecumenical family around the world is preparing for an environmental Ecumenical season, a season that holds a lot of hope for glorifying, praising and thanking God the Creator for all His blessings and gifts. It is the “Season of Creation,” a station that extends annually between September 1, the Feast of Creation, and October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Ecology. 

The Season of Creation is an Ecumenical celebration for praying and responding together to the cry of creation. Hence, its calls on us to renew our relationship with the Creator and creation by learning and working, through studying the Holy Bible and delving deeper into the Teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as through commitment to the environmental issue and making efforts to protect our common home, Oikos of God. 

As is customary yearly, the season adopts a specific theme and a special slogan. This year, we will unite around the theme “Living Water” and the symbol “Immersion in Living Water,” inspired by Ezekiel 47:9 and 12. Hence, when did this season start? And how was it launched?… 

By Saint Francis of Assisi

Performed by: The Glory of Heaven Choir

Video Produced By MECC

Awareness Sessions for Displaced People and Women from Host Communities

Produced by MECC

“Ecumenical Horizons” is a weekly program that features spiritual, cultural, intellectual, educational, youth and environmental topics.

Entitled "Faith is Action, Conversations on Palestine"

Organized By “Orthodox Christian for Palestine"

You can join the webinar via the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zwIpJ1LdT-22pTUHLrDDVg#/registration

“Momentum”

24-8-2026

This issue includes reports, videos, news, articles, and a full coverage of the latest developments of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as well as the Church, Ecumenical, and social events…

This is in addition to the weekly word of the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs which is entitled in this issue "Autonomy in Organizations: Between Accountability and Governance".

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/ee9f27c09e13/momentum-mecc-weekly-newsletter.

You can also subscribe to the Momentum Newsletter via the following link:
https://mecc.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?id=fd3381352a&u=1db32cafe9ea32b38eb90480a.

A Safe Space for Children to Develop their Skills and Make Positive Use of their Time

A Summer Club Organized by MECC in Syria

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through its Diakonia and Social Service Department – Syria’s Office, organized a summer club for 102 children, aged between 5 and 14, in the city of Erbin in Rural Damascus Governorate.

The summer club, titled “Brave Hearts” included a wide range of interactive activities, including football, basketball, other physical exercises, theatre, choir, drawing, and handicrafts.

It also featured cognitive activities such as Rubik’s Cube and science experiments, as well as household skills, basic first aid principles, and purposeful recreational trips.

The club also offered computer skills courses for children aged 13 to 14 years old, in addition to life skills sessions for children of different age groups, with the aim of strengthening their resilience in dealing with themselves and their surroundings.

مرصد فلسطين – تقرير الاثنين 24 آب/ أغسطس 2026

In light of the worsening humanitarian and social conditions in the region due to the escalation of security operations, the Middle East Council of Churches presents a weekly report entitled "Palestine Observatory," which includes the latest developments in Palestine, especially amid the deteriorating living, social, and security conditions in the country. Some texts will be in Arabic, and some others in English, depending on the source.

في ظلّ تفاقم الظروف الإنسانيّة والاجتماعيّة في المنطقة جرّاء تصاعد العمليّات الأمنيّة فيها، يقدّم مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط تقريرًا أسبوعيًّا بعنوان "مرصد فلسطين" حيث يتضمّن آخر المستجدّات الّتي تشهدها فلسطين خصوصًا وسط تدهور الظروف المعيشيّة والاجتماعيّة والأمنيّة في البلاد. ستكون بعض النصوص باللغة العربية، وبعضها الآخر باللّغة الإنكليزيّة، وذلك حسب المصدر.

Emphasis on the Need to Strengthen Media Cooperation

Father Dr. Rifat Bader, General Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan, Publisher of “Abouna” Website, and Representative of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for Media Affairs, visited the Council’s headquarters in Beirut on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. He was received by the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, and the General Secretariat team, in the presence of the Journalist Rafi Sayegh, from “Abouna” Website.

The visit took place as part of Father Bader’s participation in a seminar organized by MECC entitled “Ecumenical Media: Mission and Ethics,” where he delivered a lecture addressing the subject of Ecumenical media and the importance of its role today in serving the Church and society.

From the “Ecumenism of Blood” to the “Ecumenism of the Word”

A Lecture By Father Dr. Rifat Bader

Father Dr. Rifat Bader, General Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan, Publisher of “Abouna” Website, and Representative of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for Media Affairs, delivered this lecture in Arabic at a webinar organized by MECC, entitled “Ecumenical Media: Mission and Ethics”, on Thursday, August 19, 2026.

At the MECC Webinar About “Ecumenical Media: Mission and Ethics”

Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Coordinator of Media and Church Relations at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), delivered this word in Arabic at a webinar organized by MECC, entitled “Ecumenical Media: Mission and Ethics”, on Thursday, August 19, 2026.