"This department is a space for Christian service and love in a world of persecution and hatred"

On Friday May 14, 2021, the Middle East Council of Churches’ Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees Executive Committee held its regular meeting online via Zoom. The Secretary General of the Council Dr. Michel Abs addressed the committee, saying: " This department is a space for Christian service and love in a world of persecution and hatred."

Repairing Sursock Museum

In an effort to repair what the August 4 blast damaged, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Italy and UNESCO to renovate one of Beirut’s most famous museums. The project which is worth €1 million, comes under UNESCO’s Li Beirut initiative, which aims to repair schools, heritage buildings, museums and galleries damaged in the Beirut blast.

Syria and Lebanon

Humanitarian Update

Reporting period: from 10 to 17 May 2021

This week, the Islamic world celebrates Eid al-Fitr, which comes after a thirty-day fast throughout the month of Ramadan according to the Hijri calendar.

Given the phenomenon of multi-religious societies that pervades the whole world today, interaction between members belonging to one religious social entity and members of another religious entity is a common occurrence in human togetherness.

In the field of social relations, interaction is not religious interaction; rather it is socio-cultural interaction whereby all religious groups that live within one socio-political catchment area relate to one another.

Do the Catholic and Orthodox Churches Support Families and How?

International Family Day falls on May 15 of every year and returns this year amid injustice, violence, intimidation and hate speech... but worst of all, a malicious virus from the Corona strain they called Covid-19! A virus that made matters worse, and hit us amid crises and deteriorating living conditions that suffocate families in our Arab world.

On the Ascension Day, Earth connects with the Glory of Heavens

"... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8), this is what Jesus Christ said to his disciples in the olive mountain - Jerusalem, promising them that they will receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit that brings them closer to the kingdom of God.

Report: 12 May 2021

The WHO gave the green light for the emergency of Sinopharm, China's Covid-19 vaccine, making it the sixth vaccine to receive validation.

Report: 1 to 9 May 2021

COVID-19 over the past year or so have widened economic disparity in the region. Countries with the exception of Cyprus and Jordan, have still to launch a meaningful reform program to improve the livelihoods of their citizens. Instead, corruption and sanctions still mess the scene and everyone in it.

According to “The National” news website, a judicial source informed it that fresh charges will be filed over last year’s deadly explosion at Beirut’s port in the coming “weeks”. The source claimed that the investigation will push to the end, despite any redtape or political interference. Many in Lebanon are still aching to know the truth and lament the lack of accountability within the country; Victims have repeatedly told the media over the past nine months that they fear they may never achieve justice.

The Middle East Council of Churches renews its call to lift the occupation of the Palestinian people

With the escalation of confrontations in Jerusalem and the dangerous course that developments in the Holy Land are taking, the Middle East Council of Churches issued a statement in which it considered that the violent events raging in occupied Palestine, which are still increasing in intensity daily, are nothing but an inevitable result of pressure and oppression practiced continuously by the occupying powers of the land of Palestine for more than seven decades.

"I rely on many assistances that allow me to eat and live, then I go back to the stairs on the next street to spend the night." Alas, this is the case of a women affected by the massive crises that hit Lebanon. She lives without a shelter to protect her and the Beirut explosion came to severely deepen her wound. Likewise, many Beirutis are passing through difficult living conditions and are affected by the August 4 disaster and by different crises.

Developing Cooperation and Working Together for the Service of Humanity

On Friday May 7, 2021, a delegation from the international humanitarian organization Tearfund visited the MECC headquarters in Beirut. The delegation included the Regional Director Mrs. Karen Sorensen, new Country Director for Lebanon Mr. Dani Tayyar, new Program Officer for Lebanon and Yemen Mr. Farah Bou Kher and new Person in Charge of supporting the Country Director in peace building initiatives and supporting fragile states Mrs. Manal Tayyar.

Syria and Lebanon

Humanitarian Update

Reporting period: from 3 to 10 May 2021